at St. Brendan's in 1977, his clients, mostly men in their mid-30's, were co-operative, contrite and controllable. Twenty years later, he says he faces a new breed of addict, still male, but who are in their early 20's and are exceedingly aggressive and less willing to follow instructions or take advice.

As a result, Mr. Williams, who heads up the methadone programme at Addiction Services, has been accosted, sworn at, and even roughed up on occasion as he goes about the daily job of counselling and treating heroin addicts. A last-resort means of treating heroin addicts, methadone takes care of the abusers physical addiction to the drug. On September 5, 1995, 21-year-old Tracey Caines, a heroin addict since age 16, stole 100 methadone tablets from Addiction Services and attacked Mr. Williams. Had he been successful, those 100 tablets could have fetched between $100 to $120 per tablet. Caines would have made more than $10,000. Caines was suspended from the drug programme at the time of the incident, but went to Addiction Services to get some methadone. Mr. Williams told him he had to wait six months to return to the programme and this led to an argument. Caines then grabbed a bottle of methadone tablets, valued at $31.68, and ran away. Mr. Williams managed to catch him outside Addiction Services' door. Caines punched Mr. Williams in the face and began kicking him. During the assault, Caines dropped the methadone.

He later turned himself in to Police and said he was hurt that he had been dropped from the programme and needed the pills to ease the pain. For his crime, Senior Magistrate Will Francis imprisoned Caines for six months. Mr.

Williams has a litany of such stories but chooses not to focus on them. His concerns are more immediate. "The quality of the heroin that the guys are now using has dropped off considerably,'' he explained. "In the 1970's, the dope was more potent. Not it is just big business. "Dealers are trying to make as much money as possible and so they mix it with anything to increase the yield.

"I had a guy come in here who had taken a hit of what he thought was heroin and his nose started bleeding immediately. He went back to the guy he bought the drug from, and found out that the dealer had cut the heroin with Ajax cleaner.'' Bryant Richards, Addiction Services' co-ordinator, said more young teenagers are experimenting with heroin because of its "sexual lures''. These young guys have heard the older boys speak about how hard their erections become when they are on heroin,'' Mr. Richards explained. "They brag about how long they can screw. "The young girl will then question the potency of a young man if her last lover was a stallion. She then spreads the word that this young guy has no staying power and his self-esteem is shot because his peers tease him. "So he finds a heroin dealer, buys a $20 bag and tries to patch up his shattered reputation. For 24-36 hours he is God. He can screw for hours. But what he quickly finds is that he doesn't enjoy it because he can't ejaculate. "One month later he is impotent. He can't get it up at all. But by then, it's too late. He's already hooked.'' From there the teen gets depressed, Mr. Williams said, because he needs more heroin just to function.

To pick himself up, he either drowns himself in alcohol, which depresses him still further, or starts speed balling. And so the cycle repeats. Day in. Day out. Mr. Richards said that teenaged males between the ages of 11 and 14 are impressionable and insecure about their bodies and the changes they are undergoing. This predisposes them to experimentation. "Once they start on heroin at 12, by the age of 18 or 19, they can't get off,'' Mr. Richards added. "He gets angry, sits on a wall with his other mates and begins to ask why the world has passed him by. "He then blames the system, his parents, his teachers or his race. Any and everyone but himself.'' The result, Mr. Williams said, is a teen or a 20 or 21-year-old who has lost respect for himself, his family, and his community. He will steal from his mother right in front of her face and even assault her if she attempts to stop him. "He sees that $100 he just stole as five hits of heroin, not as money.'' Addiction Services uses methadone treatment only when all else has failed, Mr. Williams said.

"Methadone is just a last resort,'' he explained. "We attempt to use other medications to help them with their severe withdrawal symptoms (sleeplessness, cramps, diarrhoea, and depression). There are four different medications that we can use. "The problem is that this medication takes between 24-36 hours to work and the addict needs his fix every four to six hours. The two needs just don't jibe. "Methadone is pure, synthetic opium which stays in the system longer, between 24-36 hours as compared to heroin which lasts only four to six hours. "A standard dose of methadone is given. After four to five days, the addict becomes stabilised and we can then begin counselling and get at the High is `10 times better than sex' before we can help them. Methadone serves many purposes. If it wasn't for the `juice' (methadone), crime would be treble. "I can control their addiction to it and help to wean them off. It becomes the carrot that brings them back for counselling and further help. It does not work for everyone, but those who stick to it are gradually weaned off. "Methadone is a tool. It blocks the high so that if they use heroin while they are on the methadone programme, it does nothing for them.'' Mr. Williams said the addict has to hit rock bottom before he takes the programme seriously. "Those in the programme who are most successful are the older men in their thirties and forties,'' he added. "They have finally seen how much their addiction has cost them. "They have lost their jobs, wives and families and now they are willing to work on themselves.

The public needs to know that methadone serves an important purpose. It is a valuable tool whether our clients abuse it or not. The high a heroin addict gets is ten times more pleasurable than sex. Competing with that will never be easy.'' PHOTO Addiction Services counsellor, Charles Williams, with a colleague DRUGS SUPPLEMENT DGS