Of Meth and Men

This article was posted in the Westword in December by Luke Turf, prior to Think Outside the Cage being launched. Not only is it a very personal story about methamphetamine addiction, it also tells the stories of two CCJRC members, Bob Dorshimer and Imani Latif and the work that they are doing, on the battlefront, helping people recover.

In public, gay men once called meth "Christina" because it sounded like "crystal." The nickname was soon shortened to "Chrissy," then changed again to "Tina" by the time Rod Rushing finally decided to get rid of the bitch.

Rod and Tina had been up for a night, maybe two, three or more, and hard rain was pouring down when Rod sought shelter -- and help -- at Addiction Research and Treatment Services, a clinic in City Park West. In 2003, more and more gay men were showing up at ARTS with meth addictions. They were all assigned to Bob Dorshimer's caseload.

Bob took Rod to the clinic's conference room, where they sat down for lunch. It was the first food Rod had eaten in days.

As he ate, he talked with Bob about the rising popularity of the "party and play" scene in the Mile High City. Men who craved meth-fueled sex could find each other by surfing websites and chat rooms or cruising the bathhouses in town and searching out the party. But Bob could see that the party was about over for Rod.

"I thought to myself, "Wow, look what meth is doing, look what meth has done to this man,'" Bob remembers. "It had taken away his job and his career; he was homeless, and all he had left was meth."

Read the story by Luke Turf here at Westword