By Patrick Tepoorten

According to Hazeldenís Carol Falkowski, although only six percent of kids admit to using methamphetamine as opposed to eight in 10 using alcohol, meth went from being nonexistent to being in all high schools in a very short time.

The reasons for the drugís attractiveness can range from inducing a high that makes users ìfeel like Supermanî to weight loss.

Drug counselors, law enforcement representatives, and former methamphetamine addicts gathered at the North Branch Public Library last Tuesday to discuss the problem of ìmethî in Chisago County. The meth forum was well attended with 35-40 in attendance.

Falkowski is the author of ìDangerous Drugs, An Easy-to-Use Reference for Parents and Professionals 2nd Editionî and serves as the director of research communications for the Hazelden Foundation, which is widely considered to be one of the premier addiction recovery facilities in the nation. She dedicated her time in front of the audience dispelling myths about the drug and describing its ascent as a popular drug amongst teenagers.

Falkowski also noted that the ìgroup of usual suspectsî donít always fit the profile of a meth user. Rather, meth is often the drug of choice for people on the go. ìThey can get more done, stay up longer, make more money, get better grades,î etc.

For Falkowski, the battle against meth use is also a battle against myths. She corrected the record on many of them. For instance, contrary to popular belief meth addiction is treatable and treatment can be very effective.

Meth detoxification can be completed in a week, not the six to 12 months that many believe.

Meth is not as addictive as some thought in the early days either, and the adage, ìtry it once and people become instantly addictedî is not necessarily true. Although that can be the case, Falkowski warned that parents making blanket statements such as that run the risk of losing credibility with their children when those kids donít see it realized in every day life.

Finally, Falkowski discarded the myth of meth babies. In doing so she pointed out another myth, that of crack babies. She stated that researchers at Brown University found only that babies exposed to crack were more susceptible to premature birth.

Beyond that, research did not reveal anything definitive, partly because crack users were largely users of various other substances as well, making it all but impossible to study the affects of crack alone.

So too, meth users tend to use other substances as well, making determining the affects of meth on unborn babies difficult.

Chisago County Sheriff Todd Rivard also spoke at the forum. He credited 2005 state legislation making sudaphedrine a schedule 5 drug, which placed it behind pharmaceutical counters, and created a purchasing database, with helping to reduce meth labs significantly. ìLabs are down 87 percent because of the legislation,î he said, although he added that cheap product from Mexico also contributed to that figure.

North Branch Chief of Police Jules Zimmer focused on the local battle against meth and encouraged people to call his department if they witness suspicious behavior. Still, he warned that people may not witness instantaneous results. ìWe canít just go in,î he said, but officers will be watching problem residences and in many cases arrests are made once evidence is collected.

Zimmer also encouraged residents to take part in neighborhood watches and stated that numerous neighborhoods were already taking part in ìMeth Watch.î

Attendees were also treated to real life stories of addiction from mother of an addict Karen LaBore as well as two former addicts themselves, Misty and Jim. All told heart wrenching tales of the downward spiral of addiction and the fallout that affects all those around addicts.

Jim, a ìcooker,î admitted to a $1,000 a day meth habit and said that he lost everything to his addiction.

Mistyís downward cycle of meth abuse included an abortion, jail time, and the birth of children she had no interest in caring for. She told the crowd she would have chosen ìthe pipe over my child.î That realization began her long road to recovery.

LaBore first learned of her daughterís meth addiction four and a half years ago when she went to the hospital to visit her first grandchild, born that day. LaBore was told by doctors that the baby was addicted to meth.

Along with her daughter, LaBore, who has since been battling her daughterís addiction while raising her now three grand children, concluded ìI thought I was going to be a grandmother with three grand kids. Instead I am a mother with six kids.î She did report though, that her daughter may be on the road to recovery.

Comment from Cynthia Peach, 5/26/06

Patrick:
I am the mother of "Misty" and I feel you have taken comments made at the forum out of context. Your comments have made Misty and Jim appear unredeemable and we both know that is not the case. Instead of trying to scare the public, I wish you would have completed the story of Misty and Jim. You should give the public hope that meth addiction can be dealt with long hard work. In Misty and Jim's story, you've created hurt, angry feelings and a concern for their place in the community by not telling the complete story. This is a couple who work their recovery program deligently and are proof that you can overcome meth addiction and be a positive role model for the community. You should have continued their story but I feel you are promoting negativity in it's finest form [schock and awe-oooh!]and to afraid of the boogeyman. Don't promote ignorance-promote education.