NTA's annual figures

I've been following with interest the debate that has followed since the release of the NTA's annual figures. Mark Easton, the BBC's home editor has reported on what he, like many others, sees as the farce that the NTA is trying to sell.

The NTA's figures concentrate on having 202,000 people in treatment last year but the people that left treatment drug-free was a bit lower - 7,324! I notice that they aren't shouting about that one! The NTA's focus is on getting people into treatment, that much is obvious, but for only a short time - 12 weeks. I say this because they have targets of 'retention in treatment' in which the box is ticked once people have lasted 12 weeks. But they don't have any targets for people leaving treatment drug-free! How can this be?

It seems to me that it's because the NTA aren't interested in getting people out the other side of treatment drug-free but rather more interested in getting people in for 12 weeks and job done! They don't care whether or not the service user achieves abstinence but rather that they are retained in treatment. The reason? So the public will think they're doing a good job and sleep safely in their beds tonight.

They do this by refusing point-blank to reduce the amount of methadone an individual will be receiving. It doesn't matter whether that person is stable, giving clear urine tests and meeting every demand they have. They will not reduce that methadone or send you to rehab, because they are scared to death that people will achieve a stable drug-free recovery and that will put them out of a job. The whole system stinks and people are starting to realise that, the charade is coming to an end. As the saying goes - you can't fool all the people all the time!

Millions upon millions are being wasted because the NTA won't admit they are wrong and change direction to focus on recovery and the things that will aid recovery, and not just keep on with their present tack of treatment for treatments sake, which, as their figures show, isn't actually helping many people to achieve drug-free lives. My fear is that when the public, as a whole, realise this there will be such a outrage at the wasted money that the drug and alcohol field's budget will be slashed and we'll be lucky to help many people at all.

Heroin addicted elephant is out of rehab

The bull elephant, named Xiguang or Big Brother, has finally finished his 3 year detox program, based on a tropical Island.

He had been force-fed heroin laced bananas by his captors, who were illegal traders based in China, so they would be able to control him. When these captors were arrested in 2005, Big Brother went into 'care' but initial attempts to detox him proved too dangerous as 'even iron chains could not contain him', the Chiana daily newspaper reported.

After this first, failed attempt he was transported to Hainan to start his medicated detox. Here he was given methadone injections at a dosage of 5 times the usual human dose. After a year the frequency of these injections was gradually reduced, at a very slow rate to minimise his discomfort. He was also treated to bathing and massage treatments as part of his detox program. 

Since finishing his program he has been relocated to a new home in the mainland city of Kunming, the capital city of his home province, Yunnan.  

I read this story in the Cardiff Metro newspaper on 5/09/08 and at first it seemed very sad, upseting me greatly. An elephant that couldn't have fully realised what was going on, was put through the hell of living with addiction and withdrawal. On thinking about it further though, it then occured to me that during his detox this elephant had received better treatment than most of the people I know who struggle with substance misuse problems - A holistic detox program which included substitute prescribing in a reduction plan, with massage and hot baths to boot, and to top it off, an aftercare program which included re-housing!

If only the treatment services for human beings were so caring and thorough in the delivery of their service. 

Outside the law?

I read with interest an newspaper article from around a month ago which highlighted the arrest of Hans and Eve Rausing for drugs offences after she was caught trying to smuggle heroin and crack into a function at the American embassy in London. When police searched the couples home in an exclusive part of Chelsea, they found more crack and heroin and nearly £2000 worth of cocaine. Hans is a heir to the multi-billion pound Tetra Pak drinks carton empire and Eve is the daughter of a Pepsi-Cola executive.

But none of this so far is very unusual, well ok, getting caught with class A drugs whilst trying to get into a party at the American Embassy has never happened to me but it's what I read next that bothered me. At a hearing at Westminster Magistrates it was announced that all charges are to be dropped. Yes, dropped! They are to receive conditional cautions. Exactly what this means I'm not sure but it's probable that they will have to attend some kind drug misuse programmes.

Why, just because they're well known socialites, should they be treated any differently? How can the Crown Prosecution Service justify treating this case differently to any other drug possession case? 

What gets me the most about this isn't the fact that they've been 'let off' but that this course of action isn't normally used. Surely it's better to offer the opportunity of good treatment options to those with substance misuse issues? We all know that throwing people in jail doesn't 'cure' addiction! It's obvious from this that when it's one of the middle/upper classes own that's been caught with drugs and admitted they have an addiction; they're treated a lot differently to the working class addict.

If this course of action is the right one for this kind of case why isn't it the course of action taken that is normally taken?

Addiction shouldn't be treated as a criminal issue. It's a health and social issue and therefore the answers to it will come from the health and social field.

Heroin drought in the South West

Apparently the police are doing well in their fight against heroin trafficking to the UK as there has been a severe shortage of heroin across the Midlands, into Mersey side and especially in Bristol, Cardiff and Newport.

Drug users are reporting heroin has been increasingly harder to come by over the last few weeks and the little that is about, is of a poor quality. This has got me thinking, how does this affect the heroin user? Some I know have actually stopped using, preferring to sit out the drought and wait for something better to come along. But from my past experience the usual response is one of desperation; frantic phone calls and a search to rival that of the 'great escape' to find something of some kind of quality. If that fails, people will buy whatever they can get their hands on to see them through. 

This can be dangerous, more so to the IV heroin user, as the only gear they can get their hands on is very weak, containing a very high percentage of adulterants and can cause even more damage to veins, liver etc than the heroin they're used to using plus of course they need to use more of it due to it's weak nature.

More worrying though is what happens when stronger gear finally makes it way through to street level. How a drought normally works is that there is a lot of rubbish gear around for a month or so, interspersed with gear of a better quality but only available in small amounts for a very limited time. So, everyone's tolerance drops during this time (quite severely in a lot of cases) and they're also injecting more gear in every hit. Then as quick as it has come, it's gone, and everything goes back to 'normal'.

It's obvious what can happen during this time - lots of overdoses. People aren't prepared for the stronger heroin and by the time you find out it can be too late. Two types of heroin can be exactly the same in colour and consistency etc but be very different in strength. Nobody believes a dealer when they tell you their gear is top quality and to take it easy - because they always say that, even if their gear is shite!

So I'd like to ask people to be careful and warn others to be careful too - the drought won't last forever so if you're going to use IV heroin then ask questions of fellow addicts about the gear your buying and if there is any doubt just push a little in, wait for it to hit you, settle into it, find out how strong it is before you put the whole hit in. If it is strong you can always keep it in the pin until a bit later.

To reach recovery you need to stay alive long enough for everything to click into place - use safely!

My experience of methadone reduction

When I went to my first appointment at the CAU (Community Addiction Unit) in Cardiff and asked for help in stopping using heroin and crack cocaine, I was told that they could give me methadone for the heroin addiction and there wasn't anything they could do for the crack habit. So I went on to methadone, starting at 20ml/day.

I told them that I was injecting a lot of heroin ( 1-2 grams/day), so would that amount of methadone be enough for me? I was then advised to 'top up with heroin' until the methadone had gone up to a high enough dose to hold me on it's own, and then to gradually reduce my heroin use. The problem was I couldn't control the amount of heroin I used, that depended solely on the amount of money I had, and nothing else! So I ended up on 120ml/day of methadone and I was still using the same amount, if not more, of heroin. I'd gone in with 2 addictions and come out with 3, in a right daze - basically I was up the creek without a paddle!

When push came to shove and I ended up in hospital, with an unconnected injury, for 8 months, I decided to look into rehab options. I met with my CAU key worker, explained that I wanted to get off the methadone as I wasn't using heroin anymore, and go to a rehab, I was told in no uncertain terms that she thought I wasn't ready for rehab and the local authority wouldn't be funding it.

As it happens that was probably for the best as I found a rehab myself, funded by housing benefit in Cardiff, that had a place for me. So I left hospital and went straight into LivingStones Rehab. I wanted to discuss reducing my methadone, so at this point I went to see my key worker again, really chuffed to be able to give my first negative urine sample(negative for heroin), She said that's great but I'd like to increase your methadone dose, just in case. I couldn't believe it, why raise it? I'd stopped taking heroin, was in a stable environment, with support and they wanted to raise my dose? After a lengthy discussion, she agreed to not increasing it but would have none of it when it came to talk of reducing it.

So I decided to write my own reduction plan, as I was on weekly pickup it was possible for me to measure it myself and discard the remainder. I decided on 10% drops every week, until I was completely off it. I let my key worker know my plan, accepted the flack she gave me and got on with it.

Every time I went in for an appointment after that I ended up being chastised for reducing myself,it was going smoothly but she still wouldn't agree to reducing as I wanted and would only drop it to the level I was on that day, so by the next week I was having to measure it and throw away the excess again. No matter what I said or how I explained it, the CAU would not reduce it for me, worse than that they put every barrier possible in front of me. This went on for months, in fact it wasn't until I was on 8ml/day that they realised I was serious about coming off methadone for good and actually started to reduce it for me when I asked.

At a time when I was taking huge steps forward the CAU were trying to drag me back at every opportunity, that was how it felt to me. I'd go as far to say they made it a lot harder than it could of been, it was only because I was so certain that I was making the right decision did I continue it alone. I didn't want to have to argue my point and defend my position at every appointment, I wanted supporting in what I was doing. It was my decision to reduce and it was a decision I didn't make lightly. But I was forced to fight a pitched battle all the way through my reduction.

It took me just over 5 months to get off 120ml/day of methadone, the sweating went on a lot longer but has also improved vastly! But there is one thing I'd like to know - Why was there so much opposition from the CAU to me coming off methadone? I have my own ideas about that but if there's anyone else out there who can help me understand this, then please let me know!

I'd like to add that I know the way the CAU acted was obviously in accordance with the directives passed down to them, and weren't local decisions. So the real question is - Why is it this way?

Wired In volunteers kick ass!

Earlier today I had a meeting with Rachel, a researcher from a TV production company based in London. The company she works for is looking to make a hard hitting, 2-part documentary about cocaine and heroin, which is planned to cover the whole process involved with drugs, that's everything from the farmers who grow the crops, to the street level user and the drug policy's that effect everyone, across the world.

They are looking for a city in the UK to film the heroin part of the program, and it looks like that city could be Cardiff! Rachel wanted to meet up with our volunteers to find out their feelings and thoughts on the issues facing drug users, how the drug policy's in place affect them and also to see if they wanted to be part of the cast!

Three of our volunteers were there, Chris Hobbs, Patrick McClellan and Brian White. It was a great meeting, everyone got stuck in debating the different issues that drug users are facing, from how people get into it, right through to how people get into recovery and what the treatment services can offer to them. We got on so well that three hours later we were still chatting! 

Rachel seemed to have a passion for the truth and I got a really good feeling about what her company wanted to do. But if there's one thing that stood out for me, it's how proud I felt of the guys there. They've come such a long way in a short time, and for them to be there, meeting with a production company researcher, who wants to put them on prime time! Well I'm filling up just thinking about it. Next stop Hollywood lads!

Everyone of the guy's there was an ex-heroin user. It just shows that addiction can be overcome and it is possible to have a fulfilling, active life after drug addiction. I'm not just talking about a lucky few people who manage to cling on to recovery by the skin of their teeth, I'm saying that EVERYONE who has a drug addiction has the potential within themselves to conquer it and live a free life again. That inner potential just needs to be realised and gently nurtured in a supportive atmosphere.

 

More drug re-classification???

I read with interest a story highlighted on today's Daily Dose, about the probable re-classification of both ecstasy and LSD, from class A to class B. I agree that both of these drugs are less harmful than heroin, cocaine and injecting amphetamine and so yes probably should be in a different, lower class. 

But what I don't agree with, is the way this announcement is going to be portrayed in the media. We will have scaremongering stories, sensationalist in nature, all describing ecstasy and LSD as the nastiest things since Hitler, indeed The Sun has already started, quoting headlines from 2001 and 1995, of two deaths linked to ecstasy. Stories from 7 and 13 years ago? If that is not scaremongering, I don't know what is!

The 'street' ecstasy of today isn't what it used to be, even 5-10 years ago ( I sound like my Grandfather talking about the old days with rose-tinted glasses!) It was a lot stronger then and also cost a lot more.  Today, E costs as little as £1 or £2 a pill and contains anything but MDMA. Perhaps, because of these changes, the party drug of choice isn't even ecstasy anymore, many people have switched to ketamin, taking it in combination with other 'uppers'. 

Maybe before newspaper editors print stories they should consider both sides of the argument and give an non-biased view - Fat chance!!

"The Journey"...An amazing production by Teen Challenge

Last night I went to watch a musical called "The Journey", a dramatic story of an addict's search for freedom, put on by Teen Challenge UK and hosted at the City Temple, Cardiff. I'm not really sure what I expected, but I was absolutely blown away by what I experienced. All of the cast were recovering addicts as were much of the crew. It was so powerful that I, amongst many, was in tears.

It charted one man's decline into drug addiction, with all of it's chaos, fear and pain, and followed his story right through until he had invited the life changing power of Jesus Christ into his life. All of the scene's having well thought out props with amazing music and lyrics to boot. It was a very accurate and true to life script, it didn't over sensationalise addiction, but nor did it pull it's punches either.

It ended with the lead actor, David Cartwright, giving his personal testimony about how Jesus had freed him from his own heroin addiction. He spoke of his life now - happily married, working in a Christian ministry with recovering addicts, with such a complete look of joy and freedom upon his face that his peacefulness shone from him.

Personally, it helped me to reconsider my position in life. Where I had come from, what I had achieved, and where I hoped my life will lead. It re-grounded me in my recovery, and I gratefully thanked the Lord Jesus for also ridding me of my addictions, reiterating my promise to follow his teachings and example in my everyday life. 

When I bump into old using friends, a common question from them is "how come you succeeded in quitting drugs this time when you'd failed so many times before. What was different this time?" None of them expect the answer they get, "Becoming a Christian and using Jesus' strength, not just my own". Life still has ups and downs, but now I have a mental and spiritual strength that I didn't have before, and a God that's always there for me. 

Check out the trailer on the Teen Challenge website.

 

The film of my recovery launches on the web!

This film chronicles my 15 year struggle with addiction and how I found my pathway to recovery. In addition, my mother, Kerry, explains the effect that my addiction had on her and the rest of my family.

Making this film was really emotional as I revisited some of the most difficult parts of my life. However, I feel that it was more than worth it as I have had the opportunity to reach out to others who are facing similar issues – giving them hope and encouragement that it is possible to break free from addiction and enjoy life again.

Since completing this film I feel that I have come a long way. I moved out of the rehab and into a shared house, continued with my voluntary work and then gained full-time employment as a Substance Misuse Worker. I’ve recently bought my own house with my girlfriend and I’m really enjoying life – the good and the bad!

As the film was shot in high definition, we have had to cut it up into eight sections so that it could be viewed on the web. There is also a shorter version (8 minutes long), which is a summary of my journey.

I hope that you enjoy this film and that you gain a better understanding of addiction and recovery. I would really appreciate hearing your feedback, so please do not hesitate to contact me (kevinm@wiredin.org.uk).