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HOME	CLASSIFIEDS	OBITUARIES	SPORTS	OPINION

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Film Shows the Perils of Methamphetamine Use

By By Lee Ross /
Mountain View Telegraph
      Those interested in rotten teeth, zombie-skin and alienation from friends and family will be interested in using methamphetamine.
       That’s the message of “Crystal Darkness,” a documentary film about the impact of the drug. The film was played at 6 p.m. on Friday at East Mountain High School with an introduction by state Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort, R-Sandia Park.
       The film features several young people, many of them from seemingly stable backgrounds, including the daughter of a police chief.
       “This (drug) can get a hold of anyone, at any socioeconomic level,” Beffort said, adding that methamphetamine is a more dangerous drug than some other illegal drugs. “This is not like smoking marijuana … I don’t think that regular families have a sense for the lethal nature of this drug.”
       Beffort gave her suggestion keeping kids off drugs.
       “Keep our children busy,” she said. “Keep them involved and keep them committed to their education.”
       The film also was shown at around the same time as the EMHS screening on five television stations: KOB, KRQE, KWBQ, KASA and KASY and the Spanish version played on Saturday morning on Telemundo. There were only about 10 people in the audience at EMHS, however.
       After viewing the film a few of them said they felt the film didn’t go far enough.
       “This was way too sugar coated,” said Bradd Schulke, a teacher at the school.
       Schulke said the film features attractive people who are no longer using methamphetamine. Due to the extremely addictive nature of the drug, Shulke felt that recovering addicts are actually a rarity, he said.
       Schulke attended a presentation put on by the Albuquerque Police Department, which had a much greater impact on him, he said.
       “It’ll scare the crap out of you. It scared the crap out of me,” Schulke said.
       Another member of the audience, Bill Hassley, spoke of the experiences he and his wife, Janice Hassley have had doing treatment foster care. They have been a foster parents for eight years and seemed to have an endless stream of stories.
       Bill’s son, Tyler Hassley, attends East Mountain High School and also watched the film with his parents.
       Bill told a story about a mother who, after bingeing on methamphetamine, passed out and rolled over her baby, smothering it.
       He said the children of addicts will often learn how to get drugs themselves, often finding ways of obtaining prescriptions from their therapists and psychologists. Other times there are more direct ways.
       Janice said they fostered a 6-year-old who cried because she wouldn’t pour beer in his breakfast cereal.
       According to Tyler, many of the kids also have social problems.
       “They just cling to you,” he said.
       Tyler said what makes it worse is that, many times, the kids’ parents get off drugs for a short time.
       “They get their hopes up … then the parents lose it,” he said. “It’s really, really sad … (The kids) just absolutely crash.”
       In spite of that, Bill said it is a truly rewarding job.
       “It’s the best thing we’ve ever done,” he said.
   

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