Pubdate: Wed, 18 Jan 2006
Source: St. Paul Journal, The (CN AB)
Copyright: 2006 - St. Paul Journal
Contact:  http://www.spjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2368
Author: Vicki Brooker
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?241 (Methamphetamine - Canada)

CRYSTAL METH TURNS FAIRYTALE TO BROKEN DREAMS

"This is where I went to school," Audrey (Holliday) Bjornstad told 
the students of F. G. Miller High School last Thursday afternoon, in 
the first of two information sessions on the highly addictive street 
drug, crystal meth.

"I last spoke here at my graduation, as valedictorian. Today, I felt 
it was important to come and tell you this so it doesn't happen in 
your family."

Bjornstad said her family's story "all started like a fairytale, with 
two parents and two beautiful kids." At 15, her son was "an athletic 
teenager, a kid who had it all." Then, in Grade 10, he was caught 
skipping school and smoking pot.

"It was the beginning of the end."

The panicked parents got counselling for their son and set curfews, 
and thought things were returning to normal.

Then in the summer of 2003, the youth's behaviour started to change. 
He lost interest in family activities, friends and sports, "and then 
our world fell apart" at the end of summer when he went missing for days.

"The police found him in a meth house in Sherwood Park. We didn't 
know what meth was, or what a meth house was, and we sure didn't know 
that there was a meth house in Sherwood Park."

Their "miserable, unhappy kid," who had been charged with possession 
and trafficking, was released to their care, and thus began "a month 
from hell," as he continued to use and deal in crystal meth and to 
steal from his family.

"We had no choice but to give him an ultimatum," Bjornstad said. "He 
had to get treatment or he couldn't continue to live at home." While 
it was "the hardest thing I've ever done," she had no choice but to 
lock him out.

"He phoned home nightly to tell us he was OK, but cold, hunger and 
hardship were not enough to make him admit he was an addict and 
accept treatment."

The youth lived on the streets until he was arrested in October and 
sent to the Edmonton Young Offenders Centre, where he was held for 41 days.

"In jail, at least I knew where he was. Finally, I could sleep, 
because I knew he was safe there."

While their son was incarcerated, Bjornstad says, "we learned as much 
as we could: to overcome guilt, shame and embarrassment, to set 
values and boundaries, and to manipulate the system. We found that 
parents have all the responsibility but none of the control."

At this time, Bjornstad "decided to go public. I went to politicians, 
community members and the media to try to get help for my son. Driven 
by the fear that he would die, I pounded on door after door, and 
talked to anyone who would listen."

It took seven months of living in a group home, but finally, "we were 
very lucky, he got into treatment."

The Bjornstads' son returned home a year and a half later.

The addict is "a victim," Bjornstad says, "a slave to a substance, 
and his family are victims too. It blew me out of the water when it 
happened to us. Parents, siblings, grandparents and teammates are all victims."

The difficulty of obtaining treatment for young addicts is compounded 
by the fact that there are only eight treatment beds in the province, 
Bjornstad says, and until Bill 202, the Protection of Children 
Abusing Drugs Act, comes into effect on July 1, 2006, it is also 
impossible to force young people into treatment without their consent.

In May 2004, Bjornstad formed Parents Empowering Parents, a group 
which includes a support group for recovering youth.

"Every meeting we have five to 10 new families dealing with addiction."

Recovery is said to take nine to 24 months, with cross-addictions 
common, but Bjornstad cautions that "it's a process, not an event." 
Her son's recovery is "not over, and it might never be over."

For the Bjornstads, "our journey continues. We have our son back, but 
he's not the same kid. " Now living away from home, she says, "he's 
trying to get on with his life."

"I'm not here to scare you," Bjornstad told the FGM students as she 
wound up her presentation. "I'm here to tell you this is real."

A few hours later, Bjornstad faced a packed house at the Seniors' 
Recreation Centre to tell her story to the public.

"It's kind of weird coming home," she told her audience. "This is one 
of the harder (presentations) I've done."

As one of the first parents to go public, Bjornstad says she was "met 
with denial. The community was not ready to admit we had a problem."

She praised Elk Point for "being proactive, rather than reactive. I 
hope you continue forward, and set up a response team and have a 
coordinated effort."

Addiction is a problem that can face any family, she emphasized.

"As a community, you will be dealing with this. Families will need 
accurate facts and the reassurance that they didn't cause this."

"We were both raised in a small town. We had morals and values in the 
right places. Addiction has no boundaries or borders."

"I truly believe you are a pioneer in the province," Thomas Kondla, 
who was part of the planning committee for the sessions, told 
Bjornstad. "There are angels in society, and you are one of them," he 
said as he presented her with an angel statuette and a candle 
commemorating her visit.

Kondla says he feels the drug awareness process will continue in Elk Point.

"The biggest question I get is, 'is there a crystal meth problem in 
Elk Point?' I don't believe we have a big problem, but crystal meth 
is in Elk Point.

"This is step one. We'll continue on from there."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom