Our View: Meth is a scourge but there are some who have broken free

Meth is a scourge on our society. Photo / Getty Images

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Meth.

Just the word alone leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

It conjures up images of drugged-out waifs with skeletal frames, dark circles around their eyes, and missing teeth - and a raging need for the drug.

It's alarming just how often we hear about how its vice-like grip is ruining lives, families and communities.

But there are also some inspiring stories.

On Saturday, NZME reported on Karl Goldsbury - a patched gang member whose meth-fuelled days were peppered with "crooked deals, manipulation and all sorts of mischief".

Read more: From meth to a crown: Miss Rotorua's journey from crime

He is now working hard to build his relationship back up with his family.

"With my own kids, I am not going to be a hypocrite. I know they might look at me and think, 'well who are you to tell us anything?'

"All I can do is tell my journey, what I have learned."

He will be rangatahi kaitiaki (youth guardian) - part of a programme running in a new Youth Justice Remand home in Tauranga's Pillans Point, supporting young offenders aged 14 to 18.

This is also where he will be sharing his journey, and, in his words, he will be "brutally honest" about the stories he will share.

In Rotorua this week, we also learnt about Evarna Koia, a 21-year-old who has qualifications in business and project management, and who has just been crowned Miss Rotorua.

A courageous accomplishment in itself - she had to stand up, put herself out there and let others judge her.

But when paired with the journey she took to get to where she is now we can see how far she has come.

She became addicted to meth and spent time in a youth prison.

"There were plenty of times I would cry, be exhausted and be in the deepest hole," she told the Rotorua Daily Post.

Thank God for supportive whānau. Koia credits her aunty for being her rock, and her whānau for their love and acceptance.

The NZ Drug Foundation website says that one suggested reason meth is so addictive is that it causes the brain to release extraordinary amounts of dopamine, leading to extreme feelings of pleasure and motivation.

It slowly kills off the brain's dopamine receptors, making it increasingly harder for a prolonged user to feel the pleasant effects of a dopamine-flooded brain.

Meth is devastating and carves a destructive path. It continues to leach the good out of society, replacing it with bad, and it will succeed - but only if we let it.

It's important to acknowledge the courage of people such as Goldsbury and Koia who have escaped its grip and are now openly speaking about their journeys.

Hopefully, their stories help others.