Chicago's Meth Task Force to move its focus to other substances

By Matt Simonette
Staff writer, Chicago Free Press

Published December 12, 2007

The Chicago Crystal Meth Task Force has decided to reshape its focus and change its name in 2008.

At its Nov. 28 meeting, members decided to implement a change that had been contemplated for many months, adopting a more holistic agenda of mental health, behavioral and environmental factors that contribute to substance use and abuse.

In light of the shift, the task force is changing its name back to Chicago Task Force on LGBT Substance Use and Abuse, according to member Simone Koehlinger.

"We're broadening the focus to any substance that impairs judgment," Koehlinger said, adding that the change does not reflect any lessening of concern about the continuing impact of meth.

But after a year "of us trying to keep the focus on meth, we wondered if we might have been missing a lot of the bigger picture," she said. Meth, according to Koehlinger, "is kind of a red herring. There are other factors at work."

The task force plans to begin to address issues that might lead GLBTs to addictive behaviors. Koehlinger said they would consider how life in the GLBT community often stimulates and perpetuates such use.

She cited just a few questions GLBTs need to ask about themselves about their community and its social venues. "Where do you (usually) go out to meet people? Where do you hang out with friends? Bars," Koehlinger said.

"And how does being discriminated against at work or at home contribute to self-esteem issues which might lead to drug use?" she added.

But the task force is not interested in demonizing drinking, smoking or any other addictive behavior."

We would just like to have a community dialogue about changing some of the norms. It is (for example) normative for us to drink, and to drink a lot," Koehlinger said.

She acknowledged that task force members, given their varied backgrounds, would have to educate one another about the intricacies of various drugs and behaviors. According to Koehlinger, "There's some of us who are experts on smoking, and others who know about a lot about party drugs like ecstacy."

The task force also wants to bring various community leaders into the process. At the meeting attendees discussed training members of the community to facilitate peer-led discussions on substance abuse issues.

"We want to bring some bar owners back into the fold as well. We need to have them be part of this conversation too," Koehlinger added.

The task force's next meeting is in January.