Lee - Overcoming Crystal Meth Addiction: an Essential Guide to Getting Clean from CM Addiction

Finally! An unbiased, comprehensive, understandable book about crystal. Dr. Lee gives the facts and offers attainable solutions to the pandemic.

K AT C ORIC , BFA, artist, AIDS activist

In Overcoming Crystal Meth Addiction, Steven Lee performs a great service by normalizing methamphetamine dependency. It turns out that this addiction, which has been sensationalized in the media, responds to the same mix of therapy, self-reflection, and twelve-step work as every other addiction. Lees recipe spells hope for recovery.

P ATRICK M OORE , author of Tweaked: A Crystal Meth Memoir and The Principles on Yahoo! Health

Overcoming Crystal Meth Addiction is a well written review of the history of this menacing epidemic and its devastating impact on victims and their families. In text easily understood by the consumer, Dr. Lee clearly explains the principles underpinning meth and addiction before transitioning to very helpful information about overcoming meth and staying clean. His five strategies for beating meth addiction are clearly outlined and a useful glossary of scientific and street terms as well as information on harm reduction and treatment resources are also included. Dr. Lee has invested substantial effort in writing this complete and understandable book that will appeal to a wide audience. The result is a valuable resource that bridges the gap between the consumer and the science of meth addiction.

S COTT L ETENDRE , MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center and Antiviral Research Center, University of California, San Diego

This is the most comprehensive book on crystal meth Ive seen. It answers all of the commonly asked questions: what is crystal meth? how is it made? how long has it been around? how is it used? why is it so popular? what works in treatment? and how do people stay sober? For the person using crystal meth or contemplating using meth, it provides the most readable information regarding what it does to the body, the dangers of use and abuse, exercises for determining use and quitting, and resources for getting help. I highly recommend this book and plan on providing copies for all the clinical staff at all of our facilities at Alternatives, Inc.

J OSEPH M. A MICO , MDiv, CAS, LISAC, President, National Association of Lesbian and Gay Addiction Professionals (NALGAP); Vice President for Program Development and Community Educator, Alternatives Inc.

Finally, a book that has a dual approach: stressing the danger of the drug and its addictive nature and engaging everyonepeople in recovery, users, and mental health professionalsinto a more contextual exploration of the complex factors that lead someone to fill up his or her lifes holes with crystal meth. Timely, informative and nonjudgmental, Dr. Lees book offers an essential tool to examine the role of stress, depression, and unhappiness in ones decision to use crystal meth. It pays respectful attention to the culture of crystal use in the gay community and offers thoughts applicable to other communities affected by crystal. By describing the good, the bad, the glamorous, and the ugly aspects of crystal meth use, Lee not only provides concrete strategies to stop using but also invites us to take a deeper look at the underlying causes of crystal meth addiction. This book is an invitation to a richer and fuller life, without addiction.

J EAN M ALPAS , MA, LMHC, LMFT, psychotherapist

STEVEN J. LEE, MD

OVERCOMING
CRYSTAL METH
ADDICTION

An Essential Guide
to Getting Clean

Marlowe & Company New York

O VERCOMING C RYSTAL M ETH A DDICTION :
A N E SSENTIAL G UIDE TO G ETTING C LEAN

Copyright 2006 by Steven J. Lee
Preface copyright 2006 by Marc Galanter

Published by
Marlowe & Company
An Imprint of Avalon Publishing Group, Incorporated
245 West 17th Street 11th Floor
New York, NY 10011-5300

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review in a newspaper, magazine, or electronic publication; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other, without written permission from the publisher.

The information in this book is intended to help readers make informed decisions about their health and the health of their loved ones. It is not intended to be a substitute for treatment by or the advice and care of a professional health care provider. While the author and publisher have endeavored to ensure that the information presented is accurate and up to date, they are not responsible for adverse effects or consequences sustained by any person using this book.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lee, Steven J.
Overcoming crystal meth addiction : an essential guide to getting clean from CM addiction / Steven J. Lee ; preface by Marc Galanter.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-56924-313-1 (pbk.)
1. Methamphetamine abuse--Prevention. 2. Drug abuse--Patients--Treatment. I. Title.
RC568.A45L44 2006
616.86406--dc22
2006018149

ISBN-13: 978-1-56924-313-8

eBook ISBN: 9780786735532

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Designed by Pauline Neuwirth, Neuwirth & Associates, Inc.

Printed in the United States of America

For Ron, who taught me that imperfection is the most
beautiful thing about being human

PREFACE

by Marc Galanter, MD

T HE M AGNITUDE OF the alcohol and drug abuse problem in the United States is well documented. Eighteen percent of the population experiences a substance abuse disorder at some point in their lives, and the cost of addictive illness to the public has been calculated to be $246 billion annually in health care and lost work. Furthermore, at least 20 percent of patients in general medical facilities and many more in general psychiatric units have addiction problems, many of which go undiagnosed. Despite much progress in recent years, the addicted person still bears the burden of being stigmatized. When the secondary effects of addiction, such as cirrhosis, psychopathology, trauma, and infection are present, they may receive proper medical attention; patients primary addictive problems, however, often go untreated.

Fortunately, important advances are being made in the addiction field. Basic research involving receptors, membrane chemistry, and genetic transmission has been elaborated. Public awareness has been aroused so that substance abusers seek help earlier, when treatment can be administered more effectively. New treatment concepts, both in medication and counseling, have made recovery a possibility for the majority of alcohol- and drug-abusing patients. Furthermore, the health community has been alerted to the need for early diagnosis and provision of comprehensive care. But the power of new substances to generate addictions cannot be underestimated.