Rock Bottom series, Part 1: ‘We are a meth community’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/04/2018 (2434 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man brutally beaten in a Brandon motel room last June, left unconscious after getting kicked in the head several times, so hard the footprint of the assailant’s shoe was left imprinted on his face.

A former deacon and priesthood holder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who provided a fake name to multiple Brandon businesses in September, trying to defraud them of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.

Two men who threw an ice block at a security guard and punched him in the head with a pair of brass knuckles after getting caught smashing car windows in a hotel parking lot in December.

A woman who called police after her son came home and allegedly pointed a sawed-off hunting rifle in her face and laughed.

What these four crimes — and hundreds more the court system deals with every year — have in common is methamphetamine.

Methamphetamine, or meth as it’s commonly referred to, is a synthetic drug commonly made in hidden labs by mixing extracted ingredients from common cold medications with chemicals such as battery acid, drain cleaner or antifreeze.

The concoction can cause irreversible damage to the body — extreme weight loss; an increased or irregular heart rate, which can lead to cardiovascular failure; high blood pressure; damaged blood vessels in the brain, increasing chances of a stroke; as well as liver, kidney and lung damage.

“They’re shrivelling up from the inside out,” said local advocate Kim Longstreet, whose son is an IV meth user. “They start exhibiting signs outside their body that let you know that their body is struggling on the inside … You know it’s bad and it’s hard to watch.”

Users can also experience hallucinations, paranoia and increased aggressiveness. In some cases, users may suffer brain damage that leads to problems even after recovery.

“Methamphetamine is highly addictive … It seems that people develop a much stronger addiction to methamphetamine, and those who are addicted … tend to exhibit a little more violent behaviour and exhibit extreme paranoia,” Brandon Police Service Sgt. Dave Andrew said. “It’s typically cheaper to purchase than cocaine … so because it’s cheaper, people are experimenting with it and then getting addicted.”

In 2016, Brandon police issued 12 meth possession and trafficking-related charges, Andrew said. This skyrocketed to 54 meth-related charges in 2017.

So far in 2018, there have been 13 meth-related charges.

“We have seen an increase in a number of crimes … many of which have a correlation to the increase of methamphetamine in the community,” Andrew said. “Weapon offences and individuals in possession of weapons has certainly gone up. That includes firearms, knives machetes, and pellet guns that people are carrying for intimidation purposes. Violent crimes such as robberies, assaults, break and enters and thefts also (have increased).”

Plans on how to tackle the meth problem in Brandon and the fallout that comes with it are ongoing, Andrew said, but one of the major things BPS has done is increase the number of members in its drug unit.

“Members will be specifically assigned to investigate and gather intelligence and information on those involved in trafficking methamphetamine within the city,” Andrew said. “That’s not to say we’re going to stop our investigations with regards to other drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, but we certainly understand and recognize that methamphetamine is a growing issue within our community and we will have members specifically working on those investigations.”

The amount of meth and its ease of availability on the street is shocking, Longstreet said.

“The surge of meth in our community should frighten the hell out of people,” Longstreet said. “It’s shocking, and if people don’t think it’s worrisome, that is also a problem.”

Longstreet has shifted her focus toward raising awareness and getting the community involved, she said, hoping her rally cry will encourage more people to stand up and demand better from elected officials at the municipal, provincial and federal levels.

“Our community, whether you like it or not, is now a meth town. We are a meth community. This is meth Brandon,” Longstreet said. “There’s a whole generation of kids growing up who are not going to know my Brandon … the Brandon I grew up in. They’re going to grow up never understanding what it meant to not have needles on the streets … We have to teach our children about meth, about the destructiveness of meth, that meth comes in needles and what you have to watch for … This is the community we have now. This is your Brandon, now.”

As part of this series, The Brandon Sun arranged to speak with several individuals, either in the throes of an addiction to methamphetamine or in the recovery process.

The majority of these individuals did not show up for interviews that had been scheduled and stopped responding to messages and phone calls.

That’s not surprising, Longstreet said, due to how deeply meth-induced paranoia can creep in.

“You are going to be hard-pressed to find someone addicted to meth that is willing to discuss their experiences … An interview can become something bigger in their mind … and cause them to worry unnecessarily,” Longstreet said.

That paranoia can also lead to fear of saying something that might bring them harm, Longstreet said, adding that she has heard of legitimate fears among users as well.

“There was an incident in our community where if you weren’t toeing the line, you might be sold what you think is meth, but was possibly battery acid,” Longstreet said. “There’s a code on the street … I have it in good confidence that it has happened … so you don’t talk.”

Some family members of addicts, however, were ready to share their story — a nightmare each of them said they never dreamed they’d have to live through.

“Addiction affects everyone, and it can happen to anyone … from those living in poverty to well-off, church-going people,” one family member, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “It doesn’t discriminate.”

Read their stories in part two of this series in next Saturday’s edition of The Brandon Sun.

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