The Cleaner Premier on A&E and My Past Struggle with Meth Addiction

A&E Television premiered its new series, The Cleaner, Tuesday night at 10/9C. The Cleaner stars Benjamin Bratt in the starring role of William Banks, a recovering heroin addict who now makes a living helping others in the throes of addiction.

Banks is married to Melissa, played by Amy Price-Francis, and has two children, Ben (Brett Delbuono) and Lulu (Liliana Mumy). During the premier episode, it is revealed that when Lulu was born, William was down the hall getting high. He made a promise to God that if God could get him through that day, he would dedicate his life to helping other addicts. This promise William made to God has taken its toll on William's family, as made obvious by the bickering between William and his wife. Melissa said at one point, "You've replaced one addiction with another!" At the end of the episode, viewers realize Melissa and William actually have separate bedrooms.

In William's job as the Cleaner, he works out of the back of a mechanic shop with the tough but beautiful Akani Cuesta (Grace Park) and Arnie Swenton (Esteban Powell), the wild card. William's partner, Mick, whom he'd known for 20 years, dies in this episode, apparently from a steroid overdose. Each case is different for the Cleaners, as each addiction is different. This episode, the Cleaners rescued a high school student and his girlfriend from the depths of meth addiction.

My Past Meth Addiction in Comparison to the Portrayal in The Cleaner

This episode of The Cleaner made me realize how lucky I was to survive my past meth addiction. The episode delved into the constant struggle, the forever race for the next hit, when it depicted this high school boy robbing his mother's jewelry box in exchange for more meth. That's exactly how it happens, although in the episode, the boy went from looking healthy and playing basketball one day to living on the street with dirty, sunken cheeks the next. To get to that state doesn't happen overnight.

Chasing the next hit of meth is like having an itch you can't quite reach. The feeling is always there. The second after you score some speed, you're wondering how you're going to get the money for the next fix. That feeling, which we called 'fiending', is almost impossible to ignore.

The symptoms from using meth or speed include a racing heart, a surge of adrenalin, and a constant state of agitation, which can come in the form of tongue chewing or sucking, nail flicking, skin rubbing, and other nervous habits. The episode of The Cleaner covered these symptoms very well.

Meth addicts, while high, do not sleep, eat, or drink, sometimes for days or weeks at a time. A typical rotation for me was five days high or 'tweeking', one day coming down or 'crashing', and a day of sleeping, eating, and drinking as much as possible. The Cleaner's depiction of the meth-addicted character showed both the high cycle, where he and his girlfriend were robbing a house, and the following crash, where he desperately tried, and failed, to get that one last hit off his glass meth pipe.

The Cleaner didn't focus on any aspect of meth addiction which could be misconstrued as positive. Characteristics of a meth addict include amazing attention to cleanliness, organization, and documentation. When high, I kept track of everything in a journal I still have today. Every single day, I wrote down the minutest detail of my day. My house was impeccably clean. Every aspect of my life was extremely organized.

I spent two years as a meth junkie, doing speed 5-7 times a week. When I quit, I slept for three days straight. I was so tired, and I couldn't function. I stayed clean for a few months, and then I began using meth occasionally again, perhaps once every few months. I used meth for a total of four years. It was a personal epiphany which caused me to put down the meth pipe six years ago and never look back. I don't recommend trying to quit meth on your own. It worked for me, because I had a strong motivator. Meth is a powerful addiction which usually takes a drug treatment program to overcome.

I urge former addicts to use caution when watching The Cleaner. There are very realistic depictions of drug use which could trigger a euphoric recall for past users. That said, The Cleaner has a good premise, a great cast, and a very strong and positive message. The Cleaner airs Tuesday nights on A&E.