Production is down, but not consumption|[9/11/06].

As a substance abuse counselor in 1990, Michael Abraham was proud to discharge his first client. The client had made great progress in 30 days and was ready to re-enter the world sober.

But only a day after the client left the Chemical Dependency Center at Warren-Yazoo Mental Health, he was killed on the streets during a drug feud.

&#8220This job can definitely be heartbreaking,” he said. &#8220These people come in, and you watch them get clean, get healthy, but then so many times you watch them just turn back to what put them in here in the first place.”

Abraham, now director of the Chemical Dependency Center at Warren-Yazoo Mental Health Service, sees such struggles every day.

&#8220What can keep you going is the success stories and the gratitude from those you’ve helped,” he said.

Abraham keeps a cardboard box on his bookshelf. Inside is a small gift – some New Orleans Saints memorabilia – and a letter of thanks from a former resident.

As he reads the letter aloud, Abraham smiles at the sincere appreciation from a man grateful to be clean for 116 days and to hold a new, steady job in a men’s clothing store.

&#8220This is what keeps me going. It’s the little things,” he said.

And while meth might not be the top drug of choice for most people who seek treatment at WYMH, it’s still a dangerous problem in Warren County, Abraham said.

Meth comes in many forms and can be smoked, snorted, orally ingested, or injected. The drug alters moods in different ways, depending on how it is taken.

Immediately after smoking the drug or injecting it intravenously, the user experiences an intense rush or &#8220flash” that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Snorting or oral ingestion produces euphoria – a high but not an intense rush.

Making meth is easy but dangerous. Its key ingredient is pseudoephedrine, a chemical found in over-the-counter cold medicines like Sudafed. Anyone with cold tablets and a few other ingredients – iodine and lithium from a battery, for example – can prepare meth without any special equipment.

Effective July 1, 2005, medicine retailers – most of which had already limited sales of Sudafed and similar over-the-counter remedies – came under a new state law requiring controls.

The law has had an effect.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Department has made 53 meth-related arrests since 2004 and located and dismantled 32 meth labs, said Sheriff Martin Pace. The number of labs is falling.

&#8220What we’re seeing now is more arrests for possession and intent to sell because there’s been a switch to more potent form of imported meth from Mexico and Southern California and fewer of the local backyard meth labs,” Pace said.

The Vicksburg Police Department has arrested 30 people on meth-related charges since 1999.

Deputy Chief Richard O’Bannon agreed limits on legal amounts of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine that can be purchased and requiring a photo ID have cut local production statewide – but not necessarily consumption.

&#8220Meth manufacturing really reached its peak in 2003 and 2004,” he said. &#8220But now the trend is we’re seeing more importation of it from the border states.”

A recent drug study by the University of Arkansas found that meth has the highest use rate among white people 18 to 29. It’s the drug of choice for young, white, blue-collar men, although use in women is on the rise. It’s most commonly found in rural areas because of the nature of its manufacturing.

&#8220This is not something that’s usually done in neighborhoods because it smells. Neighbors would be tipped off too easily,” said J.B. Edwards, director of the Chemical Dependency Unit at Marian Hill.

&#8220These people will make it in one place, then move so they can’t be traced,” he said.

Pace said manufacturing is done primarily in more rural areas because the odor of chemicals is less noticeable.

&#8220But that’s not to say we haven’t located them in more urban areas, including local motel rooms,” he said.

Statistics show 95 percent of those who try meth get hooked on the drug.

Chemical dependency on such drugs as methamphetamine changes people, he said.

&#8220Addiction is progressive. It only gets worse,” he said. &#8220But it won’t let you come in to get help if you haven’t really lost anything substantial.”

It takes hitting rock bottom for a person to realize they want to change for the better, he said.

&#8220When they come here, they’re pretty beaten up physically and mentally,” he said.

Both Edwards and Abraham said the treatment process is strenuous.

&#8220The hardest part is breaking through that denial,” Edwards said. &#8220Willingness to get help is the key to recovery.”

Edwards said he treats chemical dependency as an illness.

&#8220I always tell them that you first have to believe that you’re sick. Otherwise, why would you want to get well? Then I tell them they have to forgive themselves. Chemical dependency is a no-fault illness,” he said.

Marian Hill, which Edwards classifies as an acute care chemical dependency treatment center, sees both adolescents and adults.

&#8220In adolescents, we see mainly marijuana and alcohol as the drugs of choice, but we have seen meth cases. In adults, it’s mainly crack cocaine, alcohol and opioids or prescription pain medications,” he said.

The center has 22 beds for adults and 12 for adolescents. Edwards said about 22 people are enrolled in treatment at any given time. Treatment lasts two weeks.

&#8220The majority of people it takes several times to be successful at being sober,” Edwards said. &#8220Chemical dependency is a high relapse illness.”

At WYMH, a 25-bed nonprofit treatment center, Abraham said treatment lasts about 30 days.

&#8220We make sure they stick to a somewhat strict schedule of activities, but we also include recreational activities like fishing or even karaoke to make them realize they can have fun while being sober,” he said.

Both treatment programs are based on the 12-step process established with Alcoholics Anonymous.

&#8220We try to empower them to understand why they made those bad decisions,” Abraham said.

And while WYMH doesn’t have a detoxification process, Abraham said he and Edwards have a good working relationship and often refer patients to one another’s facilities.

&#8220We all want what’s best for the people who want to get help,” Abraham said.

Pace said many factors have contributed to the increase in meth-related arrests and the bigger focus on meth education in the community.

&#8220As far as meth is concerned, we’re seeing some positive impact of the new law. That coupled with aggressive enforcement and general community knowledge of the dangers of meth shows that all efforts are working,” Pace said.

In recent years, local law enforcement and local treatment centers have teamed with other community businesses, organizations and individuals to form the Make A Promise Coalition for a Drug-Free Warren County. The goal of the coalition is to provide drug education and prevention programs to students and adults in Vicksburg. The coalition recently received a new $100,000 grant.

Warren County Drug Court was established last year. The court handles cases of felony drug offenders not charged with violent crimes of the sale of drugs.

Though not mandated by state law, the program was encouraged statewide in 2002 by then-Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Ed Pittman to combat drug use statewide.

Long-term effects