“Woodward, Oklahoma has a problem.”

“And we’d better wake up (to it),” said Wendell Brandenburg, agent in charge of the northwest region of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Control (OBN).

The problem is methamphetamine use and it was the center of discussion for a forum held at High Plains Technology Center Thursday.

The forum also centered around a radical statewide campaign, known as Crystal Darkness, planned to create more awareness about the problem and to get communities collaborating in efforts to battle the problem.

More than 40 people attended Thursday’s forum to learn more about Crystal Darkness and discuss ways to help make the campaign more effective in the Woodward area.

In a video shown to kick off the forum, First Lady Kim Henry noted just how much this campaign is needed in Oklahoma.

“Oklahoma high school seniors are more likely to try methamphetamine than any other high school seniors,” Henry said.

“We think we live in a small community and so we raise our children thinking they’re not going to be exposed to it,” Brandenburg said.

However, the truth is that children here in Woodward have just as much exposure to methamphetamine as children in Oklahoma City, he said.

“It’s a part of our lives,” Brandenburg said.

“It’s pretty depressing,” he said. “But I think we can change it.”

However, it will take the community working together, he said.

Amber Ham, director of the Area Prevention Resource Center, agreed, noting the first step is awareness, which is where Crystal Darkness comes in. Central to the campaign is a 28-minute documentary which will be broadcast simultaneously over all public television stations at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2009.

But once the community is made aware, the real issue becomes addressing the problem, such as making resources available to help those who want to try and overcome their addictions.

“But there’s not very many resources; that’s part of the problem,” said Kevin Evans, director of Western Plains Youth and Family Services, which helps operate the regional 2-1-1 call center.

Furthering the problem is that “there are waiting lists for the resources that are there,” according to Associate District Judge Joseph Marak.

“We need more facilities,” District Attorney Hollis Thorp said.

“What we are in need of is not just more facilities, but long-term facilities, not just 30 days; 30 days don’t do squat when you’re trying to overcome something as addictive as meth,” according to Kelly Thomas, a recovery support specialist with Northwestern Behavioral Health Center and a recovering drug user herself.

With all the damage that methamphetamine causes, “it takes the brain nine months just to heal,” she said.

After using methamphetamine for almost two decades, Thomas said she “was in and out of 12 programs over eight years,” but it wasn’t until she committed to a one-year faith-based program that she really started to overcome her addiction and recover.

Nevertheless, with limited resources, Thomas said that just even being able to have someone to talk to “who understands you and won’t judge you” can help those who are beginning to think about recovery.

So as Woodward prepares for the Crystal Darkness showing in January, dedicated community members will have to work together to try to find and organize all the resources that are available.

A couple of ideas that were suggested by audience members during Thursday’s forum included seeking help from local hospitals and from organizations like the Ministerial Alliance to act as additional resources.

Evans invited anyone who might have information about any other programs that might be a resource for those wanting help with methamphetamine use to contact Loni Stanfill with the 2-1-1 call center at (580) 254-5322 so that the program can be included in the 2-1-1 database.

This is important, Evans said, because 2-1-1 will be the number that users and others affected by methamphetamine use will be encouraged to call for help following the Crystal Darkness showing in January. So the more information 2-1-1 has about what resources are available, the more information the volunteers can pass on and the more effective the program can be.

For more information about the Crystal Darkness campaign visit the campaign website at www.cyrstaldarkness.com. To get involved locally, contact Stanfill at the above number or contact Ham at (580) 571-3240.