PIEDMONTPhillip Curvin was tired.
He was fed up with where his decisions in life had taken him. It was time to step away from the drugs that had stolen his life.
“I got strung out on those (crystal methamphetamine and the pain killer Oxycontin) pretty bad, and I finally got to where I was tired of it, and I turned to Jesus,” Curvin said.
“I was lucky enough to have a close-knit church family to sort of help me out and took me in.”
Now, Curvin, 33, is passing along the help to others who have taken the same paths he did. Through a local chapter of a national drug organization, Curvin is praying for users and their families. Many of the parents Curvin sees at the meetings know him. He used to hang out with their children and smoke dope, pop pills and shoot meth.
He’s put all of that behind him now. He’s been clean and sober for about six months. He has given others hope that their sons and daughters can do the same and become responsible parents and citizens again.
In Piedmont, that recovery is a city’s goal. Residents have seen the drug take hold in their town. Now they’re coming together to banish it.
“Everybody knew there was problem, but once we vocally came out against what was happening, it seemed like lot of things started happening really fast,” said Venecia Butler, who helped start a local organization to run meth out of Piedmont.
The movement to fight the drug has taken as firm a root in churches and homes as it has in the minds of the law, or its former users.
“I feel like that’s what I’m here for now – help people who want to get away and stay away from it, talk with them as somebody who’s been there,” Curvin said.
Curvin started doing drugs at about the age of 16, after a girl he was dating was killed in a car wreck. He had already dropped out of school.
“It was a crossroads to go one way or the other, and I went the wrong way then,” Curvin said.
He’s smoked cigarettes; drank; smoked dope; did crack; abused prescription pills, including Oxycontin; cooked, shot, smoked, injected meth. Name a drug, legal or illegal, and, chances are, he’d done it.
Curvin had a remodeling business. He had a home, a new truck and a good family.
“I lost everything to the drugs when I got on them real bad,” Curvin said. “My family even got scared of me because of drugs and people I hung around.”
He let his insurance lapse on his new truck. A week later he totaled it.
“After that, I was without, had nothing, no where to turn except to God,” Curvin said.
He had taken so many drugs that even users have told him he should be dead. The 6-foot, 210-pound man dropped to 125 pounds. In the past three years before he became clean of everything – even cigarettes and alcohol – he spent $500,000 on drugs.
Now, he’s back to 230 pounds, working, again self-employed in construction, but he still lives with the memory of 11- and 12-year-old boys shooting Oxycontin. And he’s working to help those who have family members on drugs and those who are addicted.
He isn’t alone.
Jerry Graham leads the group of users, known as “Overcomers.” He is the former pastor of the Church of the Rock and a current member of the congregation. He has a background in counseling.
He remembers the look on people’s faces and what it meant.
“There was a hopelessness on the faces of parents as we discussed the meth problem,” Graham said. When Curvin spoke to the group, it was as if their faces lifted up and they realized there was hope, he said.
The men are part of the local chapter of a group known as MAMA – Mothers Against Methamphetamine – a national organization founded by an Albertville doctor whose brother, a meth user, committed suicide.
During Tuesday night Bible study, people continuously were requesting prayer for family members and friends on drugs. The church prayed and also decided to start the local chapter after calling its founder, Dr. Mary Holley.
“I can’t think of anybody I would rather be in a battle with other than mothers,” said Butler, who helped found the local MAMA group. “They will not give up until there’s victory. This is something that is their heart.”
Counseling continues, but prayer doesn’t stop. The group has nearly 200 names of people for whom they are praying – either people on meth or their family members.
In a church constructed of two mobile homes, the groups meet on a lonely stretch of road just off Alabama 200, a short distance from Piedmont High School. There, they share their stories, try to find answers to it all and pray.
Now, the group is working to start a rehab center in Piedmont. Members took that plan before the Piedmont City Council on Monday. The council said it will consider the plans. And, a minister in Pell City and his wife are looking to start a mission that includes a local MAMA group.
Everyone involved emphasizes that all information is confidential. The Monday night meeting is open to any drug user, and the Tuesday night meeting is open to anyone needing help. Those in the Monday night meetings only use their first names. The meetings are at 6:30 p.m. at the Church of the Rock in Piedmont.
The group gives people like Peggy Taylor a chance to speak and help others dealing with the loss of loved ones – a loss she knows far too well. Taylor’s two oldest sons overdosed on Oxycontin within two years of one another and died.
“God I got to know why am I still here?” she cried out while preparing a cake. Her sons could not have died in vain.
Now the 55-year-old grandmother tells her story to others, so they won’t feel as she did, that they are alone.
“I knew something was going to happen, and I did my best to prevent it, but it happened anyway,” Taylor said.
“When something gets started in this small town, it’s almost like an epidemic and everywhere you look it’s Oxycontin and everywhere you looked someone was on it or selling it,” she added. “And now, everywhere you look it’s like everybody’s on meth.”
But she’s joined the community’s fight against addiction.
“Although on many issues we disagree, this is a very close-knit, caring community,” said Piedmont Mayor Charlie Fagan. “A lot of people here have lived here all of their lives, generations of people have been raised here.
Despite all the “fussing and fighting, when it really gets down to the nitty-gritty, we unite and pull together as one.”
Crystal meth facts
Here are some frequently asked questions about methamphetamine.What is crystal methamphetamine?
Methamphetamine is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol. It is a powerful synthetic stimulant that directly affects the brain by triggering the release of excess amounts of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
What are the effects on the body?
The extra release of dopamine results in higher energy levels, loss of appetite, increased alertness, elation. Consequences can include addiction, paranoia, irritability, violent behavior, nervousness, insomnia, confusion, aggression and brain damage that in some cases is irreversible. Hyperthermia, increased breathing and stroke also are some of the effects.
Users sometimes have a “ticking” twitch about them and have rashes about their skin from where they have scratched. Chemical burns are not uncommon.
Where did it come from?
Methamphetamine was first synthesized from its parent drug, amphetamine, in the last century. It was originally used in nasal decongestants and bronchial inhalers.
Today, it is made in clandestine laboratories with over-the-counter ingredients. It is commonly known as “speed,” “meth,” “chalk,” “ice,” “crystal,” “crank” and “glass.”
How is methamphetamine used?
Methamphetamine can be smoked, snorted, orally ingested or injected.
Why do people use meth?
The idea of increased energy, weight loss and decreased fatigue appeals to students, athletes, hard-labor workers and truck drivers. Some may fill absences in their lives with the drug.
What can be done for treatment?
The most effective form of treatment is cognitive behavioral interventions. The approaches are designed to modify the patient’s thinking, expectations and behaviors and to increase skills in coping with various life stresses. Combined with the behavioral interventions, methamphetamine recovery support groups appear to be effective forms of treatment that can lead to long-term drug-free recovery. There are currently no particular medicines for treatment.
How does the law look at methamphetamine?
Under Alabama law, unlawful possession of anhydrous ammonia is a Class B felony, punishable by up to two to 20 years in prison. The prohibition does not apply to farmers or others who are using the fertilizer for legitimate purposes.
Under certain circumstances, manufacturing methamphetamine is a Class A felony, punishable by 10 to 99 years in prison. These include possession of firearms, using a booby trap to protect the lab, producing the drug within 500 feet of a home, business, church or school; presence of a person under the age of 17. If two or more of these circumstances are not present, manufacturing methamphetamine is a Class B felony.
What are some signs of use?
Those who produce methamphetamine tend to do so late at night, according to Calhoun County Drug Task Force Commander Richard Smith. Many lights will be on. They will start many projects but rarely finish them. If they are cooking meth inside, they will come outside to smoke cigarettes.
Strong chemical odors will be present. The smell of ether will most likely be present, emitting the stench of rotten eggs or dirty diapers.
Users feel paranoid, that everyone is out to get them. Law enforcement are lying in the woods, have helicopters and phone numbers. They also have an “uh” kind of awareness to them. Eyes will be big as saucers. The “meth monsters” will be after them.
What should you do if you suspect meth is being cooked next door?
Call local authorities.
Sources: National Institute of Health; Narconon; Attorney General Web site; Title 13, Code of Alabama
How is meth produced?
In Calhoun and Cleburne counties, authorities are seeing an equal portion of labs made through two processes. The older process, known as the “Nazi” method, requires lithium and anhydrous ammonia. The chemical is explosive and can burn and blister the lungs, if inhaled, and skin.The other method uses red phosphorous and iodine. It also is explosive and can produce deadly gases.
The labs are makeshift chemistry labs of mason jars and tubing. Other items used in both methods include ephedrine, acid, drain cleaner and ether.
Sources for the ingredients are often over-the-counter which inspires the drive by authorities to ask businesses to make it more difficult to purchase certain items.
Locally, authorities are seeing a process where various individuals are involved in each step of the process, but one person cooks the drug. They also are seeing more and more trafficking of meth by the Hispanic community.
Source: Calhoun County Drug Task Force.
