A drug which is often associated with the gay community is to be re-classified as a Class A substance, the Home Office has announced. The decision to re-classify Methylamphetamine, or ‘crystal meth’, has been on experiences of countries overseas, says the Home Office. Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said: “The decision to re-classify methamphetamine is based on international experience and has been taken on the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). 

“Countries have to decide how to respond to a drug when it has no significant prevalence but potential for serious social problems. Methylamphetamine is a very substantial problem in many countries outside the European Union (EU) but not within it. “Reports that the United Kingdom (UK) is on the verge of a crystal meth explosion have been repeated for some years but to date there has been no reliable evidence to support this. 

“However, international experience shows it has the potential to be extremely damaging to individuals, families and communities. It is on this basis that the ACMD recommend we reclassify it, fully supported by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and we accept their advice.” 

Methylamphetamine is most commonly known by its street name of crystal meth. A number of studies have identified an association between risky sexual behaviour and methylamphetamine, particularly among sex workers and gay men. It can bring on a feeling of exhilaration and produces increased arousal and activity levels. It causes a rapid heart rate and a rise in blood pressure, and the higher the dose the greater these effects. The substance is a derivative of amphetamine but it is much more potent than other forms of the drug, with potential for greater physical and psychological harm. 

Simon Bray, ACPO lead on methylamphetamine and Commander in the Metropolitan Police Service, said: “ACPO is pleased that on the advice of ACMD, the Home Secretary has decided that methylamphetamine is to be reclassified as a Class A drug. 

“The serious and well documented dangers associated with production and use of this drug in all its forms will now be substantially easier to combat as a result of this reclassification. It will also become possible to close down, for long periods, premises used as illicit ‘meth’ laboratories (a power for Class A drugs only). As a result of this change, police forces will now include methylamphetamine within their Class A enforcement strategies and people will be deterred by the penalties for making, dealing or using methylamphetmine.”

To locate a drug rehab for the treatment of crystal meth addiction call 1-800-99-DETOX or go to www.recoveryconnection.org.

Drug Rehabs, Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centers and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centers 

Drug rehabs, Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centers, alcohol rehabilitation centers, drug treatment programs, drug rehab centers, alcohol rehab centers, alcohol rehab programs, chemical dependency treatment centers and substance abuse treatment centers are all terms used to describe the same thing - a safe and supportive environment for recovery from drug addiction and/or alcoholism, with an emphasis on drugs and alcohol rather than mental health. They are usually in the form of a residential treatment facility, but can also be intensive outpatient rehabilitation or day treatment, or partial hospitalization (also called day/night) treatment programs - this last form is basically a type of center that takes on the same form and can provide the same level of care as a residential drug rehab or alcohol treatment center, but utilizes more that one location for treatment - often a center for counseling and treatment by day, and a separate therapeutic residential setting at night. Drug and alcohol treatment centers, whether they are residential treatment centers or day/night treatment centers both provide a nurturing, safe, and supportive setting to recover from drug addiction and alcoholism. Outpatient programs and intensive outpatient programs are more aptly suited to individuals who have already completed a higher level of care or primary residential drug treatment of one sort or another, or individuals whose addictions to drugs - whatever the drug - alcohol, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines (meth, crystal meth, speed), other opiates (Vicodin, Oxycontin, morphine, methadone), barbiturates, or benzodiazepines (valium, Xanax, Ativan, Klonipin to name a few) are already out of the individual’s system through either a process of detoxification, whether it’s rapid opiate detox for opiate addicts or heroin addiction, standard opiate detox in the form of substitution therapy and detoxification (using more cutting edge treatments such as Subutex, Suboxone, Buprenex or Buprenorphine), or standard detox and detoxification from alcohol using either benzodiazepines or barbiturates to treat the withdrawal symptoms, or other standard detox protocols. Individuals who hope to find success in an outpatient treatment setting must already have some level of distance from drug use and abuse or alcoholism, and must be stable and have the ability to function in an uncontrolled environment when not at the addiction treatment center for rehabilitation services. 

Drug rehabs have existed since the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, however at that time they were not called drug rehabs or alcohol treatment centers, they were called “asylums” and the disease of addiction and alcoholism (as defined by the American Medical Association) was not seen as being a disease or an illness at all. It was wrongly categorized as a disorder no different from schizophrenia or other psychoses, which is why many drug and alcohol treatment centers began as what would have been considered at the time mental health hospitals and mental health treatment centers. To this day, drug rehabilitation and alcoholism wards of hospitals, substance abuse treatment centers in general that are located within hospitals, are more often than not directly related with the mental health treatment and behavioral healthcare treatment center hospitalization programs. The disease concept of alcoholism and drug addiction has only existed since the 1950’s, and even then took some time to become widely accepted, it’s growth coinciding fairly directly with the growth of twelve-step programs, the first and most well known of which being AA or Alcoholics Anonymous. Today the field of drug and alcohol rehabilitation and drug treatment centers has grown into a nation full of treatment centers which specialize in treating drug addiction and alcoholism, the majority based on 12-step methodologies, and calling themselves alcohol rehabs, drug rehabs, recovery centers, retreat centers for drug and alcohol rehabilitation, detox programs, outpatient rehabs, inpatient rehabs, residential rehabs, and a slew of other terms that all describe the same thing, as mentioned above - safe, supportive environments in which trained professionals (hopefully), often drug addicts and alcoholics in recovery themselves who have gone through drug rehabilitation programs themselves and decided to go on and share their recovery with others by going to schools and becoming certified chemical dependency counselors (CCDC), certified alcohol and drug counselors (CADC), certified alcohol and drug addiction counselors (CADAC), getting master’s degrees in addiction studies, becoming licensed clinical social workers with a focus on drug and alcohol addictions and treatment of those additions (LCSW’s) or certified Marriage and Family Therapists, and even psychologists and developmental psychologists with a focus on addiction treatment and drug and alcohol rehabilitation. 

Before choosing you should educate yourself about the different types of addiction treatment programs available. You should also talk with a counselor to find out which would be best for you. The first step on the road to recovery is admitting you have a problem and getting help. 

Around a thousand people, including some of the nation’s foremost experts in treating, researching and developing responses to methamphetamine use, gathered at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City as Science and Response: The 2nd Annual Conference on Methamphetamine, HIV and Hepatitis got underway Thursday. Sponsored by the Salt Lake City-based Harm Reduction Project, the conference aimed at developing evidence-based “best practices” for responding to meth and emphasized prevention and treatment instead of prison for
meth offenders. 

This year’s conference was uncontroversial — a marked change from the first one, also held in Salt Lake City, which was attacked by congressional arch-drug warrior Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) because presenters openly discussed the impact of meth on the gay community. Souder was also incensed that the US Department of Health and Human Services provided limited financial support for the conference, and authored a successful amendment to the appropriations bill funding the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy calling for an investigation of the conference and HHS policy. 

“The fact that there is absolutely no controversy this year indicates more than just a leadership change in Congress. It shows that our approach — bringing together all the stakeholders and families affected by meth — is the right one,” said Harm Reduction Project executive director Luciano Colonna in a statement on the eve of the conference. 

While Colonna sounded sanguine in the statement above, he was less so as he opened the conference Thursday morning. Visibly choking up at times as he sounded the theme of this year’s conference, “500 Days Later,” he noted that since the first conference in August 2005, “thousands have died or been incarcerated.” And Colonna could not resist a reference to Souder and ideological allies in Congress. “There’s no need to mention the names of cheap mudslingers because their party lost,” he said to loud applause. 

“I’m tired of seeing meth users incarcerated because of failed theories and practices followed by many treatment providers, faith-based groups and other organizations,” Colonna said. “We look to the criminal justice system to solve our problems, and its participation has been a result of our failure. Just as with the homeless, veterans, and the mentally ill, we have failed as a system of care and as a country. We have the audacity to attack the criminal justice system as if the strands of this mess can be separated out, but we are all culpable.” 

If Colonna wasn’t going to name names, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson had no such compunctions. As he welcomed attendees to his city, Anderson hit back. “I will say Souder’s name,” Anderson proclaimed. “We shouldn’t ever forget the people who caused so much damage. They don’t care that needle exchange programs help injection drug users avoid HIV; they have the attitude that if people use drugs, they deserve what they get. People like Mark Souder would rather make political hay out of tragedy rather than having the integrity to deal with issues based on facts and research.” Looking for an effective drug rehab program, go to www.lakeviewhealth.com 

Citing drug use surveys that put the number of people who used meth within the last year at 1.3 million and the number who used within the last month at 500,000, Anderson pointed out that, “If it were up to Souder, they would all be in prison.” 

Mayor Anderson, a strong drug reform proponent, had a better idea. “Those numbers are the purest case for harm reduction,” he argued. “We know there are people who will use drugs and we can reduce the harm, not only for them and their families, but for all of us. The current approach is so wasteful and cost ineffective. And thanks to you, treatment programs are much more available, but in too many areas, you have to get busted to get affordable treatment. It is time to make treatment on demand available for everybody,” he said to sustained cheering and applause. 

Given the topic of the conference, it is not surprising that attendees are a different mix than what one would expect at a strictly drug reform conference. While drug reformers were present in respectable numbers — the Drug Policy Alliance in particular had a large contingent — they are outnumbered by harm reductionists, treatment providers and social service agency workers. Similarly, with the event’s emphasis on “Science and Reason,” the panels were heavy with research results and presentations bearing names like “Adapting Gay-Affirmative, Evidence-Based Interventions for Use in a Community-Based Drug Treatment Clinic,” “Stimulant Injectors From Three Ukraine Cities,” and “The Impact of Meth Use on Inpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities for Youth in Canada.” 

The mix of interests and orientations led to some fireworks at the first conference, especially around the issue of stimulant maintenance therapy, or providing meth users with a substitute stimulant, such as dextroamphetamine, much as heroin users are prescribed methadone. Such issues may excite controversy again this year, but an opening day panel on the topic caused only a few raised eyebrows — not any outbursts of indignation. The controversy is likely to come in Vancouver, where Mayor Sam Sullivan recently announced he wanted to implement an amphetamine maintenance pilot program with some 700 subjects. 

With three full days of plenaries, panels, breakout session, and workshops, last weekend’s conference not only provided information on best practices for educators, prevention workers, and treatment providers, but also helped broaden the rising chorus of voices calling for more enlightened methamphetamine policies. In addition, the conference pointed the Chronicle to a number of meth-related issues that bear further reporting, from the spread of repressive legislation in the states to the effort to expand drug maintenance therapies to stimulant drugs like meth and the resort of some states to criminalizing pregnant drug-using mothers. Look for reports on these topics in the Chronicle in coming weeks. 

DALLAS (AP) - The acceptance of a predominantly gay Dallas megachurch into the United Church of Christ means that about a quarter of the mainline denomination’s members in Texas and Louisiana attend the same church. The North Texas Association of the Cleveland-based UCC voted 32-9 last month to admit the 4,300-member Cathedral of Hope after a yearlong courtship. The cathedral bills itself as “the world’s largest liberal Christian church with a primary outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”

 

The cathedral, which became the fourth largest church in the denomination, was spurred to affiliate with the UCC after its controversial decision last year to endorse gay marriage. It is the largest Christian denomination to do so.

 

“They are a progressive denomination, and they have taken progressive stands all along,” said the Rev. Michael S. Piazza, the cathedral’s national pastor and dean. “When they took that vote, it really made it clear that was our home.”

 

About 140 churches in the 5,700-church denomination left the UCC. The Puerto Rico conference of the denomination, which has about 60 churches, also has decided to depart, though some individual churches may stay, said the Rev. Bennett Guess, UCC spokesman.

 

That number has been partially offset by 65 churches that have expressed interest in joining, the most since the UCC was formed in 1957 by the union of the Congregational Christian Churches in America and the Evangelical and Reformed Church.

 

The Cathedral of Hope is part of a “continuing drumbeat of new churches” since the denomination’s rule-making body overwhelmingly approved a resolution in July 2005 endorsing same-sex marriage, Guess said.

 

“The future of the UCC is much brighter because they are on the right side of history,” Piazza said. “The future generation has no homophobia. They won’t tolerate people who won’t accept their family and friends.”

 

In the early 1970s, the 1.3 million-member UCC became the first major Christian church to ordain an openly gay minister. The church declared itself to be “open and affirming” of gays and lesbians 20 years ago.

 

“The UCC is clearly going after a certain niche in American society who are very liberal and have a particular religious vision that includes inclusiveness,” said John Evans, associate professor of sociology at University of California, San Diego. “They are becoming the religious brand that is known for this.”

 

The long-term effects of that strategy remain to be seen, Evans added.

 

Eighty percent of the Protestant denomination’s members live in the Northeast or industrial Midwest, but it seems to be making increased inroads as an alternative in the South, where conservative evangelical churches dominate. Four years ago, the 5,500-member Victory Church in Stone Mountain, Ga., became the UCC’s second largest church.

 

Before the Dallas cathedral’s application was approved, the denomination had only 13,648 members and 85 churches in Texas and Louisiana.

 

“I hope that we help initiate a dialogue about what it means to be a vitally alive, vibrant congregation in terms of worship and vision. I think that’s a direction the UCC is seeking to go,” said the Rev. Jo Hudson, senior pastor of the cathedral, which gives away $1 million a year in community assistance.

 

The cathedral separated from the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches in 2003 after a dispute regarding Piazza’s financial management. The congregation voted a year ago to seek affiliation with the UCC, although ties with the denomination go further back.

 

Piazza said a 1997 congregational vote authorized exploration of denominational affiliation with the UCC. But the potential union met obstacles including a resolution preventing the North Texas association from “knowingly” ordaining gay or lesbian ministers. The resolution has since been repealed.

 

Times have changed, said John Vigus, the association’s parliamentarian.

 

“I think people have more of any understanding that instead of condemnation of one’s lifestyle, that maybe we don’t agree with them, maybe we wouldn’t live the gay lifestyle ourselves, but we shouldn’t be condemning it,” he said. “Maybe that was wrong. We’ve been doing it in the past, but maybe we were wrong.”

If you are looking for a gay friendly alcohol rehabilitaion program go to www.gay-rehab.com.

Alcoholism Treatment

In seeking the right alcohol addiction treatment, there are many considerations– 

•  Available alcohol addiction treatments vary considerably from state to state. Some states provide government-funded alcohol addiction treatment, while others provide no government supported alcohol treatments or services. The federal government does not require states to fund alcohol treatment, but it does provide many incentives for states, such as through individual program grants as well as statewide block grant funds. Click this link for information about private alcohol abuse treatment programs and individual alcohol treatment programs. 

•  Consider the severity of your (or your loved one’s) alcoholism. Some people may require medically supervised alcohol detoxification before other alcohol treatments can begin, while others may benefit from outpatient or residential alcohol treatment. 

•  Elimination of many of the past taboos about the role of medications in alcohol treatment has expanded available alcohol treatments. There are many promising prescription medication treatments that help effectively reduce alcohol withdrawal symptoms and cravings and enhance the likelihood of a successful recovery programs. The decision about the intensity of alcohol treatment depends upon your (or your loved one’s) readiness to begin a recovery program, whether additional conditions are present (such as depression, trauma, anxiety, etc.), and the severity of symptoms.

A gay friendly alcohol treatment program can be found at www.gay-rehab.com or you can call the national alcohol treatment helpline at 1-800-99-DETOX.