XPost: alt.drugs.meth, sci.engr.electrical.compliance

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/guelph-teens-on-crystal-meth-more-aggressive-impulsive-say-youth-workers-1.3224227

Young people addicted to crystal meth are more aggressive and impulsive, creating extra challenges for the Guelph outreach workers who are trying
to help them, according to one agency in the city.

Debbie Bentley-Lauzon is the executive director of Wyndham House, a
short-term shelter and outreach centre that works with with youth, and
she says that she has seen meth use rise over the past two years.

"Once a young person starts to use it, we do see changes in their
behaviours, their aggressiveness, their impulsivity, as well as a lot
of, from an agency perspective, a lot of theft and property damage
because they're just really focused on using meth, finding ways to
purchase it and keeping that going," said Bentley-Lauzon in an interview
with Craig Norris on The Morning Edition Friday.

Meth is a problem in Guelph right now, as police work to stop the steady
flow of the drug into the city and agencies such as Wyndham House work
to help people who've become addicted to the drug.

Data on meth seizures from Guelph police show the city saw a rise of
over 1500 per cent in the amount of meth seized by police in the city in
just two years, from 2012 to 2014. That has coincided with growing use
among younger people, and Lauzon-Bentley says she has seen meth addicts
as young as 16 and 17 years old.

"Quite frankly, it can be very overwhelming for staff when you see that
our aim is to provide a space where young people can take a breath out
of the crisis of homelessness or whatever the immediate crisis is," said Bentley-Lauzon. "Our aim to create that stable place for clients where
they can envision that they have a bright future is made very difficult
by the use of meth."

She said Whyndham House has had to re-examine their training and expand
the services and training they offer to staff, as well as bringing in
outside addictions counselors to work with clients and provide staff
education and training.

"We have seen some of our young female clients, in this community,
become involved in sex work to finance their addictions. They recognize
often that it's very devastating to their future, but at the same time
they're really stuck in such a corner that they can't see beyond that
that's really what they need to do, " said Bentley-Lauzon.

"I think what is kind of an unacknowledged or a hidden secret is that at Wyndham House not all of our young people knocking on a shelter door
come from homes where poverty is experienced. We have young people from
every postal code and every income level," said Bentley-Lauzon.

She encourages parents and community leaders to talk to kids early and
to be open about the problem.

"I think it's the idea that, maybe as a parent or as a community, if we
don't talk to them in advance, they won't know about it and it's not
going to enter their world, but it is here and it is prevalent and I'm
always shocked at how easy it is to get it," said Bentley-Lauzon.

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