The North End meth crisis is real

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/04/2019 (2532 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We’ve all seen the headlines over the last half year or so about violent assaults happening at an alarming rate. Seems like the police were tying everything to the “meth crisis.” 

At first I thought it was a bunch of hype. But after talking with many people in the North End, both street people and people in the community, it seems like the crisis is very real and dangerous indeed.

I asked a sex worker in the North End for her thoughts. Sylvia (not her real name) is 36 years old and has worked in the sex trade for half of her life and says she has used crack cocaine on and off for most of her time on the streets. 

Sylvia said that, in the last six months or so, life on the street has been getting really crazy and dangerous. She also said some of the working girls who have started using meth have lowered prices for their services drastically. 

Methamphetamine is a fairly inexpensive drug compared to crack cocaine, with the effects lasting much longer. For this reason, many former crack users have switched to meth. And, because it is cheaper, dealers have been cutting crack with meth. 

It seems like everyone I spoke to has a scary “meth head” story to share. A pizza delivery guy recently related that it has become very scary for him to make deliveries in the area. 

At an recent art show, I spoke with a volunteer for the Bear Clan, who said the headlines and stories are indeed real and scary.

“We are picking up needles in the thousands every week,” he said. 

Users of meth either inject the drug or smoke it in a glass pipe. The Bear Clan volunteer said his brother got into meth a few years ago. While his family tried desperately to help him, their efforts seemed to be to no avail until the brother decided it was time to straighten out and made an effort to quit a year ago on his own. He’s had a few relapses since but just recently decided to get professional help, as he realized he just can’t do it on his own.

Heavy stuff indeed. 

People use drugs for a variety of reasons. Sylvia has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) because her mother drank throughout her pregnancy. 

If you know someone in your family or anyone else using these dangerous drugs, let them know they’re not alone and that there is help out there for them. Show them that there are people who care.

Doug Kretchmer is a freelance writer, artist and community correspondent for The Times. Email him at quidamphotography@gmail.com 

Twitter: @DougKretchmer

Doug Kretchmer
North End community correspondent

Doug Kretchmer is a freelance writer, artist and community correspondent for The Times. Email him at dk.fpcr.west@gmail.com

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