TEST Project for Batu Madness A year long feasibility study for the Batu Madness project. Foreword First, a little background on the life of an addict. The user experiences: A sense of exhilaration and euphoria, intense rush, superabundant energy and hyperactivity, extended wakefulness and generally just feeling GREAT After use, a few hours to a day or more is spent tweaking. Tweaking means just staying busy at any number of usually meaningless things such as that a small child would do to amuse their selves. As the high wears off, then withdrawal sets in and the symptoms of withdrawal include but are not limited to: fatigue, long disturbed periods of sleep, irritability, intense hunger, moderate to severe depression, psychotic reactions, anxiety and other negative symptoms. In the addicts mind, this means time to do more. Since all their money is spent on the last purchase, then they have to come up with more money. Personal belongings are sold, theyve borrowed as much as they could and all their avenues are used up but there are still ways to obtain money. (Let us remember that this person is not in their right mind so to speak. Foreword Some of the ways of obtaining money are, stealing and dealing. If all else fails, then they will go to the coastline in rocky areas and pick opii to sell. This is usually done early in the morning and is a hard job, but it will give them the boost or fix they need to plan the next job for the next money for the next high. This is what is referred to as back on the rocks. Invariably, we encountered some the ones that were back on the rocks and invited them into the camp for coffee and a little snack. Once a trust was established, they begin to ask questions about the Batu Madness project and volunteered input as to things they as addicts thought would work. Most addicts know they are and would never have started if they had had insight as to how addictive and destructive the crystal-meth is but the addiction overpowers all else. The Early Stages of the Test Project. Before the camp was set up, we came across a young couple who were using and dealing part time. This is their story before we continue with the Camp Site portion. Alan and Betty The first two people to sign up for the project were a couple we will call Alan and Betty (to protect their identity). Alan was 22 years old, homeless and had not graduated high school. He dealt small quantities of crystal meth from time to time to support himself and his girl-friend Betty. Alans introduction to crystal meth was at the age of eight and was given to him by his father. Betty was 18 years old and did have a high school diploma. She had two older sisters whom were full time dealers and users of crystal meth. Alan and Betty could stay at either of her sisters if they helped deal the meth. Betty didnt want any part of it so they lived in a tent on the coast near Lydgate Park where I met them. Alan and Betty - cont. The Meeting- It was early in the morning and they were on their way out of the park to go hunt something to eat but had ran out of gas. They come over to where I was parked and asked to borrow a gas can. Alan also confided that he had plans to steal gas and also steal some food from the store. I gave them some money for gas and some for something to eat. When they returned, we had breakfast and talked. I told them about the Batu Madness project and asked if they would like to give it a try and they agreed. This makes them the first 2 people to enter into the project. Alan and Betty - cont. They were both interested in my wood carvings so I showed them how to do it and over the next week, they were with me all the time except when they retired for the night. They carved rings, bracelets, hairpins, etc. On the weekend they went to Wailua Falls and sold the carvings from the back of their pickup. They made a little over $150 and were both so excited they could hardly wait to get back and tell me. They stayed on and helped get the area set up in a different location so we could attract others. Being users themselves, they knew a lot of others that were addicted and brought them to the area. This was the beginning of the Test Project. Alan & Betty starting their first piece of wood art. 1 Alan entertains us for the evening 2 Bettys catch for dinner 3 They helped set up our shop area 4 Graduates moving to Oahu 5 The conclusion of Alan & Betty They moved their tent to the new area and over the following 4 months were able to completely quit crystal meth. Alan took a construction job with Bettys step-father on Oahu. They now have their own studio apartment, Betty works part time at a convenience store, and they are getting married soon since Betty is now pregnant with twins. In their words- They now have all the reasons in the world to not do meth. Whereas before, thats all they had to do. How we did it... We set up a campsite in a rugged coastal forest near a known meeting place of crystal-meth users and dealers. One of the diversionary activities mentioned in the Batu Madness project was to host weekend beach clean-up parties. We mixed that with other activities and started we refer to as the Natural Wood Arts Workshop. The following slides are of that project. the Natural Wood Arts Workshop The media clip at right is a walk-through on a typical Wood Art day. Cancerous growths, called burls, on the ironwood trees were carved into bowls to sell to buy supplies for the project. The next slide is pictures of some of the bowls. Click on image at right to START/STOP clip Burl Bowls A sampling of other facts we learned from the Test Project Most start using crystal meth in their teen or pre- teen years. VideoVideo Most users invariably resort to dealing to supply their own habit. VideoVideo The programs for drug education in the schools are ineffective. VideoVideo Local meth is made from beer cans dissolved in sulfuric acid, add fertilizer, crystallized with vet grade iodine (partial recipe) Typical age to start drugs is the teen years Others we talked to admitted to starting at the age of as early as 8 years old. It was given to them by their own parents. Click on image at right to START/STOP clip Click HERE to return to where you were in the presentation.HERE HIGH Profit little risk ! A typical dealer can make around a thousand dollars an hour. Click on image at right to START/STOP clip Click HERE to return to where you were in the presentation.HERE In-Place programs dont work. All the people we interviewed said: D. A. R. E. had absolutely no effect except make them consider doing drugs just for the thrill of it. Click on image at right to START/STOP clip Click HERE to return to where you were in the presentation.HERE Summation of the Test Project Overall, the testing phase lasted almost one year. It was nearly three months before we actually got any confidence from the users but once the trust was established, then they begin to come around, asking questions, telling their stories as to their introduction to batu, the domestic abuse, the boredom, and the absence of parental figures in their teen years. During all the talks we had, I was able to affirm the leading causes of abuse and also confirm the fact that most young abusers wish they could get clean but there are no facilities on the island and the available ones were severely lacking in effectiveness. All of the addicts that I talked to were ready to participate in most any involvement project we had going. They did have the understanding that they would be required to participate in a plan to quit using drugs. There was also the understanding that we would be there for support 24/7. Summation of the Test Project Of the seven that formally entered the project, Five were able to completely quit while the other two are still out there, but not lost entirely. Of the five, you read the story of two and the third is now working as an informant for law enforcement in helping bust dealers on Oahu. The forth now has her old job back and is waiting to work with the project when we start again. The fifth had lost her little girl to C.P.S. but is now working a full time job and making extra by making and selling small wooden gift items she learned to make in the project. She is getting close to meeting the requirements of C.P.S. to get her daughter back. She is out of the abusive relationship that brought her down in the first place. This is a kind of proof that the Batu Madness Project will work. All it takes is a minimum of funding to benefit an anticipated number of around 50 addicts. (note: It cost the tax payers over $150,000 per year, per person for people ordered through the judicial system into a treatment center.) Plus, there is the added opportunity to learn the skills for a well paying career in the 3-D computer animation field, which is in the top ten for starting salary. A lot of the addicts I talked to had been through these treatment centers. They all said the same thing, it was a big joke. Summation of the Test Project The Batu Madness project is a volunteer project and differs from others in many ways but the primary one is it gives the person a little more control over their own lives by providing incentives. The more they become involved, the greater the rewards.