# Presentation: 657504

## THE METHAMPHETAMINE SCOURGE:  STEALING SOULS IN TRIBAL COMMUNITIES

**THE METHAMPHETAMINE SCOURGE:  STEALING SOULS IN TRIBAL COMMUNITIES**

## OUR CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE....

- OUR CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE....

## Public Health Crisis?

##   Methamphetamine Use 

- 35 million MA users worldwide
- 12.3 million American adults have used methamphetamine
- 5.2% of total population
- Over 600,000 weekly users

- United Nations,  2000
- National Survey on Drug Use and Health, SAMHSA, 2003

## What is Methamphetamine?

- Methamphetamine is a powerful central nervous system stimulant that strongly activates multiple systems in the brain.
- Methamphetamine is closely related chemically to amphetamine, but the central nervous system effects of methamphetamine are greater.

## What is Meth?

- Highly addictive drug that can be produced virtually anywhere from common household chemicals
- Some of the ingredients are cold medicine, drain cleaner, freon, lye and paint thinner
- The drug can be smoked, injected, snorted and swallowed.
- Intense high that lasts for hours
- Highly flammable and toxic manufacturing process that creates 5-7 lbs of toxic waste for every 1 lb. of meth

## Many common 

**household **
**chemicals are used in meth production***  *

**Notes:**
Unlike other drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin, which are derived from plants, meth can be made using common household chemicals.

[There is a picture of many common products on the left hand side of the slide.  The products include cold medicine boxes and tablets, a metal container of acetone, a plastic jug of muriatic acid, a metal container of paint thinner, a gallon container of distilled water, a metal container of denatured alcohol, a metal container of Coleman fuel, a can of lye, rock salt a metal container and a spray can of toluene, a small tub of MSM, matchboxes with red phosphorus, several batteries, a plastic bottle of methanol, a plastic bottle of sulfuric acid, a metal spray can of ether.]

## Methamphetamine: Speed

- Methamphetamine powder ranging in color from white, yellow, orange, pink, or brown.
- Color variations are due to differences in chemicals used to produce it and the expertise of the cooker.
- Other names: shabu, crystal, crystal meth, crank, tina, yaba

## What does Meth Look Like?

- High purity methamphetamine crystals or coarse powder ranging from translucent to white, sometimes with a green, blue, or pink tinge.

## More Forms of Meth 

- Rock

- Ice / Crystal Meth

- Tablets (yaba)

**Notes:**
Meth comes in several forms---including powder, crystal, rocks, and tablets. 

[The slide has several pictures.  In the top left is a picture of meth powder, which is a yellowish white color.  In the top center is a picture of meth in its tablet form; the tablets are arranged in four rows of four, with two rows of orange tablets, a row with two brown and two light green tablets, and a row with two violet and two purple tablets.  In the top right is a picture of meth in its rock form; the rocks are a brownish yellow color and are shown in two plastic bags.  On the bottom left is a picture of meth in its crystal form; the crystals look like clouded white pieces of glass.  On the bottom right is another picture of meth in its crystal form; these crystals look like shattered ice chips.]

## Meth Variations

- Strawberry meth

- Peanut butter meth

- Powder

## OTHER NAMES FOR METH

- Beanies
- Brown
- Chalk
- Chicken Feed
- Cinnamon
- Crink Crypto
- Fast
- Getgo

- G or glass
- Methies Quik
- Mexican crack
- Redneck cocaine
- Rock
- Tick tick
- Wash
- Yellow powder

## Slide 13

##  How does Methamphetamine work?

- A stimulant that activates Dopamine (pleasure) and Norepinephrine (fight or flight) pathways in brain
- Meth has a Half-life of 10 -12 hours and costs less than 1⁄2 the amount for the same high from cocaine
- No single profile of a meth user

## next 4 slides from  Methamphetamine: How it Influences the Brain and Behavior of Users Richard A. Rawson, Ph.DAdjunct Associate ProfessorSemel Institute for Neuroscience and Human BehaviorDavid Geffen School of MedicineUniversity of California at Los Angeleswww.uclaisap.orgrrawson@mednet.ucla.edu

## A Major Reason People 

- A Major Reason People
- Take a Drug is they Like
- What It Does to Their Brains

- 13

- 14

## Slide 18

## Methamphetamine abusers have abnormal brain activity.

- 16

## Natural Rewards Elevate Dopamine Levels

**Natural Rewards ****Elevate Dopamine Levels**

- 17

## Effects of Drugs on Dopamine Release

***Source: Shoblock and Sullivan; Di Chiara and Imperato***

**Effects of Drugs on Dopamine Release**

- 18

##     WHY IS METH SO DEVASTATING?

- Cheap, readily available
- Stimulates, gives intense pleasure
- Meth damages the user’s brain
- Paranoid, delusional thoughts
- Depression when stop using
- Craving overwhelmingly powerful
- Brain healing takes up to 2 years
- We are not familiar with treating it
- Youth are getting hooked – as young as 10 years old

## Short-Term Effects of Methamphetamine

_**PSYCHOLOGICAL**_
**Confidence**
**Alertness**
**Mood**
**Sex drive**
**Energy**
**Talkativeness**
**------------------------**
**Boredom**
**Loneliness**
**Timidity**

_**PHYSICAL**_**	**
**Heart rate**
**Respiration**
**Blood pressure**
**Pupil size**
**Sensory acuity**
**Energy**
**-------------------------**
**Appetite**
**Sleep **
**Reaction time**

- Source: Judith Cohen, Ph.D., Presentation to NASADAD, June 2005

**Notes:**
People like MA
Addictive—time varies, from immediate to years

Initially get a surge.  Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative

## Methamphetamine Chronic Physical Effects

- Tremors
- Weakness
- Headaches
- Sweating
- Coughing

- Dry Mouth
- Oily skin/complexion
- Burned lips/sore nose
- Dental
- Weight Loss/Anorexia

**Notes:**
As time goes on, picture changes

Feel poorly, ingestion causes burns, hurts gums

Loose a lot of weight.  One of reasons women use initially.

## WHAT TO LOOK FOR.....

- SIGNS AND BEHAVIORS THAT MAY INDICATE METH USE

## METH USE SYMPTOMS:

- Increased heart rate, shortness of breath
- Euphoria, lots of energy
- Moodiness, outbursts of anger
- Paranoia (“someone is following them”)
- Insomnia
- Hallucinations
- Blurred vision
- Dizziness

## METH USE SYMPTOMS:

- Uncontrollable movements, tremors, twitching
- Convulsions, seizures, strokes
- Sleep problems – awake for days, then sleeping for days to recover
- Excessive talking, grinding teeth
- Rotting teeth
- Skin lesions
- Weight loss

## “Tweaking”

**Repetitive cycle of bingeing **
**   ****with intervening crash**
**Can result in protracted withdrawal**
**Can appear early or later**
**Irritability**
**Jittery state (“He’s tweaking”)**
**Brisk, jerky movements, quivery speech**
**Thinking scattered, paranoid delusions**
**                                                                                                                                                        ****CSAT 1999**
**                                  **
**                                             **

## Effects on the Body

- Leads to deterioration of teeth

- Crank Bugs

## Effects of Meth on Individuals

## MethamphetamineChronic Psychological Effects

**-**  **Confusion                        -   Irritability**
**-  Concentration                 -   Paranoia**
**-  Hallucinations                 -   Panic reactions**
**-  Fatigue                             -   Depression**
**-  Memory loss                    -   Anger**
**-  Insomnia                          -   Psychosis**

- Source: Richard Rawson, Ph.D., Presentation to SAMHSA, August 2005

**Notes:**
Not only do you not feel well, your thinking and cognitive processes are impacted.

One of reasons women use, to help with depression, now is made worse.

## “Methamphetamine: Snapshot Phenomenon” Wurscher & Martin

- Criminal

- Psycho-case

- Sad-case

- wants
- recovery

- Doesn't
- want
- recovery

## SAFETY TIPS WHEN ENCOUNTERING A METH USER*

- Talk slowly, clearly and continuously in a non-threatening manner
- Stand still at 1st face-to-face contact
- Keep distance of 7 to 10 feet
- Keep your hands in front of you (any movement can be interpreted as a sign of aggression)
- Slowly, walk backing out maintaining eye contact until you are safely away from harm
- *National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children

## “The Brains of Addicts Are Different From the Brains of Non-Addicts		...And Those Differences		Are An Essential Element		of Addiction”	

**Some Treatment Information from Kathleen Masis MD****Capt, US PHS (ret)**

## Addiction to Meth is a Brain Disease

** ****Meth use results in brain changes **
**Cognitive, functional, and affective deficits**
**Impacts risk of violence, child abuse and neglect**

## Their Brains

** **
**  **
**Their *****Brains***
**  **
**   ****have been**** **** **
**      *****Re-Wired***
***       *****by *****Drug Use***

***Because...***

## Triggers lead to craving,craving leads to use

**Recovering from meth means learning how to stay away from the drug and people who use it**
**While brain chemistry slowly gets back to normal**
**Consequences need to be immediate, and concrete**
**Having to have a “clean urine” is a concept that doesn’t require too much “brain power”**

## Relapse Prevention

**Relapse Prevention**

**Access to Health**

**Get Started**

**Engagement**

**Access to Hope**

**Alliance**

**Access to Help**
**Outpatient or **
**Inpatient**

**Rehabilitation**

**Access to Support**

**Get Clean**

**Stay Clean**

**Stay Healthy**

**1st Week**

**2nd Week—12 Week**

**3—9 Months**

**9-24 Months**

_**Guide to Recovery from Meth**_

**Draft**

**Billings Area **
**Behavioral Health**

***Get Medical care & Exercise***

***Sleep, Eat & Drink Water***

## Care & SafetyUsing your senses

-  What to look for:
-  Glass pipes
-  torn baggies
-  Residue
-  Chemicals In odd places
-  Hypodermic Needles
-  Residue

## Stains on walls & floors

## Chaos & filth

_**Chaos & filth**_

## Meth in Indian Country

- Drug cartels target Indian country because of:
- Jurisdictional loopholes
- Large areas of unpatrolled land
- Shortage of law enforcement
- Poverty an incentive for Native youth to run drugs

## Percentage of U.S. Residents Ages 18 to 26 Reporting Past Year Crystal Methamphetamine Use, 2001–2002

- Percentage of U.S. Residents Ages 18 to 26 Reporting Past Year Crystal Methamphetamine Use, 2001**–**2002

**Notes:**
In 2001–2002, 2.8% of young adults reported using crystal methamphetamine in the past year, according to data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). While this rate is relatively low compared to the use of other drugs, it is higher than that reported by previous surveys (see CESAR FAX, Volume 16, Issue 28). The study also found that among young adults ages 18 to 26, men and persons living in the southern and western regions of the U.S. were more likely to use crystal methamphetamine. Other significant predictors of crystal methamphetamine use were being of Native American or white race and having an incarcerated father (see figures below).* Among women, crystal methamphetamine use was found to be significantly associated with drug selling, low condom use, and regretting a sexual situation due to alcohol or drug use (data not shown). The authors suggest the future research focus on the high prevalence rates among Native Americans, the effect of a father’s incarceration on methamphetamine and other drug use, and the relationship between methamphetamine use and criminal and sexual activity among women.

## Slide 44

## Indian Country Data

- Nationally Native Americans have the highest rates of meth abuse (1.7% for AI/AN & 2.2% Native Hawaiians)
- Other ethnicities:
- 	whites:0.7%; Hispanics: 0.5%; Asians: 0.2% and African-Americans: 0.1%
- On some reservations up to 30% of tribal employees have tested positive for meth (believed to be underestimated due to testing limitations)
- NSDUH, SAMHSA (9/05)
- 35% of high school seniors at Navajo Nation reported trying meth at least once in 2006 compared to 6.2% among seniors in 2004 (OJJDP)

## Indian Country Data

- 74% of Tribal police rank meth as greatest drug threat
- 40% of violent crime attributed to meth
- 64% of Tribal police report increased domestic violence and assault/battery
- 80-85% of Indian families involved with tribal or state child welfare systems have drug and/or alcohol abuse issues
- 45% of Tribal police report increase in child abuse/neglect due to increases in meth use
- BIA Law Enforcement Survey 2006

## Indian Country Data

- 35% of babies born between January & July 2005 on one western reservation were reported by physicians to test positive for pre-natal meth exposure
- Reports include increased suicides of teens and adolescents
- Increase in violent crimes
- Severe and terrible child abuse incidents (such as children being duct taped in closets, left to starve or suffocate)....

## TLPI research, 2006 – Three Western Reservations regarding Impacts of Methamphetamines on Child Safety

- 91.9% increase in Social Services workload from meth use
- 88.9% increase in child protection workload
- 78,4% increase in IHS workload
- 77.8% increase in prosecutor workload
- 62.2% increase in victim advocate workload
- 91.9% increase in law enforcement workload
- 83.8 increase in Tribal court workload
- 81.1% increase in DV workload

## ITS ABOUT OUR CHILDREN

-   STORY OF B

- STORY OF AMY