Anchorage Daily News

PALMER -- To Eirin Strickland, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough is home to majestic mountains, moose ... and meth, that toxic, high-speed brew that rots addicts from the inside out and frustrates law officials trying to stem the tide. Strickland, a 19-year-old 2006 Palmer High School graduate, used $10,000 of hard-earned money from summer jobs to fund an hourlong documentary, "Ice Crystals," which features interviews with recovered addicts, law enforcement personnel and medical professionals chronicling the drug's path through the Valley. The film debuts at the Palmer Depot at 2 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free although donations are accepted.

Q. Why meth? Did you know anyone personally who was addicted?

A. I think (meth) is the most indicative, or it associates very well with what the Valley is. I think it's a big drug problem here, and it's a national problem too. In that way it became more of a local project, but it became a local commentary on a national problem.

My mom is an emergency medical technician and I've known people, not necessarily close friends, who became addicted. Some of them had been closer friends before I left. I was in Europe with my family for eight years.

Q. Have you ever done a project like this before? Describe your research methods.

A. I've done film-related stuff, but this is the first documentary.

I made a lot of phone calls, a lot of sitting at my desk and driving around to different places. I tried to set up as many interviews as I could. Harvey Goehring, the regional head of the DEA in Anchorage, was a good starting point. I went to Nugens Ranch and the Akeela House in Anchorage, different treatment centers. I also went to Narcotics Anonymous meetings in Wasilla and met people that way.

Q. How did you get the people you interviewed to talk?

A. It was difficult to find people who'd talk to me about their addiction. It is a legal issue but also a personal thing -- they're not willing to open up about it. When I found somebody willing to talk about it, they didn't go halfway; they really give themselves to you. For some people, talking about their experience in no way demeans them; it should make them a very credible resource to people who'll walk those same footsteps if they're not careful.

Q. In the film, law enforcement says the meth problem is declining in the Valley but you claim doctors and EMTs say it isn't. Why do you think there's a disparity?

A. What they're probably saying, and what I was referring to, was the number of meth labs busted in the Valley has gone down. What the EMTs and doctors will say is that, maybe, but there's more people coming (in) with the signs of being addicted to meth.

The law enforcement look at it from their measures -- if they've only found a few labs; I think this year it's four. In 2005, there was a law passed called the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act -- CMEA; what that did was to limit selling (some ingredients for making meth like ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine) over the counter. You can still get it over the counter but only four boxes a month (with) ID. Now, instead of being one meth cook buying 20 boxes, which will red-flag and is usually how law enforcement gets alerted, everything is purchased legally. (Dealers spread their purchases) over their addicts, and they'll try to increase their addicts. That makes it difficult to track.

A lot of people say there are still plenty of meth labs in Wasilla. ... It's not like the police don't know, they just don't have the resources or the proof to do anything about it. And it can be anybody -- young kids, elderly people, soccer moms.

Q. Is there anything graphic in the film?

A. There are some pictures that are pretty disturbing and some mild profanity. It's not overly gratuitous, and I think it's worth showing the results even to a kid so it'll shock them. It's not a scare tactic because that's actually what people end up looking like. It's like, this is why you don't take your seat belt off.

If I were to put the rating on it, I'd say PG. Parents should attend with their kids.

Q. You submitted the movie to the Anchorage Film Festival. What are some comments you've heard about the movie?

A. I've gotten positive feedback. I think there was a review in the Northern Light, the UAA newspaper. It sold out when it showed in Anchorage. I wouldn't say it's a happy film but it definitely makes people think. I think they come away from it informed and that's the goal.

Q. What do you hope the film will accomplish?

A. I'm trying to get into schools as well. I'm hoping it can educate people before they'll come into contact with this drug so when they do, they won't have any desire or confusion about what it is and what it does.

Q. What's next for you?

A. I just sent off applications to the last college I'm applying to. I'm thinking film schools so I'm looking at the East and West coasts. My next project will be a feature-length film, sort of a dramatic thriller. I'm in the process of writing a screenplay and I plan on filming it here in Alaska.

Find Melodie Wright online at adn.com/contact/mwright or call 352-6721.

VIEW A PREVIEW: To see a trailer of the film "Ice Crystals," go to

uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_cxQ-tkUiWk

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