P: Impacting on Our Industry?

In the words of a former addict and camera woman:

“I used to work as a support person at Higher Ground and I am in recovery for drug addiction. Working in the rehab, I definitely saw people come through there that had been in the film industry. Mostly, the guys I have noticed who are on it are the ones who have had to work the longest hours. Really, it’s just the accidents that happen that are the most dangerous things… dropping lights and things like that. I think it’s pretty underground; people wouldn’t talk about it. People wouldn’t say ‘He’s out of his head on P’. It’s all very hush-hush and quiet. No one would ever talk about it.”

“I used to wake up in the morning and get stoned before I would go to work. It was a daily routine. I could still function, but fortunately I didn’t need to work over a long period of time. Over time things got worse. In the end, I wasn’t working at all. When I was at work I was okay, but then what [the drug] did was it created me not to work at all. I couldn’t maintain work or do work. So, yes, it affected me in that I was just too lazy to do a job.”

“I worked for (a TV network) for years, when I was using, as a Camera Assistant. I was already addicted to whatever I could get my hands on, before my [Class A] addiction. From quite early on, really. When I was quite young lollies were really full on for me. I NEEDED to have lollies to go to school, I would steal money to buy lollies. So I had weird associations. Later on I just started seeing a guy who was using, and I pretty much just tried it because of that.”

“Addiction was a quick thing for me. It didn’t take very long at all. Like the first time I had it. Straight away, psychologically. Physically it probably takes a little longer. Just depends on how much stuff you do. But I was into it every day. Took just over a few weeks, really.”

“The mother of a boyfriend I had at the time was a counsellor and she said… ‘You’re actually a drug addict’, and I said… ‘Oh… oh yeah.’ The boyfriend checked me into rehab and rang me there quite a lot, explaining what an addict is, and I got to understand it a bit more. I tried to stop, and that was the first time I had ever tried to stop. That was the first time I realized, ‘Oh, no… What’s this about?’ I had always just thought that if I wanted to stop, I’d stop. When I tried to stop then, I found I couldn’t. That was when it was a bit scary.”

Methamphetamine, or ‘P’, is having an impact on the NZ film industry. This epidemic is one of our industry’s best-kept secrets, but it is continuing to escalate into a full-scale problem. Many crew members have been taken in by the allure of staying ‘up’ during long, arduous shoots, but have inevitably fallen victim to the downward spiral of addiction.

At a recent branch committee meeting of the Techos’ Guild, it was agreed that the issue is becoming serious. Crew members, from ADs and DoPs to runners, have had their lives and careers shattered by addiction. This article does not seek to point fingers, or to relate sordid stories, but it does seek to inform people about the perils of this drug, and what you can do to help someone in trouble.

What is P?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), methamphetamine is second only to marijuana as the most widely abused illicit drug in the world; and it is the most prevalent synthetic drug manufactured in the United States. It is extremely addictive, and its grip is growing yearly within New Zealand shores.

Methamphetamine goes by many slang names, including speed, meth, chalk, ice and crank, but in New Zealand it is most commonly referred to as P - short for ‘pure’. According to the NZ Police, P as a term is unique to our nation, though it is sometimes used overseas to describe methamphetamine that is smoked from a glass pipe.

Methamphetamine is a stimulant that radically affects the brain’s chemistry, as well as the rest of the central nervous system. It can be made from relatively low-cost household materials, such as drain cleaner, lithium batteries and engine starter fluid.

The drug can also have an aura of danger or cool attached that serves to amplify its appeal.

This widespread adoption of P hasn’t only impacted the culture of the NZ film industry, but has reached into Auckland’s upper class elite. In a recent article in the NZ Listener, according to an unnamed Auckland socialite, “The growing hosting arrangement in better-off circles is to have someone there who’s sort of a walking pharmacy.”

There are even P connoisseurs, according to the socialite, “who go for the more expensive and purer ‘rocks’; lunching ladies who drop it in their coffee like artificial sweetener.”

A UN global drug-use survey in 2001 found that 3.4 percent of Kiwis had used methamphetamine, making us second only to Thailand. The most comprehensive study in New Zealand, by Massey University’s Dr. Chris Wilkins, found that 10 percent of all 18- to 29-year-olds had tried it by the end of 2004, with about a third of those becoming frequent users.

Methamphetamine is often consumed in pill form, or in powdered form by snorting or injecting. Crystallized methamphetamine is a smokable and more powerful form of the drug. It can also be taken anally, in a method known as ‘shelving’. Users, particularly during the withdrawal phase, can be prone to acute psychosis or even commit acts of extreme violence. Methamphetamine is considered a Class ‘A’ drug (alongside heroin and cocaine) and is controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1975. The maximum penalty for production and distribution is a life sentence.

Why are people drawn to P?

Often people are lured into using P regularly by the initial good feelings that it engenders. After smoking or injecting P, the user experiences a ‘rush’. This initial rush only lasts for a few minutes, but is followed by a high that can remain for upwards of 6 hours.

The longevity of the high is particularly appealing for film crew members, as it helps to reduce fatigue and maintain productivity. This is also part of the reason why it is popular with lower socio-economic groups, as it helps to alleviate the tedium and strain of repetitive, demanding tasks and long work hours, such as in factory work.

The psychological effects of methamphetamine use include euphoria, increased alertness, feelings of increased strength and energy, intensified sexual desire, increased confidence, and even feelings of invulnerability. These feelings are in themselves enough to secure long-term use.

Where does P come from?

Methamphetamine was first synthesized over a century ago in 1893 from the drug ephedrine by the Japanese chemist Nagayoshi Nagai. In 1919, crystallized methamphetamine was developed, also in Japan. One of methamphetamine’s earliest known uses was during World War II, when the German military dispensed it under the name ‘Pervitin’. It was distributed widely amongst the Third Reich’s war machine, finding its way to every division, from infantry to aircraft. Chocolates laced with P were known as ‘Fliegerschokolade’ or ‘Flyer’s Chocolate’. Hitler’s physician Theodor Morell even injected the Fuhrer with methamphetamine as a cure for fatigue and depression. Some say that the injections were to treat Hitler’s Parkinson’s disease; others that his Parkinson’s-like symptoms were in fact caused by abuse of methamphetamine…

Methamphetamine was sold widely to the Japanese public in the late 1940s, and was also distributed in America as a prescription medicine, supposedly curing everything from alcoholism to narcolepsy. Methamphetamine was banned by the Japanese Ministry of Health in 1951. Its prohibition led to the rise of the Yakuza, a crime organization who profited from illegally manufacturing the drug. Illegal manufacture took off worldwide in the 1960s, and continues unabated to this day.

How does P work, and how does it affect the user?

Methamphetamine differs from other amphetamine-based stimulants like cocaine, in that it acts for a much longer duration. It is a potent central nervous system stimulant that affects the neurochemical mechanisms responsible for regulating heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, appetite, attention, and mood. The effects of the drug apparently resemble the psychological effects provoked by the natural ‘fight-or-flight’ response, including increased heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar.

P induces, in addition to its more positive side effects: diarrhea, nausea, excessive sweating, and an increased agitation. The flip side of the user’s increased energy and attentiveness also includes a compulsive fascination with repetitive tasks. Other common side effects include insomnia, ‘jaw-clenching’ (also known as Bruxism), and panic attacks. Some of the more visible side effects associated with P addiction include excessive weight loss and rapid tooth decay, often exacerbated by poor dental hygiene, referred to colloquially as ‘meth mouth’. It can also lead to ‘Amphetamine Psychosis’.

Amphetamine psychosis can include delusions, hallucinations, and thought disorder. The link between amphetamines and psychosis was first established during the Second World War and was originally thought to be only a rare condition. It is now known that the hallucinations are generated by an increase in dopamine and serotonin activity in the ‘mesolimbic pathway’ of the brain, in combination with sleep deprivation, also a side effect of the drug.

Hallucinations are frequently reported by chronic abusers: in as many as 80% of all users. Aside from visual and auditory hallucinations, the user is subject to delusions, paranoia, hyperactivity, and persecution mania. Chronic abusers may also display repetitive and apparently purposeless movements known as ‘motor stereotypes’ or ‘tweaking’. Tweaking may include excessive examining, sorting, or cleaning. This behavior is similar to the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Another mania associated with chronic P use is called delusional parasitosis, or ‘Ekbom’s Syndrome’, where addicts believe themselves to be infested with parasites.

This behaviour can manifest itself in a non-psychotic way, where a user will realize they are not infested by parasites but will pick at their skin regardless. Again, parasitosis closely resembles obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Other detrimental effects can include elevated blood pressure, kidney disorders, liver damage, malnutrition, irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain, and strokes. While P is not in itself deemed to be life-threatening, it is now thought to lead to brain damage.

Recent studies by two laboratory researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have provided conclusive evidence that abuse of methamphetamine is associated with changes in two systems of the brain. The studies also found that methamphetamine abusers have reduced cognitive and motor functions, even one year after having quit the drug. The researchers also concluded that it has more neurotoxic effects than either heroin, cocaine or alcohol.

Brain imaging studies revealed alterations in the activity of the dopamine system that are associated with reduced motor skills and impaired verbal learning. Studies have also revealed changes in the chronic abuser’s brain regarding emotion and memory, which may account for emotional and cognitive problems observed in long-time addicts.

How do users become addicted to P?

The addict’s initial ‘rush’ is stored in their subconscious. The subconscious learns through association that methamphetamine use brings immediate pleasure. The user’s subconscious memory actually remembers their initial ‘high’, and continually reinforces the desire to recapture that experience and the feeling that it created. These euphoric effects often lead to addiction.

It is rare that a person using methamphetamine will ever again experience that initial ‘rush’. This is because the drug suppresses and depletes the normal chemical messengers on which the brain relies to produce positive feelings. The brain adapts to the presence of methamphetamine by decreasing the normal chemical messenger. The addict needs to increase the amount to recapture the pleasurable feeling. Eventually, the addict reaches a dead end and crashes, as their mind and body reach breaking point.

The toll taken on the addict can also be just as scarring for their friends and family members – especially if they have children. There are increasing numbers of cases in the wider community where Child Protection Services are called in because of methamphetamine abuse. Parents using P often do not supervise their children’s activities and hygiene, and may not even provide enough food, let alone good nutrition.

Breaking the cycle

Our former camera woman addict: “One thing the film industry doesn’t have set up is what Air New Zealand has. They have an actual written procedure if people need professional help. They do interventions and all that kind of stuff. I don’t think the film industry has anything like that. Probably what I would say to any individual who wants to seek help is to get advice from a professional. If you see a friend or workmate in trouble, call CADS to find out what to do, and how to go about it. Because often people will think they’re helping someone and confront them, and they just end up being pushed away.”

One of the first and most difficult steps towards recovery for methamphetamine abusers is withdrawal. Binge amphetamine abusers use methamphetamine more than individuals with low-intensity P addictions, but less than those with a high-intensity addiction. Binge and high intensity users also have the added hurdle of a psychological as well as chemical dependency.

Methamphetamine withdrawal can be a painful and damaging process, that can include symptoms of fatigue, intense irritability, extreme hunger, severe depression, and psychotic reactions. With methamphetamine withdrawal, it is best that the person be supervised in a clinical environment. The severity of depression that is caused by withdrawal depends entirely on how much the addict has been taking. Withdrawal may last as long as 48 hours.

To tackle addiction, doctors are beginning to use other forms of amphetamine, like dextroamphetamine, to break the cycle of addiction, in an approach similar to the use of methadone in the treatment of heroin addicts. Unfortunately, there are no publicly available drugs similar to naxalone (which ‘breaks opiate receptors’ and is used in treating opiate dependence) for use on people with methamphetamine addictions.

This therapy alone will not help addicts back into their normal lives. It takes a long time to fully recover from the physical and emotional trauma created by P addiction. It also takes time to learn how to cope with the feelings that the addict has been suppressing. This is where they need your help. The best process for addicts is to undergo therapy in a supportive environment, like drug rehab, which is purposefully designed to eliminate outside influences and distractions.

Research indicates that people who have recently stopped abusing the drug have brain abnormalities similar to those seen in people with mood disorders. This is why intensive therapy after withdrawal is vital to get addicts back on the road to recovery. Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) states that, “Treatment outcomes may improve if associated mental conditions are addressed concurrently with addiction.”

After the user’s stay in rehab, it is recommended that they choose between day addiction treatment, outpatient addiction treatment, or continuing private therapy. Which form they choose is up to them, but it is imperative that something be done.

How you can help

If you suspect that a friend, family member, or even workmate is addicted to P, you need to act immediately and help get them into therapy. There are a number of groups and organizations that you can contact, from Higher Ground to CADS, or ‘Community Alcohol & Drug Services’.

According to a team leader from one such rehabilitation center, Odyssey House, “Some people can use small amounts and it doesn’t have significant effects on their lives; Odyssey House is for people with quite dependent use. That is, when their substance abuse is causing difficulties in a number of areas in their lives - their relationships, financially. We take referrals from everyone, whether it is the client themselves or family members, lawyers, or mental health workers.”

“The client would have to consent and be willing to commit to a drug and alcohol-free environment. Ours is a long-term treatment, and though it is different for everyone, it is generally between 9 and 18 months. It is an intensive structured environment. After that, they move back into independent living and pursue whatever goals they might have. However, they would still be clients and still attend groups while they’re living independently. It’s not as if you get to the end of the program and you’re on your own.”

Odyssey House is one of many alternatives for you to consider.

If you require more information, Narcotics Anonymous is an excellent source of knowledge as well as assistance.

Should you be faced with an emergency, you need to call 111 immediately.

To talk to someone about your or someone else’s drug abuse, call the Alcohol Drug Helpline on 0800 787 797.

Useful Resources:

Narcotics Anonymous: http://www.nzna.org/

Higher Ground: http://www.higherground.org.nz/

Community Alcohol & Drug Services (CADS): http://www.cads.org.nz/

Odyssey House: http://www.odyssey.org.nz/

Alcohol Drug Helpline: 0800 787 797 (10am to 10pm)

You can also get contact details for your alcohol and drug counsellor or treatment provider by visiting www.addictionshelp.org.nz.