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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2003)
7.2003 Continued from Page 7 power to something “higher” than myself (if need he the group), isolating myself from family and friends who aren’t “clean” and that because I am addicted to cocaine I am automatically addicted to all drugs. 1 advocate for a harm reduction approach to drug addiction. Accord ing to the Harm Reduction Coalition: “Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies that reduce negative consequences of drug use, incorporating a spectrum of strategies from safer use to managed use to abstinence. Harm reduc tion strategies meet drug users ‘where they’re at,’ addressing conditions of use along with the use itself.” It has been eight years since I last used cocaine. In that time 1 have earned a GED, graduated from Portland State University with a 3.9 grade point average and become an activist, writer, performer and filmmaker— including a nationwide tour with the Sex Workers’ Art Show— all while using alcohol moderately and smoking marijuana. CtKaine was a major problem for me, and 1 believe 1 have stayed abstinent from cocaine because of changes in my life. For example, the processes of casting off the stigma and hate that have been perpetrated on me as a junkie ho, connection with community and love of family, learning multiple histories and oppression theo ry and applying it to my life, and most of all liv ing through art and writing for survival. Read my chapbooks online and contact me at www.confluere.com. L eslie B ull Vancouver, Wash. Glenn Scofield Williams resfxmds: The photo teas based on the interview of one user and a docu mentary on meth use m which users applied heat to the meth and water solution. The use of heat, as I have teamed since, is not always used and is not necessary for its melting. I can only assume the users who do this apply it out of habit or comfort, as a way to reduce the shock to the system. None of the treatment centers in the article are 12-step oriented. Only Crystal Meth Anonymous is 12-step. The others use drug treatment techniques such as one-on-one and group counseling, detox and in-house treatment. The only retd necessity for kick ing meth is a solid support system, whatever that may mean to the user. If users can get that support without a 12-step or treatment plan, they can be successful. But it’s rare. using crystal meth, please come to a CM A meeting. You are welcome, wanted and needed. National meeting schedules are available at www.crystalmeth.org. Here are the local m eet ing schedules: • A New Day Has Come: 8 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays, Meeting Room West, Medical Office Building, Emanuel Hospital, 501 N. Graham St., Portland. • Last House on the Block: 8 to 9:30 p.m. Thursdays, Lorenzo Center, Emanuel Hospital, 301 N. Graham St., Portland. • Survivors: 8 to 9:30 p.m. Fridays, Down stairs, 401 E. 10th St., The Dalles. R on H uxhold Portland try and workers in other countries for the dis appearance of American jobs and the lowering of wages, 1 blame the world economy of capital ism, which prioritizes profits before people. T h is, economy uses “free trade" agreements that export jobs to countries where labor and envi ronmental standards are the lowest internation ally. The hardest hit by these practices include women and people of color; just look at the example of the maquiladoras. Here in the U nited States, African Ameri cans have almost twice the unemployment rate of whites. All of us need a world economy that prioritizes the needs of people— one that plans production and distribution so that no one goes hungry and everyone can thrive. T h at economy is international socialism. Help is o u t th e re W hat re c o v e ry ? E mma A llen Radical W omen To the E ditor : To the E ditor : s an interviewee for the article by writer aily, the contradiction between reality and G lenn Scofield Williams in your Oct. 17 the media myth that we are enjoying a issue, 1 would like to provide a minor correction “jobless” recovery is becoming more obvious. to an item mentioned. No crystal meth was used Com panies are increasing their profits hy in my suicide attempt in February. 1 have not .decreasing the price of labor through layoffs, used crystal meth since Feb. 11, 2001. having more employees at part-time hours to cut back on full-time benefits and dem anding 1 am pleased to see that the gay community is addressing the use of crystal meth. I was inter increased productivity with the threat of a pink viewed for the article because 1 want the gay slip. community to know there is help for them out 1 am one of many in the ever-expanding there. My purpose for participating in the inter service sector who deals with the triple burden of keeping a high level of productivity while view was to provide knowledge about recovery meetings of Crystal Meth Anonymous in the working less than 40 hours and barely earning enough to live on, let alone to think about vaca Portland area. If anyone would like to contact me for fur tions, health care or savings. In addition, 1 have to work a “flexible”— i.e., chaotic— work sched ther information about recovery, addiction or ule that changes on a weekly basis. support, I can be reached at 503-816-7417 or RHuxhold@aol.com. If anyone wants to stop Instead of blaming immigrants in this coun A D N ow accepting opinions on all topics in "Letters to the Editor" Serving Oregon's Gay, Lesbian, Bi & Trans Communities for 20 Years Bridge .City Family Medical Clinic, PC Teri Bunker, FNP Hoard Certified Family Nurse Practitioner ••S S * “ , »SSSSSw C ° p r o l e C t .. 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