Methamphetamine destroys lives.
Methamphetamine destroys lives. It ruins families, finances, reputations, and freedoms.
It ruins families, finances, reputations, and freedoms.
Television produced a wonderful show that sensationalized an aspect of criminal culture, making the lifestyle fashionable and causing people to feel for the bad guy, but Barrhead is not anywhere on Walter White's GPS, and the reality is certainly not as glamorous as the network tried to portray it.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) claims methamphetamine is an extremely addictive stimulant, similar to amphetamines chemically, and both the RCMP and Addictions counselors for Alberta Health Services say it is one of the biggest threats young people face in this province today.
According to a Department of Justice report released in July 2007, regardless of the fact that this drug carries many negative consequences – loss of employment, family, personal relationships, physical and psychological health risks – 6.1% of all Albertans over the age of 15 have used it at least once, and certainly, this number has risen since then. This same report suggests that in spite of police activities in the province, drug production has also expanded at an alarming rate; in 1999 for example, it increased sevenfold, in 2002, it tripled.
Known by a variety of names on the street (meth, crystal, chalk, ice), this drug is taken because of the rush or ‘ flash' of dopamine – a neurotransmitter in the brain responsible for reward, motivation, the experience of pleasure and motor function – which is often incredible and intense, though the feelings fade quickly and so users generally take repeated doses in a ‘ binge and crash' pattern.
Sgt. Bob Dobbs, member of the RCMP detachment in Barrhead, recently spoke to Barrhead County Council about the rise in property crimes related to this particular drug abuse, and detailed several key incidents where individuals were caught with stolen goods that they intended to sell for cash so that they could obtain more of this substance - the simple fact is that the longer a person does this sort of thing, the less likely they will be able to help themselves, to stop wandering down the path of physical and financial destruction.
Treatment in care facilities is a good first step, but like heroine, the drying out process can be painful and often it is not enough to curb the problem. Most people relapse. These people have to cut out the rot in their lives, completely, by practicing something like a scorched earth policy, either burning bridges or cutting away ties, whether those ties are to friends or relatives – anyone who is an enabler - and unfortunately, that is a big hurdle to jump, especially alone, because people can be persuasive, not just the drug-dealers or suppliers.
