I went to the town hall meeting that BC Liberal Premier and Point Grey riding by-election MLA candidate Christy Clark had last Friday at St. Mark’s Church in Kitsilano, Vancouver.

I asked Premier Christy Clark a question about re opening the BC adult ADHD clinic at an adult hospital that the BC Liberal govt closed down in 2007 after it had a 12-14 month wait list for an entire year.

8% of kids and 5% of adults have ADHD so there are more adults with ADHD than children, and most don’t know they have it and many doctors have NO training on ADHD. UBC medical students only get 1 hour of training on ADHD. I get emails DAILY asking for names of people who can diagnose ADHD in adults & kids.

I would like to see the BC adult ADHD clinic opened at an adult hospital vs BC Childrens hospital, for obvious reasons plus an Adult Attention Deficit Disorder clinic will be more politically vulnerable to cuts or closure at a Children’s hospital. See this PDF on the Economic Costs of Ignoring ADHD by Dr. Margaret Weiss of the BC Children’s ADHD clinic

Here are my posts on the closure of the BC Adult ADHD clinic.

Adults with ADHD abandoned as clinic closes doors

1 year wait list for a full year for adult ADHD diagnosis embarrassing? Solution? Close down the clinic

Pete’s Global TV interview on “overwhelming popular” BC Adult ADHD Clinic closing doors to new adult patients

I told Christy Clark that 21-45% of criminals in jail have ADHD 15 clinical studies show. The UK screens all prisoners for ADHD, but we don’t.

I mentioned 20-30% of drug addicts have ADHD, but think I forget to mention tobacco is the #1 drug people with ADHD self medicate with. I said that the BC Liberal govt shut down the BC adult ADHD clinic after a 1 year wait list of an entire year. I then asked if she would commit to re opening the BC adult ADHD clinic?

I didn’t capture all of her response but she did say

“I don’t have enough information about the specifics of the program that you’re talking about, but I’m absolutely committed to working with you on it.”

She then talked about having an IEP for every kid in school and more about kids and education not specifically ADHD. I then mentioned that in BC if your child has ADHD and doesn’t have a learning disability or severe behaviour problem they’re not entitled to any accommodations. They might get some; it’s totally at the whim of the teacher but no legislation requiring any.

CKNW radio ran a 48 second clip on my question and Christy Clark’s response on the sat 11am news until the 3pm news including her saying the above quote I’m embedding the audio here, used with permission.

Audio of BC Premier Christy Clark answering my question on re opening the BC adult ADHD clinic on CKNW AM news may 11 2011

BC Premier Christy Clark answering Pete Quily’s ? on re opening the BC adult ADHD clinic May 11 2011 by ADDCoach4U

They also put a story on it on their website.

Calls for Clark to re-open ADHD clinic
VANCOUVER/CKNW(AM980)
Mike Bothwell
5/7/2011

“A B.C. group is lobbying new Premier Christy Clark to re-open a clinic that was closed by Gordon Campbell last year.

Pete Quily told Clark at a public meeting this weekend that more must be done to fight the devastating effects of ADHD.

“20-45% of prisoners have ADHD versus 5% of the population. The same thing with drugs… 20-30% of addicts have ADHD Would you commit to re-opening the B.C. ADHD clinic that your predecessor closed?”

The Premier told Quily she was not aware of the details of the program that diagnoses ADHD in adults.

She did not rule out the possibility of re-opening the clinic.

Also On Sunday morning CBC Radio One News also covered it during their newscast one of the members of my Vancouver adult ADD support group told me. Nothing on their website though, but here’s the copy of the story.

A BC group that supports adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or, has hope that a clinic could be re-opened after a talk with the premier.

Peter Quily, with the Vancouver Adult ADHD support group, confronted Christy Clark at a public meeting and asked her to restore funding the Liberal government cut, forcing the clinic to close.

Quily says the impact of ADHD is devastating, noting 20 to 45 per cent of prisoners have the disorder.

He also told Clark that schools could do a lot more to diagnose the problem earlier, but only those with learning disabilities or behaviour problems are singled out for testing

While I’m glad CBC covered the story, for the record, I didn’t “confront” Christy, just asked her a question during Q and A session at microphones like others, and did so politely. They also misquoted the 2nd part of my piece. I said that in BC if your child has ADHD and doesn’t have a learning disability or severe behaviour problem they’re not entitled to any accommodations. They might get some; it’s totally at the whim of the teacher but no legislation requiring any.

Christy Clark mentioned publicly to another questioner that her family had problems with alcohol, that her Dad was an alcoholic. Good that she had the guts to say that, one reason why people don’t seek treatment is because the shame and stigma is so severe. Seemed half or more of the questions were about mental health or addictions.

Christy Clark said her #1 health priority was brain based disease (ie alzheimers) #2 mental health. “We have to do a lot more for that”. I agree. Re opening the BC adult ADHD clinic at an adult hospital and implementing the BC Medical Association’s 8 policy recommendations on ADHD in their white paper on ADHD would be a good start.

Let your MLA or opposition party candidate know about this, and ask them if they will support reopening the BC adult ADHD clinic at an adult hospital.

Tell they why they should do it. Use your/family members story or tell them about this PDF on the Economic Costs of Ignoring ADHD by Dr. Margaret Weiss of the BC Children’s ADHD clinic

Use the BC MLA finder to contact your MLA

Let Christy Clark know what you feel about this

Contact the NDP

Contact the BC Conservative Party

Here’s yet another example of what happens when you don’t diagnose and treat ADHD, many of them will find other ways of treating it and one popular way is self medication via drugs and alcohol.

In the journal Addiction, there was a study of 600 adolescent cannabis abusers in outpatient treatment.

96% of them had DSM-IV diagnoses of substance abuse or dependence, the remaining 4% having at least one symptom of dependence plus significant problems indicating need for treatment.

30% of the teenage pot smokers had ADHD. Only 8% of kids and 5% of adults have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Only 20% of the participants perceived any need for help with problems associated with their drug or alcohol use. Clients participating in the study typically presented multiple problems at treatment entry, most often including conduct disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), internal (mental) distress, and physical health distress

Patterns of co-occurring problems are at rates comparable to those found in other clinical studies. Those with more severe substance use disorders tend to manifest more problems of social functioning, more mental health problems, and physical health problems. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of treatment needs, challenges, and prognostic implications.

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Pot isn’t the worst drug many ADDers self medicate with. How come people in the online and offline media and politicians who are talking about drug problems don’t talk about the links between ADHD and addiction?

As a follow up to my last post,

Here are 5 more studies on the well known (among those familiar with ADHD) links between ADHD and Addictions.

Or 5 more reasons why governments should start properly diagnosing and treating adults and children with ADHD now, or pay 100 times the price later in addictions and all the associated costs; crime, incarceration, additional health care costs, career costs, family damage, etc. And I’m not even mentioning the links between ADHD and tobacco and marijuana, which are the #1 and #3 most popular drugs for children and adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to abuse.

You can also look at my check 3 part series of posts on ADHD and Crystal Meth Part One as well as Part Two and Part Three.

1. 35% of Cocaine Abusers had ADHD

Comprehensive Psychiatry. 1993 Mar-Apr;34(2):75-82

35% of 298 treatment-seeking cocaine abusers met DSM-III-R (the previous version of DSM IV)
criteria for childhood ADHD. Those that had ADHD were 78% male, 93% had conduct disorder and 47% had antisocial personality disorder and report a history of conduct disorder in first-degree relatives.

Cocaine abusers with childhood ADHD were younger at presentation for treatment and reported more severe substance use, earlier onset of cocaine abuse, more frequent and intense cocaine use, intranasal rather than freebase or intravenous use of cocaine, higher rates of alcoholism, and more previous treatment. This pattern of cocaine use is consistent with clinical descriptions of self-medication of residual symptoms of ADHD in cocaine abusers. Data from this study suggest that there may be more cocaine abusers with a history of ADHD than previously recognized in clinical samples of cocaine users, and that these individuals may differ in clinically meaningful ways from those without childhood ADHD. Moreover, the poorer outcome of subjects with ADHD in this sample underlines the importance of identifying and treating residual symptoms of ADHD in cocaine abusers.

2. 24% of Psychoactive Substance Abusers had ADHD

J Clin Psychiatry. 2000 Apr;61(4):244-51

Two hundred one participants were selected randomly from 2 chemical dependency treatment centers

Forty-eight (24%) of the participants were found to meet DSM-IV criteria for ADHD. The prevalence of ADHD was 28% in men (30/106) and 19% in women (18/95; NS). Seventy-nine participants (39%) met criteria for conduct disorder, and 34 of these individuals also had ADHD. Overall, individuals with ADHD (compared with those without ADHD) were more likely to have had more motor vehicle accidents. Women with ADHD (in comparison with women without ADHD) had a higher number of treatments for alcohol abuse.

CONCLUSION: A significant overrepresentation of ADHD exists among inpatients with psychoactive substance use disorders. Over two thirds of those with ADHD in this sample also met criteria for conduct disorder. Our sample had a very large overlap between ADHD and conduct disorder, and the major comorbidities identified here were attributable largely to the presence of conduct disorder. Individuals who manifest conduct disorder and/or ADHD represent a significant proportion of those seeking treatment for psychoactive substance use disorders. They appear to have greater comorbidity and may benefit from a treatment approach that addresses these comorbidities specifically through medical and behavioral therapies.

3. 32% of Cocaine Users and Alcoholics had ADHD

American Journal of Drug Alcohol Abuse. 1999 Aug;25(3):441-8

Of 136 inpatients with an SUD (substance use disorder) diagnosis (cocaine vs. alcohol vs. cocaine/alcohol) 32% had ADHD.

There were no significant differences in the percentage of ADHD between the SUD+ groups divided by drug choice…. Patients with cocaine use were more likely to have ADHD in childhood only when compared to the alcohol or cocaine-alcohol groups. The findings of this study indicate that ADHD is prevalent in treatment-seeking substance users without difference in prevalence or subtype by drug choice.

4. 70% of Crystal Meth (Methamphetamine) Inpatients had ADHD

Journal of  Addiction Disorders. 2005;24(3):133-52.

Methamphetamine-dependent inpatients (N = 51) were screened for childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using the Wender Utah Rating Scale upon admission to 30-day inpatient treatment. Baseline assessments included neuropsychological tests of executive function, memory, information processing, verbal fluency, attention, motor skills, and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), a measure of psychiatric symptomatology. The thirty-six participants (70.6%) screening positive for ADHD reported significantly more frequent methamphetamine use prior to baseline. Baseline cognitive functioning was similar between groups, but the presumptive ADHD participants exhibited significantly worse psychiatric symptomatology. At three-week follow- up, 41 participants (80.4%) repeated the neuropsychological battery and BSI. All 10 non-completers screened positive for ADHD. The entire sample improved with abstinence in most neuropsychological domains except memory. The presumptive ADHD group failed to improve on tests of attention. All participants demonstrated significant reductions in psychiatric symptoms with abstinence.

Methamphetamine-dependent individuals with ADHD symptoms are common and pose a significant treatment challenge.

5. 83% of Inhalant Abusers and 55% of Methamphetamine Mbusers in Japan had ADHD.

Psychiatry Clinical Neuroscience. 2005 Feb;59(1):102-5.

They examined the childhood histories of 54 methamphetamine users and 12 inhalant abusers in Japan using the Wender Utah Rating Scale.

The inhalant abusers experienced initial drinking at a younger age than methamphetamine abuser…83.3% of inhalant and 55.6% of methamphetamine abusers had higher scores than the cut-off for ADHD. These findings suggest that drug abuse is associated with childhood ADHD, and that inhalant abusers have a higher incidence of childhood ADHD than methamphetamine abusers.

There’s more on the links between ADHD and addictions on this page of my 100+ ADD resource website

A study in the Journal Alcohol and Alcoholism looked at 91 adults with alcohol dependence and 61 adults with multiple substance addiction and they determined if these patients were affected by ADHD.

RESULTS: 20.9% WURS-k (Wender Utah Rating Scale) 23.1% (DSM-IV diagnostic criteria) of the alcohol-dependent patients showed evidence of retrospective ADHD affliction in childhood. With the help of CAARS, (Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scales) ADHD was proved to be persistent in 33.3% of the adult patients.

But Adults with ADHD are only 5% of the population.

In the group of substance-addicted patients 50.8% (WURS-k) and 54.1% (DSM-IV) presented with diagnostic criteria for ADHD in childhood and 65.5% (CAARS) showed evidence of ADHD persisting in adulthood.

Again Adults with ADHD are only 5% of the population.

CONCLUSIONS: These results reveal that habit-forming illnesses can be associated with a high comorbidity with ADHD, expressed in the form of alcohol abuse and also in consumption of illegal drugs. The results underline the great importance of early and adequate diagnostics and therapy of ADHD for the prevention of habit-forming illnesses.

While adults with ADHD are only 5% of the population, ADDers are dramatically over represented in people who are addicted to alcohol and drugs, the SMALLEST numbers I’ve seen on ADHD and addiction are 20-25% in peer reviewed clinical journals in Pub Med, (a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine indexing articles from MEDLINE and other life science journals for biomedical articles) and I’ve frequently seem much larger ones. If adults with ADHD aren’t diagnosed and treated, and 85% of them aren’t, they will find ways to treat themselves or self medicate. Some will self medicate in positive ways with exercise, work or hobbies they enjoy, meditation and sex. Others will self medicate with alcohol and drugs, tobacco, food, and gambling, because they all boost dopamine, the brain chemical ADDers are short of and that the ADHD medications increase.

So at a minimum, adults with Attention Deficit Disorder are 4 times more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, there’s no controversy at all about those numbers by those who know ADHD. But in the media, government, the health bureaucracies and the education systems often seem to be totally oblivious of this. Even if you don’t care about us as human beings, the financial costs of NOT diagnosing and treating adult ADHD are huge. And we’re not even talking about the higher rates of eating disorders, depression, dsythemia and anxiety, let alone crime (also off the charts) among Adults with ADHD. But on the flip side there are billionaires with ADHD, and also many strengths associated with ADHD, properly managed.

Here’s some articles and blog posts on the links between ADHD and addictions.

There is a huge problem in my hometown Vancouver BC Canada with drug and alcohol abuse and trafficking and associated crime, violence and homelessness, we’re in the middle of a civic election and yet no one is mentioning the connection between ADHD and these problems. No politician, no one in the media is talking about it. Peter Ladner candidate for the NPA isn’t talking about it, Gregor Robertson, candidate for Vision Vancouver. Or COPE. I searched on their websites for ADHD and found nothing. We really need a full time adult mental health advocate at city hall. Even though mental health is a provincial jurisdiction, Vancouver often pays the biggest cost of the provincial government’s inaction on mental health. There is no BC provincial adult mental health advocate, there should be one.

It’s hard to find someone in BC to diagnose and medically treat ADHD, so few are trained in it because it’s not being adequately taught in our medical schools, and I get people emailing me and phoning me to find out where to get diagnosed for ADHD several times a week. The BC Liberal (really neo-conservative) government closed down down the only provincial Adult ADHD clinic at childrens hospital because it had a 1 year wait list, which was politically embarrassing. Kill the wait list, avoid bad media coverage about long wait lists. I contacted the NDP (the left wing opposition) repeatedly to help raise the issue in question period but I kept getting shuffled around, promises were continually made and nothing happened. We got coverage on BCTV but no other media outlet and the BC adult ADHD clinic is still dead and the patients are still abandoned.

So diagnose and treat ADHD in children and adults now, or pay a hundred times the price or more in financial terms and in human suffering later, your choice citizens. You’ll be paying the cost one way or another.

When politicians have something to confess, it’s usually after everyone knows about and they can stay in denial no longer. For some denial never ends until the cell door closes. Political courage is unfortunately in short supply these days.

That’s why it’s refreshing to see a politician admit a something potentially politically damaging on his own accord.

George Smitherman is the Liberal health minister for Ontario and is openly gay, he says coming out on this is “much more terrifying.” He said for 5 years in the early 90′s he was addicted to street stimulants used as “party drugs”. He didn’t list the type of drug(s), possibly crystal meth?

Smitherman took the gutsy step of revealing his personal struggle at this week’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Courage to Come Back Awards, although he gave few specifics.

“When I saw that word `Courage’ so large behind on the screen it really made me realize it would really not be right to mount the podium and make the traditional greeting,” he said. “So I said what was in my heart. I left the room a better person. It was liberating. If it comes back to haunt me, so be it.

He saw a drug specialist psychiatrist for individual counselling, and cut out friends related to his “party scene”.

Conservative Leader John Tory handed him a note of support in the Legislature this week.

Double surprise, opposition leader showing some class instead playing “attack the perceived wounded at all costs”.

“But both his grandfathers were gamblers and he wonders if that played any genetic part in his substance abuse.”

One thing he might consider is the link between addictions, gambling and ADD. Not saying he has it, but it’s probably worth spending a bit of time investigating the possibility. ADD is the #2 genetically inherited condition.

This article on ADHD and gambling by Nina Littman-Sharp and Umesh Jain of Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is worth a read

There is evidence to suggest that a considerable subset of problem gamblers have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), with characteristic features of impulsivity and difficulty sustaining attention. The two disorders, problem gambling and ADHD, interact on various levels; for instance, gambling impulses are poorly controlled and ADHD symptoms such as chronic boredom, depression and low self-esteem are relieved by the stimulus and reward of gambling.

I blogged earlier about the relationship between crystal meth and ADD. Here’s some articles on ADD and Addictions

Many people with ADD self medicate with alcohol, drugs and tobacco since they all boost dopamine levels in the brain, a neurotransmitter associated with ADD and one the ADD stimulant medication improve the availability of.

People who have undiagnosed ADD are more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs the the general population. It seems like booze, pot, tobacco, crystal meth and coke are the favorites.

Looks like attending AA support groups + treatment improve the odds of staying sober, than just those who get treatment, according to a recent study via Psych Central

A study in the October issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research tracks individuals for 16 years who have first acknowledged their alcohol-use problems and then chosen Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), treatment, or both. Findings indicate that people who become involved in both AA and treatment fare better than those who obtain only treatment.

We know that self-help groups, such as AA, contribute to better alcohol-related and psychosocial outcomes,” said Rudolf H. Moos, senior research career scientist for the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Palo Alto, California, and corresponding author for the study. “For example, patients with alcohol use-disorders who participate in AA, and those who attend more meetings and/or participate for a longer time, are more likely to be abstinent and to maintain remission up to five years after an episode of professional treatment than patients who are not involved or less involved in such groups. Affiliation with AA also is associated with more self-efficacy and problem-solving coping skills, and better social functioning, which are linked to better alcohol-related outcomes.

Wonder if there’s been any similar type studies on ADD support groups?

One, individuals who enter AA relatively quickly after initiating help-seeking, either alone or in conjunction with treatment, are more likely to participate in AA in the subsequent 15 years and participate in AA more frequently and for a longer duration,” said Moos. “Two, a longer duration of participation in AA is associated with a higher likelihood of continuing remission up to 15 years later. Three, individuals who obtain professional treatment and participate in AA in the first year after initiating help-seeking are more likely to achieve remission for up to 15 years later than are individuals who obtain professional treatment alone. Finally, individuals who have achieved remission but who discontinue participation in AA are at increased risk for relapse; individuals who have not stopped drinking and who discontinue participation in AA are more likely to continue drinking.”

So for those who might think AA meetings aren’t important and they can “do it alone”, this might be a bit of a wake up call.

Here’s some articles on ADD and Addictions on my ADD website

Check out Part One and Part Two of the Crystal Meth Series of posts.

For those that might think that Meth is just another drug, here’s some evidence to the contrary and some mulitpart articles on Meth from different popular media stories. This is why the ADD Meth connection is so important to deal with, the consequences of ignorance can be devastating.

Here are some Faces of Meth. First, Theresa Baxter, before using Meth

Here’s Theresa after 3 years and 5 months later after using Meth.

The Oregon Live has a photo gallery with more here. Here’ a video clip that tells the story behind the faces of Meth. Here’s their Five-Part Series Unnecessary Epidemic.

Here’s an award winning series of articles on Meth in Kitsap county in the state of Washington. Unfortunately no mention of ADHD.

One of our local papers the Vancouver Province did a weeklong series on Meth, very interesting articles, gives many viewpoints, but no mention of ADHD.

Here’s one article from that series, which discusses the impact of Meth on a user.

Dr. Bill MacEwan, a psychiatrist who heads up the University of B.C.’s Schizophrenia program, and the Psychosis program at St. Paul’s hospital says Meth is more addictive than cocaine and more psychologically damaging than heroin. Meth has been even known to induce schizophrenia.

“After extended use, the brain actually begins to require the drug in order to release the dopamine. No drug, no pleasure. Then there’s the intense craving for more, brain cell death, paranoia, hallucinations and psychosis…the cognitive impairment as a result of fried brain circuitry can last a lifetime”

“The flipside is that after extended use, the brain actually begins to require the drug in order to release the dopamine. No drug, no pleasure. Then there’s the intense craving for more, brain cell death, paranoia, hallucinations and psychosis.”

There’s an 18-minute video, Death By Jib, that interviews Meth addicts and their stories, pretty raw, designed to be shown in schools.
To buy a copy, call 1-800-263-6910, or go to Kinetic Video.

Update: check out Part One and Part Three of the Crystal Meth Series of posts

More on the missing (in the public media at least) ADD connection with crystal meth.

The Journal of Addictive Diseases has an article called “Cognitive deficits among methamphetamine users with ADHD symptomatology.”

The preliminary data suggests that executive function deficits and some of the symptoms associated with long-term MA use may be due to the fact that a large proportion of MA addicts had ADHD symptomatology as children.

Here’s a word document that lists various articles. that link no longer works, the study below I believe is from this Patterns of initial methamphetamine use, Jennifer Carnell, Rachel Gonzales, Sara L. Simon (West Los Angeles VAMC Medications Development Unit) & Richard Rawson (Matrix Institute on Addictions) which I can’t find a link for. They talk about a study of 95 meth users

“One third of the subjects (32%) who began using between the ages of 10 and 15 reported doing so because of the calming effect that methamphetamine had on them. These participants were classified using the Wender Utah Rating Scale as having ADHD symptomatology. No other age group included such a large number of participants with ADHD symptomatology.

So 1/3rd of teens using meth in that study had ADHD.  Only 8% of kids & 5% of adults have ADHD.

It also helped the ADDers focus. Well that’s what ADHD stimulant medications also do, only they aren’t made from drano and paint thinner and while they have some side effects, becoming psychotic, and schizophrenic aren’t part of them.

This detailed clinical article on Emedicine discusses the toxicity of Meth and mention it affects not only dopamine but 2 other neurotransmitters involved with ADD, norepinephrine and serotonin see the Pathophysiology section.

Here’s what Wendy Richardson, an addiciton specialist and the author of When Too Much Isn’t Enough: Ending the Destructive Cycle of AD/HD and Addictive Behavior says

The problem is that self-medicating works at first. It provides the person with ADHD relief from their restless bodies and brains. For some, drugs such as nicotine, caffeine, cocaine, diet pills and “speed” enable them to focus, think clearly and follow through with ideas and tasks. Others chose to soothe their ADHD symptoms with alcohol and marijuana.

The problem is that self-medicating brings on a host of addiction-related problems that over time make our lives much more difficult. What starts out as a “solution” can cause problems including impulsive crimes, domestic violence, addictions, increased high risk behaviors, lost jobs, relation-ships, families, and death. Too many people with untreated ADHD, learning and perceptual disabilities are incarcerated, or dying from co-related addiction.

Self-medicating ADHD with alcohol and other drugs is like putting out fires with gasoline. You have pain and problems that are burning out of control, and what you use to put out the fire is gasoline. Your life may explode as you attempt to douse the flames of ADHD.

Here’s some articles on ADD and addictions. For more info on meth see this site which has clinical articles, and presentations on it. Here’s a former users’ meth site with articles, recovery sites

I’m not suggesting that all or even a majority of meth users are undiagnosed or untreated ADDers self medicating.

What I am suggesting is that there probably is a sizeable percentage of them who are. The mainstream media, health authorities and criminal justice system should realize this and start addressing it.

It’s also a wake up call for parents who don’t want to get their kids diagnosed for ADHD or don’t want to give their kids ADHD medication when they’re diagnosed and don’t really give them much other treatment. Not saying everyone must have meds but if you don’t use meds you need to use something else and it’s probably going to be a longer and harder road.

If a child or young adult has ADHD and you don’t use meds or deal with it effectively with some other methods, ADHD coaching, cognitive behavioural therapy, diet, exercise, tutoring, etc, you risk them dealing with it in a negative way through alcohol, tobacco, pot, or drugs like meth. There can be a heavy cost to denial.

Update: check out Part Two and Part Three of the Crystal Meth Series of posts

The Christian Science Monitor had a article on the meth epidemic.

A recent survey of 500 law-enforcement agencies by the National Association of Counties finds that 87 percent have seen increases in meth-related arrests in the past three years. Most county sheriffs now say meth is their main drug problem, connected to increases in robberies, burglaries, domestic violence, assaults, identity thefts, and child neglect.

As of 2003, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 12.3 million Americans had tried methamphetamine at least once – up nearly 40 percent over 2000 and 156 percent over 1996.

A BBC report on the same survey said half of the counties surveyed said 20% of people in their jails were there because of meth-related crimes. In some places it accounts for more than 50% of people detained, and law enforcement officials say burglaries, domestic violence and assaults have increased because of it.

It’s a problem in Canada too. The CBC Fifth Estate recently did a 41 minute documentary on it called the Dark Crystal. The full version is available to watch online

It’s a good video, one thing they mention is that meth lasts ten times longer than cocaine and is much cheaper. “Some kids say they get hooked after one or two tries”

I’ve read a variey of articles on the meth problem and haven’t seen much in the popular media on the possible ADD connection. People who have undiagnosed ADD are more likely to abuse alcohol and drug, since alcohol, tobacco and every illegal drug beside hallucinogens boost dopamine levels in the brain, the same neurotransmitters the ADD stimulant medications work on. Adders have lower levels of dopamine in their brains compared to non ADDers.

I have some articles on ADD and Addictions on my website here.

I’ll be listing some clinical articles detailing the connection between meth and ADD in my next post.