The powerful pull of a highly addictive drug has Winnipeg police and addictions agencies on the defensive.
The battle against crystal meth addiction has ramped up in recent years.
Police have noticed an increase in meth on the streets and addictions workers are seeing more people seeking treatment to get off the drug.
At Main Street Project's women's detoxification unit Riley Brown, 23, hopes her 10-day stay will mark the beginning of the road to recovery.
She has lived with an addiction to crystal meth for the past eight years.
"Meth is everywhere,” said Brown. “In Winnipeg, it's took a hold of the city.”
“It's hard to meet people who are not on it."
Meth is a highly addictive and powerful stimulant which speeds up the body's central nervous system.
According to Winnipeg police, a tenth of a gram costs about $15 on the street and the high from smoking, snorting or injecting meth can last anywhere from five to 12 hours. Much longer when compared to a drug like crack cocaine.
"It's cheaper, it's addictive and it lasts longer,” said Insp. Max Waddell with the Winnipeg Police Service Organized Crime Unit.
“There is no wrong or right”: Meth use linked to increased crime rates
Waddell said meth use increased across the city about five years ago but has really exploded in popularity and availability over the past two years.
"The concern over methamphetamine is when people take meth as a stimulant, they become aggressive and because of the highly addictive nature of the drug, they are committing crimes that you wouldn't normally see."
Between 2015 and 2016 the rate of property and violent crime across Winnipeg jumped by eight per cent. It's a spike police have linked to the surge of meth use in the city.
Steven Sangster, 35, started using meth when he stopped using opiates.
Sangster said when people are using the drug they may do things they normally wouldn't do.
"Theft is definitely right up there,” he said. “You have to be able to afford it."
"While you're on it, there is no wrong or right."
Brown spent time in jail after she was found guilty of assault with a weapon in connection with a violent home invasion in January 2015 she blames on meth.
"I guess the drug took a hold of me in a violent way,” said Brown. “Sat in jail for pretty much nothing in the end."
More people seeking treatment for meth addiction
According to a provincial spokesperson, 102 people reported they had used meth in the year leading up to treatment in 2011/2012. That number climbed steadily to 744 people in 2016/2017.
The Addictions Foundation of Manitoba is undertaking a review to determine if improvements to addictions treatment programs are needed.
"We have seen a significant increase in request for admissions and treatment over the last several years,” said Sheri Fandrey with AFM. “We respond as best we can."
Sangster, who worked as a kitchen manager, wishes there would be more of a focus on mental health when dealing with addiction.
“You’ve got to figure out the reason why people are using,” said Sangster.
Main Street Project executive director Rick Lees said better coordination of health and addictions care is needed to help people trying to get off the drug.
"From primary care, to mental health, to facilities like ours that deal with addiction and detoxification,” said Lees. “There's not really one agency that can own it.”
“It needs a solution that's sort of a comprehensive care model."
Even with help, Sangster acknowledged the difficulty of overcoming addiction.
“To regrow, you can’t plant yourself in toxic soil,” said Sangster. “Unfortunately, when it’s everywhere in this city, it’s very hard to live a life without it when you have five people calling you up saying ‘hey, don’t you want, don’t you want.’”
“You can only say no so many times before you have that one bad day where you’re just like, ‘Yeah. Just bring it to me.’”
He’s attended treatment programs in the past and relapsed.
“Society has a tendency of judging and labelling people and when you feel like an outsider and you don’t fit in, it causes a lot of resentment on the inside,” said Sangster. “When you use drugs it’s easier to fit in to society, just unfortunately, you get labelled again as an addict.”
Winnipeg police: “We’re seeing drug dealers now that we’ve never seen before.”
Ian Rabb recovered from a meth addiction and now works at a private treatment centre.
He said what's most disturbing about this recent wave of meth use is the number of people injecting the drug.
"They go right past the snorting and smoking phase and right into the shooting up phase,” said Rabb.
Winnipeg police said curbing meth use has proven to be difficult. Officers said about 80 per cent of the methamphetamine in Winnipeg is imported from outside of the country by Mexican drug cartels.
"We're seeing drug dealers now that we've never seen before who are really just independent cells,” said Waddell. “(They) see the ability to make money and get their hands on this and they're redistributing it."
Riley Brown hasn't used meth in 15 days.
She's currently in a residential treatment program hoping to keep the drug out of her life for good.
"I've gone this far so why not take the next step and go further.”
