Hot ice, glass, quartz, blade, shards, biker's coffee and stovetop are just some of the street names for crystal methamphetamine. Like glass, shards or blades it can be deadly - and like crack cocaine it is highly addictive. It can be ingested, injected, absorbed, snorted or smoked.
The chemicals in crystal meth are addictive, but not nearly as addictive as the high itself. A high that makes one feel confident, sexy and smart, undermining one's insecurities and inhibitions. That is what makes this drug so powerful and irresistible - especially for the young. Flip the coin and another picture emerges.
Crystal meth is known to cause episodes of violent behaviour, paranoia, anxiety, confusion and insomnia. Crystal meth users who inject the drug expose themselves to additional risks, including contracting HIV hepatitis B and C, and other blood-borne viruses.
Chronic users who inject methamphetamine also risk scarred or collapsed veins, infections of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and liver or kidney disease. The drug can cause rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, and damage to the small blood vessels in the brain--which can lead to stroke. Chronic use of the drug can result in inflammation of the heart lining. Overdoses can cause hyperthermia (elevated body temperature), convulsions, and death, no matter how it is taken.
So what makes this drug so appealing, when it has been proven to be so dangerous?
It is cheap, easily accessible, smokeable, and five times more potent than the speed of the 1970's. A "point" or one-tenth of a gram cost between $5 and $10. Crystal meth is twice as pure as speed and is easily made with over-the-counter ingredients. The chemicals used in production are highly flammable, combustible, toxic and present significant safety risks to both people and the environment.
The high only lasts for minutes but the euphoria lasts for hours leaving the user with feelings of being more confident, sexy, smart, and sociable. Because it decreases appetite, by increasing dopamine in the brain, people are using it to lose weight, making young girls vulnerable to its use.
"It is the Sooke tsunami of a different kind," says Carrie Peter, the organizer for a crystal meth forum on Saturday, October 22, at the Sooke Community Hall at 2037 Shields Road. Peter is a Registered Nutritional Product Advisor and a wellness consultant.
"Users will chase the same high and never get it and they will chase it into their grave," said Peter.
Crystal meth use has reached epidemic proportions in the United States and it is heading north, says RCMP Drug Awareness Coordinator Corporal Garth Cunningham.
"It doesn't just happen in Los Angeles, or Philadelphia, or large cities. It is happening in Iowa and Saskatoon. It's not just big city stuff. It's coming, there's no doubt about it."
Recently 13-year-old Mercedes Clarke, a Victoria student, died after taking a street drug, most likely ecstasy cut with crystal meth. It was her first and last time.
The province's chief coroner has been quoted as saying, "the number of deaths in the province is frightening and indicates that crystal meth drug use is skyrocketing.
Over the past four years, meth-related deaths in BC have increased tenfold, while the lives of countless other users have been permanently destroyed.
The Specialized Youth Detox centre in Victoria has seen admissions for detox from crystal meth increase from 17 to 117 over the past four years. Seventy percent of all admissions are now for crystal meth detox, and the average age of admission is 16, according to the SYD Annual Report 2002, Victoria Youth Empowerment Society.
The crystal meth situation in Sooke, at this time, is not up to epidemic proportions, but there have been charges of crystal meth possession.
Cunningham said that 10 years ago, the issue was identified in California and Oregon and there was a concern that it was making its way in to Washington State.
"They should have listened, now it is a mess and they are in a state of crisis," said Cunningham.
He said there is a lot of crystal meth around Vancouver Island, but enforcement does not give a true idea of the situation. One of the problems with this drug is the danger from the chemicals used in the making of crystal meth.
The ingredients are highly dangerous and volatile and pose a hazard for first responders, as an act so simple as turning on a light switch can cause an explosion. Then there are the social, environmental, safety and health hazards.
Crystal meth is replacing ecstasy as the drug of choice in the rave and dance scene. It is cheaper and dealers looking for new customers often give out "free samples."
What is scary, says Cunningham, is the fact that much of what people believe to be ecstasy is actually crystal meth.
"Don't put anything into your body if you don't know what's in it," warns Cunningham.
Recently, Premier Gordon Campbell announced the next step in the fight against meth - a $7-million dollar investment in targeted programs and resource.s
The October 22 forum will feature a panel consisting of: the Youth Empowerment Society, Vancouver Island Health Authority, RCMP Corp. Garth Cunningham of the D.A.R.E. programme, Victoria Crystal Meth Society and the Navigator Project from Sooke.
A short video entitled, "Death by Jib", will be shown and the members of the panel will answer both anonymous and miked questions from attendees.
Peter said the forum is open to everyone from parents, youth, healthcare workers, retailers to landlords and property managers.
"The community is at risk because of its ruralness, it adds to the factor," she said.
What to look for?
Parents can be on the lookout for signs that their youth may be experimenting with crystal meth.
-Glass pipes, often with a bubble at the end, are commonly used to smoke meth. Light bulbs are also used for this purpose.
- Addicts sometimes use tin foil to burn meth on for smoking, and use a hollowed-out pen or straw to suck in the smoke, so blackened foil or any narrow tubes are considered meth paraphernalia. Crystal meth is odorless.
- Razor blades are often used to crush hardened meth for snorting, and mirrors or other hard flat surfaces are commonly used as a surface.
- Spoons are used to melt meth for injection, so spoons, needles, and some type of cord or band used to tie off a vein are used for injected meth use.
- Meth, no matter how it is ingested, usually comes in a small baggie.
Other signs to be aware of:
Users often sketch or worry about people following them or filming them. Users also tech out or are fascinated with the technical aspects of gadgetry and the details of organizing and cleaning things.
Some people stay up for days on a run, using repetitively until their brain's neurotransmitters are depleted and they are sleep-deprived. They may get to the point where they tweak, often seeing things that aren't there, becoming irritable, paranoid and having abnormal, semi-purposeful movements.
Weight loss is also a strong indicator as users rarely eat.
