CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY, BUT ON WHAT CHEMICALS?

Inconsistent Makeup Of Meth Carries Dangers Uncommon In Other Drugs.

Lynne Severns sees the toll methamphetamine can take on a person.

In her work as a certified psychiatric nurse and certified drug and alcohol
counselor, Severns knows what damage meth can do.

The problem is, you can't always tell what meth is.

"The concern I have about the addiction is you have people making this drug
that have no chemistry background," said Severns, who works at Behavioral
Healthcare of Northern Indiana. "There is tons of room for error."

Not all the danger of meth is from possible error, she said, noting
manufacturers may intentionally cut corners to increase profit. That's not
to mention the drug's basic dangers.

"It goes by supply and demand," Severns said. "If there's a huge demand out
there, they're going to dump whatever in there.

"Crystal meth cookers are just a bunch of crazies out there looking to make
a dollar.

"They don't care about the users."

And users thinking they are stopping short of using serious drugs like
cocaine and heroin may be surprised.

"It's a very tough addiction," Severns said. "It's certainly comparable to
heroin and cocaine."

But Severns and local law enforcement agree, meth is not nearly as tough to
obtain.

"My biggest concern with meth is that heroin and cocaine can be expensive
and difficult to get," Severns said. "That is not the case with meth."

In fact, meth is much cheaper than those drugs in the long run.

"A gram of meth costs the same as a gram of cocaine," said Curt Palmer, the
Marshall County Prosecuting Attorney. "But you can get high for 10 hours on
a gram of meth, as opposed to only two hours on a gram of cocaine."

In addition to its affordability, its reputation as a fun party drug draws
in many young people.

"It was originally thought to be a rave drug," Severns said. "Kids liked to
do it at parties.

"You dance. You party. You laugh and giggle and have constant body motion.
It wasn't a bunch of depressed people in a room doing it."

But it may very well be a bunch of depressed and irritable people in a room
once the effects wear off, she said.

"Many people will go in saying, 'I'm going to use only on Friday nights,' "
Severns said. "But pretty soon, all you're doing is using the drug or
thinking about when you're going to do it next.

"That's when it begins to destroy your home life, your reputation, your
job, your finances."

And addicts rarely use only meth, she said.

"I'm not seeing people who are just meth addicts," she said. "They're
poly-addicts, using marijuana, LSD and others.

"I don't know that people are specifically seeking treatment for crystal
meth, but I find it very hard for someone who comes in with a drug
addiction to have not had crystal meth available to them."

Steve Lehman, manager of the Woodlands Addiction Center in Vandalia, said
that is how most of the trickle of meth cases his office has seen to date
have turned up -- through people seeking treatment for other dependence
problems.

"Alcohol is still number one," he said. "Cocaine and marijuana are also big
problems, too.

"But methamphetamine -- it's coming back."

(SIDEBAR)

Signs of crystal methamphetamine use

There are many signs to watch for indicating possible methamphetamine
addiction. The most important factor, according to Lynne Severns, certified
psychiatric nurse and certified drug and alcohol counselor, is open family
communication. "You need to know where your kids are, who their friends
are," she said.

Other things to look for include:

Rapid weight loss, including many hospitalizations for dehydration

Sores on the face, neck and arms

Grinding teeth together, which leads many users to start using pacifiers
and candy pacifiers

Sleep disruption, including lack of sleep, or staying up extremely late and
sleeping into the afternoon

Body odor, especially of ammonia

Tactile hallucinations, in which users believe insects are crawling on
them, for instance

Missing a lot of work

Memory loss

Depression, irritability or other personality changes

Selling personal possessions, or stealing family possessions

Unrealistic feelings of power or ability, such as the ability to fly or
superhuman strength

Source: Treatment professionals and law enforcement officers