PARENTS POISONED BY WRONG MESSAGE

When It Comes To Meth, Logic, Reason Are Out The Window

Meth labs in basements. Bony boys scratching scabs. Headlines claiming "One
hit and hooked for life." Megalomania. Hallucinations. Psychosis.

With the fury of methamphetamine fear flying in the media, you have to
wonder who's having the 'psychotic episode,'drug users or the rest of us.

Clearly, logic and reason have flown out the window when it comes to meth.

The same holds true for other psychoactive substances, from alcohol to
heroin to crack cocaine.

What can we do to regain our composure long enough to identify the root
issues and come up with real solutions to the problems? Let's try focusing
on facts.

Ironic as it seems, a street kid's decision to take meth is based on a kind
of logic. You have a need or desire to get high, plus a shortage of cash,
plus a lack of wheels to seek out substances equals 'choose meth.' It's
cheap, easy to get, and lasts around 12 hours. The claim that 70 per cent
of Vancouver's street youth use meth makes sense, too. The drug not only
has escapist qualities that help kids cope with street life, but also keeps
them awake for long periods. On the street, the less you sleep, the less
likely your stuff will get stolen.

The down-and-out are not the only ones who get hooked on meth's promise of
alertness. For people who do shift work or have to stay up for long periods
of time ?" truck drivers, students, stay-at-home mothers, among them ?" the
benefits of meth outweigh the risks, or seem to at first.

Meth-use patterns are more mathematical than many people make out. There
are different levels of use.

For some it's experimentation. For others, alcohol or drug use leads to
trouble at school, work, or with the law. And for a small number of people,
substance use becomes a compulsive behaviour required for daily living. Yet
people cling to the belief that use equals addiction, despite the fact the
equation makes sense in only a handful of cases. The majority who try meth
don't go on to chronic or compulsive use.

The question isn't "How do we stop the meth epidemic?" The real questions
are: What factors contribute to substance experimentation? Which ones make
a teenager want to escape his reality? What can we do to help ensure
experimentation and risk taking do not lead to dependence?

For young people, drug and alcohol experimentation is linked to a natural
desire to rebel and take risks as well as a desire to fit in to a peer
group. The need to escape, however, may be rooted in marginalization and a
lack of meaningful relationships with parents and peers. That feeling of
not belonging to anyone or anything, often fuels excessive substance use.

The risk factors that contribute to a kid's decision to drink or take drugs
include parental modeling of substance use, weak academic performance,
low-self esteem, or a sensation-seeking personality.

Does this mean all kids with absent fathers or alcohol-dependent mothers
are destined for addiction? Or that people from perfectly healthy homes
never get hooked on substances? No.

But it means we have to take the focus off the substances and work on
helping young people build and maintain meaningful bonds.

Logic dictates we look at how we're doing as parents and adult role models,
rather than rant on, about the evils of one substance or another. What is
more harmful than the substances themselves are over-the-top messages that
poison parents into thinking there is no hope for children who so much as
look at meth. The fact is there's always hope if we support each other.

Dan Reist is with the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C. at UVic.