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| Randy Pumphrey, executive director of the Lambda Center, a substance abuse treatment facility for gays, said traditional intervention can help family and friends force a crystal methamphetamine addict to face his or her addiction. |
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
By: JOE CREA COMMENTS
 
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help the addict
and it is often the case that an individual must hit their “bottom” before
they recognize they have a problem.
“For one person, it might be losing their job or a suicide attempt,” LaFleur
said. “One of the most common bottoms is usually an HIV-positive diagnosis.
Then they start looking into treatment.”
But LaFleur said that families and friends can try to “raise the bottoms” of
the crystal meth user through an intervention or therapeutic mechanism such
as the help they could receive from entering a treatment program, like the
Harm Reduction Groups where users go to minimize their dependency on drugs.
The purpose is to get the user to start thinking about his or her problem and
what it is doing to their lives, LaFleur said.
He said it is critical to evaluate the relationships between the family member
and the addict.
“How open is he? Is there good communication,” LaFleur said. “Then
you can work your observation [of suspected drug abuse] into the conversation.
Start asking the person about the drug. Have you ever used it? Do you have
any friends who use it? That kind of dialogue is good.”
Families and friends often recognize that their loved one has a problem following
drastic changes in their character over a short period of time — usually
within six months — said Beth Wheeler, a social worker at the Lambda
Center. Symptoms of meth abuse can include dilated pupils, sweats, twitching,
paranoia and depression. (See related sidebar on Page 22)
“The change in behavior is especially acute if the addict [prior to
taking drugs] was unde
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