Breaking Free From Meth
From KELO Land TV

Internet Versions of KELOLAND News stories about Meth in the area:

'Cleaning Up the Meth Mess'

'Inmate Speaks About Meth Addiction'  

'KELOLand Woman's Struggle to Get Her Brother Off Meth'

'Breaking Free From Meth'    

'Meth Orphans'

Meth in the News

Originally found on KELO 08/09/2005

Methamphetamine abuse has become the fastest-growing drug problem in the world. KELOLAND is taking the war on meth a giant step further with new limits for certain cold and allergy medications used to make meth. But once an addict, the prospects for a full recovery are grim.

Scattered among these branches are the nametags of patients who've passed in the doors of the Keystone Treatment Center and made it back out again. And admittedly more and more of these names are meth addicts.

Carol Regier, Executive Director of Keystone Treatment Center says, "You see a meth user that's only used a few months and they look like a long, late stage alcoholic, it ages them incredibly fast. The deterioration to the body, that's very visible."

Even after three decades in addiction treatment, Carol Regier, Executive Director of Keystone Treatment Center admits she's never seen anything like meth. Regier says, "The detox is tough so they do need more medication, they need more contact."

Meth addicts also need more time. "They stay here 30 - 60 days," says Regier, "And then from here they go to an outpatient program for 90 days. And during that time, they stay in a halfway house."

After six months working with a psychiatrist and mentors, meth is still waiting to mess them up. Regier says, "The main reason people leave treatment early on is that that craving is so strong and they are so miserable, and they know they'll feel better with one fix."

Still therapists are beginning to see their first successes. "We now have people that have gone through the year and are out there back in college doing well, living their live good. And of course, we have had some that have crashed and burned."

Which is why Regier hopes that before anyone considers trying meth, they first consider this: "I wish they would know the real story, not just the picture they might see in a book. But that they really understand how it affects their lives... in some cases permanently."

Jaine Andrews
© 2005 KELOLAND TV. All Rights Reserved.