Pubdate: Thu, 02 Jun 2005
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2005 The StarPhoenix
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Randy Burton
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH ADDICTION STRATEGY INADEQUATE

If there is anyone left out there who doubts the destructive power of
crystal methamphetamine, they need only look at the case of the late
Andrew Moore.

According to his brother's account before a coroner's inquest last
week, Moore grew up in a conventional, caring family and went on to
hold down a responsible job until he got mixed up with meth.

>From there it was all downhill, a journey that cost him his job, his
girlfriend, his relations with his family and, finally, his life.

Moore, 35, died in the back of a confectionery with a loaded .357
Magnum in his hands, shot by police officer Tim Bayly, who thought his
own life was about to end.

It was the same fate very nearly suffered by 21-year old Jesse Loewy
just three months later, a young man who was likewise caught up in
meth-induced paranoia. Like Moore, he found himself in an armed
confrontation with police. And like Moore, he, too, was shot, but
miraculously, he survived the encounter.

The point is that such behaviour is not isolated. When police make a
meth bust, they almost always find weapons of some kind. Users are
paranoid, to the point where they believe there are people hiding
behind bushes waiting to get them. Where others see empty streets, the
meth user sees people out to get them.

This is a drug like no other and anyone touched by it is convinced of
that.

After hearing the tragic story of Moore last week, the inquest jury
recommended the province establish a long-term drug treatment centre
and enact legislation allowing for compulsory drug treatment for those
who become addicted to meth.

Shipping adults off to addiction treatment against their will may well
be an infringement on civil liberties, but it does indicate how
Moore's case affected the coroner's jury. It also highlights
Saskatchewan's lack of a long-term treatment facility.

Between 1988 and '96, the province had such a youth drug treatment
facility near Yorkton called Whitespruce. The first of its kind in
Canada, Whitespruce was hailed as a new approach to drug treatment at
the time. Although it had a good reputation, the facility was
initially very expensive to run and was eventually closed as part of
the provincial government's austerity drive.

That looked like a mistake then, and it looks worse today. It's
surprising, then, to see Premier Lorne Calvert continue to defend that
decision, even with the benefit of hindsight.

When it was closed, the main reason cited by the government was to
save $1 million a year by moving the treatment to Saskatoon's Calder
Centre.

However, Calvert now says the main reason for the centre's closure was
because it just didn't work. In spite of good work performed by good
people, Whitespruce just wasn't effective, Calvert told the
legislature last week.

This is not the way Ben Weber remembers it. As the former mayor of
Yorkton who once sat on the board of Whitespruce, Weber suggests the
treatment centre was ahead of its time. In an interview this week,
Weber said that while operation costs at Whitespruce were initially
too high, there was no doubt the treatments worked.

"It was a wonderful concept and it was very, very successful. As a
board member, I did not agree with the notion of closing. It was
certainly proven to be very successful in all aspects. Anyone would
have defended its success rate inasmuch as you can measure it. It was
not always easy with a lot of these kids. They came from broken homes
and dysfunctional families and communities. There was just so many
issues and problems. And that's what you need. You need a time out
from society and you need a fairly protracted period of time in a
facility like that where you can begin to rebuild your life."

This sounds a lot like what the experts are now saying about crystal
meth. If there's one thing that separates it from other drugs, it's
the length of time it takes to get over it, which can be a year or
longer. However, there is a real shortage of long-term beds in
Saskatchewan to deal with it.

According to the premier's count, there are 248 alcohol and drug
treatment beds in Saskatchewan, but only nine long-term residential
beds.

The question is how to close the gap. Whatever the ultimate truth
about Whitespruce, the fact remains that eight years later, the
provincial government has yet to find a suitable replacement for it.
Calvert himself concedes that more has to be done, but the rate of
progress remains glacial.

While government backbencher Graham Addley continues to study the
issue, community-based groups are moving ahead on their own. In
Saskatoon, Families Against Meth has established an education program
and put speakers in schools around the province. It has also set up a
training program for parents telling them how to look for signs of
crystal meth addiction and what to do about it when it happens.

Saskatchewan Party MLA Ted Merriman has been active in this and is
trying to help a private centre called Teen Challenge in Allan expand
the number of beds it has.

Events are overtaking the government on this issue. Rather than
controlling the agenda and leading change, it finds itself reacting to
events both large and small.

And if the case of Andrew Moore proves anything, it is that further
delay on developing answers to the meth problem could have lethal
consequences.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin