Series: Part 3 Of 3

METHAMPHETAMINE - GETTING CONTROL

Kicking the methamphetamine addiction can be a long road, as it is
for police trying to control its spread, businesses and farmers who
want to see chemicals used as intended and counselors who work with addicts.

Certified substance abuse counselor Bruce Vanderhoof of Choices West
in Hart uses cognitive behavior therapy to counsel methamphetamine
addicts. He noted that because methamphetamine distorts memory, the
process takes longer and meth users are more difficult to work with.

"The addiction to methamphetamine is very overwhelming to them,"
Vanderhoof said. "Basically, it's the same treatment as cocaine. A
lot of the problems we're having is the length of the treatment. It
takes a longer period of time to get off methamphetamine."

A side affect of ending methamphetamine use is depression, Vanderhoof
said, and former users need to become aware of what they need to get
on with life. He also said part of the process is rebuilding the
person's self-worth and self-esteem through positive reinforcement.

The ideal treatment for severe addicts is inpatient treatment,
Vanderhoof said. The problem is, there are no local treatment
centers. The nearest ones are in Traverse City, Petosky, Alpena, Mt.
Pleasant and Midland.

In the last 18 months, Vanderhoof said he's counseled seven clients
for methamphetamine use. Most of those were referred to Choices West
through the court system for another reason, such as domestic
violence. It was through the evaluation process that Vanderhoof
learned they had been using methamphetamine.

"Most of the people we have dealt with have not been using it long,
which is a good thing," Vanderhoof said.

Behavior health program Director Tim Payment is relatively new to
Catholic Social Services, and wasn't really up to speed with how many
people have been treated. He said the service has 110 substance abuse
clients in Mason County and approximately 70 in Oceana- some of which
are being treated for methamphetamine use.

As with most drug abuse, users usually start with another drug, such
as marijuana, and when they no longer get the high they are looking
for, they turn to meth. Vanderhoof said that meth users also continue
to use other drugs, such as cocaine or alcohol, so that when they
come down from the high, the down is not as severe.

According to Oceana County Sheriff's Detective Tim Priese, severe
users will begin to shrivel up as the drug eats away at their body.
They can also scratch their skin raw.

"People will get what they call meth sores," Priese said. "They think
there's bugs on their skin."

While users work to break addiction, police and businesses work to
keep components from falling into the wrong hands.

Fremont Cooperative General Manager Rob Zeldenrust doesn't sell
anhydrous ammonia, but the staff does keep its eyes open for people
wanting iodine- another component that can be used to make
methamphetamine. He said the cooperative has received "questionable"
phone calls from people asking about iodine.

"Then they're fumbling through excuses why they are looking for it,"
Zeldenrust said. "Whenever that happens, when it's somebody from
outside the area that we don't recognize, we get all the information we can."

Except in the southern part of the county, such as Claybanks, where
soils are heavy, anhydrous ammonia isn't used all that much in
Oceana, cooperative extension Director Norm Myers said.

West Michigan Fertilizer representative Diane Clark of Muskegon
County said attempts were made in the past to steal their anhydrous
ammonia supply, but those resulted in arrests. They've since placed
their supply under lock and key, and the storage building is equipped
with an alarm system. West Michigan Fertilizer also encourages its
customers to do the same, and Clark said she hasn't heard of any problems.

"Basically, we have not been bothered probably for about a year and
half," Clark said. "Our program, right now, is working for us."

Clark also credited pseudoephedrine retailers for restricting access.

"That is the main ingredient that they have to have," she said.

The restricted access move is part of a new law scheduled to go into
affect in December and area pharmacies are already complying.
Michelle Hill of Hometown Pharmacy said their stores, which include
Oceana and Shelby pharmacies in Oceana County, have taken any product
with pseudoephedrine and put it behind the counter. Buyers must be 18
with a picture identification.

Pamida pharmacist Chris Beaman said the company has taken it one step
further and will not sell more than two containers at a time.
Sheriff's Lt. Buzz Angell said police need support of local retailers
to keep an eye on pseudoephedrine, and they also need help from the
public if someone suspects something.

"You really want the public support if they see any traffic going
into rural areas," Angell said.

West Michigan Enforcement Team Lt. John Porter thinks additional
police education led to the increased busts of meth labs in Allegan
County where approximately 100 labs were found last year. He said
police officers are more aware of what to look for when they make
traffic stops.

Regardless of precautions taken, Vanderhoof expects that those who
want it will work around the law to get ephedrine. And they may pay a
high price. Dr. Paul Wagner of Hart Family Medical said doctors are
just now starting to see long-time marijuana users showing up with
emphysema while other drug users are not showing up at all.

"You really don't see the long-term coke (cocaine) users because
they're dead," Wagner said. "That's what you're going to see with this."

Former user describes challenges

Looking to try something different, methamphetamine quickly took over
the life of one former user who spoke with the Herald-Journal.

The 30-something woman spent almost a year taking methamphetamine,
but has been clean for four months. She took the drug to try
something different after it was offered to her when she worked with
a traveling show in another state.

The woman had used crack cocaine, cocaine, alcohol and marijuana,
when someone offered her methamphetamine.

"I tried just a little bit of everything, and it just wasn't enough," she said.

The drug gave her constant energy. She was never sleeping and never
eating. She lost 64 pounds in a month.

"The hardest part of it was you could never get enough of it," she
said, adding she got her's from a dealer and it was readily
available. "I was a snorter. It's a lot like crack that if you lose a
piece you're going to look for it."

Besides the weight loss, methamphetamine took a psychological toll on
the woman, especially when she was on her "trip."

"I thought I had glass coming out of face," she said. "I would pick
at my face with tweezers and needles. That's what we called tweaking.
I tore my face right up. It was the hardest thing in the world to get
off of. I think it's worse than crack as far as what it does to you."

Even though she was constantly "high," the woman said she always felt
low. The drug ran her down and she said she felt as if she had the flu.

"I think it was pretty low all the way through it," she said. "As
soon as I took the first nose hit, I was stuck on it, and I would
pretty much do anything to get a hold of it."

During the time she was taking the drug, she didn't have any family
support and had lost contact.

"The only thing that was important was getting my fix," she said.

Although she got away from the job and the drug supply, the woman
continued to look for it after arriving here.

"I've never found it around here," she said. "And to be honest, I
have looked for it."

With the help of family and her faith, the woman is no longer
involved with drugs, and her life is improving. She has some upcoming
family plans, and looks forward to getting on with her life.

"I'm going up all the way," she said. "I've totally changed my life
from where I was. I pretty much had to give up all the stuff I
enjoyed doing because it would lead me right back to that. So there
is hope after drugs."