Newsletter 03-07

Cost for treatment is another problem. The treatment program touted to congressmen on Wednesday, the Matrix Model, costs $6,000 per person, Heaston said. Many users are not able to afford it. They have often been in jail, have felony drug records, and have lost their homes, cars and jobs due to drug use, she said.

Her description was confirmed by two recently reformed meth addicts who testified. Darren and Aaronette Noble, of St. Louis, described years of jail time, drug use, arrests and living out of their car.

"When I was using meth, I felt dead most of the time," Aaronette Noble said. "My teeth and my hair were falling out and other people had custody of my children."

The Nobles and another former meth addict, Russell Cronkheit of Fairfax County, Va., described the transformation that treatment and recovery meant for their lives. Their message: meth addiction can be treated, but it is difficult.

Meth abusers will need frequent treatment, and may relapse before the treatment is effective, said Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

"Relapse is not a sign of failed treatments," she said.

LATEST METH
NEWS SNAP-SHOT

Meth Awareness and Prevention Project: South Dakota

The following stories provide a glimpse into the battle against Meth. They are summaries drawn from a range of online sources, including newspapers, television stations and organizational web sites of recent stories concerning Meth, clan labs and arrests.

January 29
In Washington ? Police who pulled over a driver in a routine traffic stop were stunned by the driver?s response. The 41-year-old man was trying to light a Meth pipe while the officers approached the car. The driver was arrested.

In Missouri - One of three men charged in a fatal fire at a Meth lab was sentenced to prison. The 20-year-old pleaded guilty to causing the deaths of a 24-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man. The defendant was sentenced to two concurrent 20-year prison terms for each of two counts of second-degree murder and arson; he also received a 15-year sentence for attempting to make Meth. Authorities say the three were cooking Meth in the kitchen of a ground-floor apartment when the camping fuel they were using caught fire. Although the three men escaped with no serious injuries, the two victims died in the fire. The other two men, 26- and 25-years-old, were also charged in the fire and have been sentenced to 15-years and 20-years, respectively.

In Virginia - Two men authorities described as mid-level Meth dealers received prison sentences in federal court after pleading guilty to drug conspiracy charges. A 40-year-old received a 10-year, 10-month sentence and a 23-year-old was sentenced to 15-years in prison. The case began when a car bomb exploded in February 2005. The investigation into the explosion uncovered a drug ring operating in at least two counties. The group was allegedly responsible for moving more than 50 pounds of Meth through the area. A third defendant was also accused of providing Meth at his home to high school students, often in exchange for sex. He is serving a prison sentence of seven years, three months. A fourth man in the ring received a 16-year, two-month term. One defendant remains at large and three more are waiting for their sentencing.

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New Strawberry-Flavored
Meth Hits the Streets

Article by: R.T. Norton, Staff Writer
Nevada Appeal, Jan 29, 2007

Law enforcement officials in Carson City, Nev. have discovered a new kind of methamphetamine that they fear can be more attractive to young people—bright pink strawberry-flavored meth. The event was reported in the Jan. 29th issue of the Nevada Appeal.

“(We are) concerned that this new type of meth will be more attractive to a younger crowd and may surface in schools,” said Sgt. Darrin Sloan, commander of the Carson City Sheriff's Department's Special Enforcement Team in the article. “Parents and teachers, please be aware of this new kind of drug that is making its way into our culture.”

Officials discovered the drug during a search of an apartment. The drug was being sold by an alleged gang member as “strawberry quick.”

The article noted that flavored methamphetamine is the newest metamorphosis of the dangerous street drug made from ephedrine and toxic chemical such as lye and battery acid. “Strawberry quick” methamphetamine is popular among new users who snort it because the flavoring can cut down on the taste. Officials said teenagers, who have been taught meth is dangerous, may see this flavored version as less harmful.

Rural Meth Addicts Have Trouble Getting Treatment

By Maria Hegstad, Stephens Washington
June 29, 2006, Arkansas News Bureau (AR)

Methamphetamine use has hit rural communities the hardest, and those also are areas where treatment programs are most limited, experts told Congress on Wednesday.

A common, but untrue, myth is that meth users can't overcome their addictions, said Richard Rawson, a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles. Rawson said his UCLA clinic treats people addicted to alcohol, cocaine, heroin and meth. Meth users have similar success rates.

But those addicts who most need help can't get to it, said Leah Heaston, a director of treatment centers in rural Indiana, told the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources.

Finding and retaining qualified staff is difficult in rural areas, Heaston said. She described constant job openings at her clinics, and pointed out the high cost of training new staff.

Arkansas is among 12 states with nearly one percent or more of the population over the age of 12 having used meth in 2001, 2002 or 2003, according to a study released last fall by Department of Health and Human Services.

Seven percent of high school girls in Arkansas and 10 percent of high school boys reported using meth in a U.S. Center for Disease Control survey released earlier this month.

One positive sign for rural areas is the decrease of home-cooking meth labs, said Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., the subcommittee chairman. The reductions can be attributed to laws limiting the sale of cold medications containing psuedoephedrine, an ingredient in home-cooked meth, said Bertha Madras, a deputy director in the White House's drug control policy office.

But Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said police in his rural district have seen addicts circumventing these laws. He asked Madras how law enforcement and drug treatment programs could better cooperate.

Madras lauded drug courts, which she said provide the best means of providing users with incentive to attend treatment. McHenry agreed, but said in rural areas there aren't enough of them.

Heaston also described transportation problems - many rural communities have no public transit system, so patients can't get to treatment. Rural communities also often don't have the bed-space to offer enough in-patient treatment or detoxification, she said.