Crystal meth 'crisis' still gripping Guelph amid fentanyl overdoses

Although the powerful opioid fentanyl has dominated concerns about illicit drugs for months, Guelph police and social workers say crystal methamphetamine continues to wreak havok in the community since it first exploded in use in 2012.

Crystal meth, a cheap and easily-produced recreational stimulant, has critically saturated the region, says Guelph Police Services Sgt. Ben Bear.

"The crystal meth hit us pretty hard," Bear said, describing the drug's initial impact.

It took about a year for Guelph police to reorient their strategy, turning away from crack cocaine, the region's former drug of choice.

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Police began seizing large quantities of meth around that time and saw a drop-off in crack cocaine trafficking. Bear attributes the switch in part to meth's long-lasting effects, making it relatively cheap compared to other recreational drugs.

It's also easy to make for the scientifically-inclined, he added, with key ingredients like fertilizer readily available nearby.

Bear says the drug's popularity has led to more violent crime in the community, suggesting that's due to the nature of the drug itself: heavy users tend to become susceptible to paranoia, and "construct thoughts in their head that everybody's after them," he said.

"When that happens people tend to arm themselves and become overly aggressive."

'People don't use substances for no reason'

But even though police say meth use correlates to higher crime rates, one addictions worker says meth users shouldn't necessarily enter the criminal system.

"I think police recognize that you can't arrest your way out of this problem," said Rachel Doyle, a support worker for people who use methamphetamine. 

Doyle helps with housing, counseling, addiction treatment and other pressing needs, hustling for resources to prevent her clients from cycling through the justice system.

She tries to address the root causes of substance use in her clients. "People don't use substances for no reason," she said. 

As recently as April, Doyle had been working in a new program that saw social workers team up with the courts to get drug offenders out of the criminal system.

She says she would determine what her client needed, and if they made progress in those areas — say, maintaining employment or entering treatment — her clients would often get a reduced sentence.

"Instead of simpy punishing people for crimes, we took a look at, 'What got you to this place? And how can I potentially help you live a different life?'"

But the one-time provincial grant the program received has since run out.

Now, Doyle says, people are "left alone to navigate a complex system."

Meth use more 'normalized' and, yes, it's deadly

Police and social workers like Bear and Doyle think meth use in the city constitutes a crisis, one just as dangerous and harmful as fentanyl.

Bear thinks meth's rise in popular culture may have played a part, with shows like Breaking Bad pushing meth into the mainstream.

"Anything that normalizes something like crystal meth can have an impact," Bear said, especially for younger users.

Just as the show's protagonist, Walter White, saw his life slowly torn apart by the drug, so too does meth slink its way into the lives of Guelph's residents, Bear says, even though its danger might seem overshadowed by deadly opioids.

"We're getting fentanyl overdoses nearly every day," Bear said. "The link between fentanyl and death is very strong, very immediate." 

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But meth's danger exists in subtler, more indirect forms, Bear explains. He says he's witnessed a rise in meth-related "spinoff crime" like thefts, home invasions and violence, which threaten users and residents both.

Doyle agrees that meth imperils those in the grips of addiction, pointing to a long wait — at least six weeks — for people with a substance use disorder to get into treatment programs. 

"People need help now," she said. "A lot of times it means people losing their lives."