As the Partnership for a Drug-Free America continues to help parents whose children have developed a problem with drugs or alcohol, we take every opportunity to support those who have made it through the darkest days; those who have been treated for the disease of addiction and are currently living a life in recovery. As people in recovery seek community, connection and support, the Partnership welcomes them to a new web destination at www.drugfree.org/lifeafter.

As part of the Partnership’s commitment to recovery, on Saturday, September 27th, Partnership staff, friends and family participated in A&E Network’s Recovery Rally which united thousands of people in a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge followed by a rally in City Hall Park in downtown New York City. The Partnership believes that recovery is an attainable goal, and should be celebrated and supported. Marching alongside so many people who are living proof that treatment works was inspiring, and renewed the Partneship’s commitment to ensure that families have access to treatment and other help for loved ones in trouble.

With the new Life After site, the Partnership strives to support the recovery community further by providing a place for those in recovery to share their stories, connect with others who have had similar experiences and find encouragement from friends and family. Even if you are not struggling with recovery yourself, please visit Life After to express your support or to be inspired by these amazing stories of success and hope.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America has launched a new beta Web site designed to celebrate stories of addiction recovery, and to bring a human face to the issue of substance abuse, which affects more than 22 million Americans. The site, called Life After, serves as a social network and inspirational showcase where visitors can share stories of hope, celebrate their recovery and find encouragement from friends and family.

While the site will feature stories of triumph over addiction to a variety of substances, the initial focus is on recovery from methamphetamine.

“Storytelling is an integral part of recovery,” said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. “For the first time, the Partnership is building an online community dedicated to helping those in recovery draw strength from their common experiences. These people are living proof that recovery from meth is possible, and that’s an extremely powerful message of hope, especially for friends and family of those struggling with addiction. ”

The goal of Life After is to raise awareness about the many faces of addiction, and to emphasize the critical role of friends and family in supporting those who are addicted through treatment and recovery. The site seeks to motivate and engage family and friends to become educated about these issues, and is designed to be a conversation starter between those in recovery and the public to exchange experiences, share concerns about the dangers of meth and other substance abuse and to provide support and guidance for those seeking to help a loved one.

To learn more about this site, visit www.drugfree.org/lifeafter.

Jim Cox, a twenty-year veteran of the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia, knows what it’s like to be out on the front lines fighting crime.

For as long as he can remember, Cox wanted to be in law enforcement. He was part of the first round of agencies that the Partnership for a Drug-Free America approached to launch Meth360, a multi-disciplinary community outreach program designed to enhance community efforts to deal with the impact of methamphetamine and raise awareness about the dangers of the drug.

The Partnership sat down with Cox, and asked him a few questions about the program, why meth is a danger and also delves into why he really gets up in the morning:

Q&A

Partnership (P): Good Morning, Jim. We’re turning the interrogation lights on you today, and are planning on asking some touch questions. You ready?

Jim (J): Ask away…

(P): So, how did you first hear about Meth360 and what was your first impression?

(J): My captain (Captain David Vice) told me he was sending my squad to a methamphetamine training class. Honestly, we thought we could do it better. (laughs) But then we realized that our training curriculum was designed for Law Enforcement Officers only. Meth 360 combines law enforcement, treatment and prevention professionals, and what we like most about Meth360 is it targets the public who we serve and protect.

(P): What would you like to tell other people about the program?

(J): This program is extremely informative and covers all aspects of methamphetamine use and abuse and the dangers of meth labs. It’s delivers comprehensive information about every side of the issue, and quite honestly, I wish this program was mandatory everywhere. It could quite possibly save lives, and our goal is to have it reach enough people across the country to make a significant impact.

(P): What is meth and why is meth such a danger?

(J): Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant drug, and users can develop a tolerance very quickly, needing larger amounts to get high. It’s absolutely devastating for communities. Meth affects children the worst, because they are often abandoned or abused, because meth completely controls and destroys their parents’ lives.

(P): Now that we’ve looked deeper into why Meth360 is so important, we also wanted to know why you really get up every the morning?

(J): Well, that’s an easy one… besides the fact that I want to help the people in my community, I also want to be there for my four-year-old twin daughters. My family is most important in my life, and I want to make sure that they are protected.

(P): Well, Jim, thanks for all of that insight. We really appreciate your time and effort. In closing, what inspirational quote gets you through the day?

(J): (laughs) I just keep telling myself, “Easy Tiger..” and go on with my day.

(P): Now we’ve heard it all. Signing off…

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America has launched Meth360, a  multidisciplinary community outreach program designed to enhance community efforts to deal with the impact of methamphetamine, and mobilize parents and concerned citizens to take action to prevent meth use.

Created in 2006 with funding from the United States Department of Justice, Meth360 pairs teams of law enforcement officers with substance abuse prevention and treatment professionals to co-deliver meth awareness presentations at local business and civic organizations, schools and parent groups. By encouraging presenters to work in teams and bring their own experiences and anecdotes to the presentation, Meth360 offers audiences a “360-degree” perspective of the meth issue. For presenters, Meth360 helps build bridges between law enforcement and social services providers in their efforts to protect families and communities from substance abuse.

Meth360 was pilot-tested in four regions, with support from four lead law enforcement agencies. The Partnership recruited and trained presenters in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Albany, New York; Pierce and King Counties, Washington and Fairfax and Prince William Counties in Northern Virginia. During the nine-month pilot, 170 volunteer presenters from all three disciplines delivered 200 presentations, reaching 7,100 community members.

“Communities must be involved if we are to win the fight against drugs,” said Sergeant James Cox of the Fairfax County Police Department, one of the first agencies participating in Meth360. “Meth360 has aided our Department in forming partnerships with the communities we serve-and with our own government- by delivering the extremely powerful message that accompanies this campaign. These partnerships will be long-lasting and treasured, and if other jurisdictions have the same success we have had with Meth360, I truly believe methamphetamine can be a drug of the past.”

Audience evaluations in the pilot areas indicate that 93 percent of those who saw the presentation said Meth360 “taught them more” about methamphetamine and 86 percent reported they would “take action” to help protect their community.

Subsequent research, conducted by The Police Executive Research Forum, shows that 100 percent of presenters who responded to a survey would recommend Meth360 to communities interested in raising awareness about meth use, and 98 percent stated that the multidisciplinary approach enhanced the program’s credibility.

The Partnership has now expanded Meth360 into ten new states, and has recruited lead law enforcement agencies to help establish and expand the program in each state. Meth360 is now operating in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina and Texas. Program participants are using a new Web site, www.drugfree.org/meth360, to train themselves to deliver and coordinate presentations. This resource is available to all agencies, free of charge, and includes all materials needed to implement Meth360.

With additional funding from the Office of Justice of Programs and the COPS Office, the Partnership is expanding Meth360 into ten more states in 2008-Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, New Mexico, West Virginia and Wisconsin-and is creating youth, parent and Spanish-language versions of the presentation.

To learn more about Meth360, please visit www.drugfree.org/meth360 or email meth360@drugfree.org.

What are the street names/slang terms for Methamphetamine?
Chalk, Crank, Croak, Crypto, Crystal, Fire, Glass, Meth, Tweek , White Cross.

What is Methamphetamine?
Methamphetamine (Meth) is an addictive stimulant that strongly activates certain systems in the brain.

What does it look like?
Meth is a crystal-like powdered substance that sometimes comes in large rock-like chunks. When the powder flakes off the rock, the shards look like glass, which is another nickname for meth. Meth is usually white or slightly yellow, depending on the purity.

How is it used?
Methamphetamine can be taken orally, injected, snorted, or smoked.

What are its short-term effects?
Immediately after smoking or injection, the user experiences an intense sensation, called a “rush” or “flash,” that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Snorting or swallowing meth produces euphoria - a high, but not a rush. After the initial “rush,” there is typically a state of high agitation that in some individuals can lead to violent behavior. Other possible immediate effects include increased wakefulness and insomnia, decreased appetite, irritability/aggression, anxiety, nervousness, convulsions and heart attack.

What are its long-term effects?
Meth is addictive, and users can develop a tolerance quickly, needing larger amounts to get high. In some cases, users forego food and sleep and take more meth every few hours for days, ‘binging’ until they run out of the drug or become too disorganized to continue. Chronic use can cause paranoia, hallucinations, repetitive behavior (such as compuslively cleaning, grooming or disasembling and assembling objects), and delusions of parasites or insects crawling under the skin. Users can obsessively scratch their skin to get rid of these imagined insects. Long-term use, high dosages, or both can bring on full-blown toxic psychosis (often exhibited as violent, aggressive behavior). This violent, aggressive behavior is usually coupled with extreme paranoia. Meth can also cause strokes and death.

What is its federal classification?
Schedule II
Source
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)