OKLAHOMANS EXAMINE PAIN METH INFLICTS

Sandra came because she sees firsthand how too many women who use
methamphetamine don't have any place to go when they are released from drug
treatment centers.

Sherry pleaded for more help for children whose parents are on meth. As she
spoke into the microphone, her granddaughter, who had a red, white and blue
ribbon in her hair and a doll in her arms, was at her side.

"These babies are made from violent criminals," she said. "Why don't you do
something about it?"

They were among more than 150 people who crowded Tuesday night into a
meeting room at the Wesley United Methodist Church, 1401 NW 25, in search
of answers to a growing crisis in Oklahoma -- the spread of an illegal and
dangerously addictive drug called meth, or crank.

They came from as far away as Stilwell. And they included one man from
Kingston, who came to ask, "What can I do to help?"

The answers are not easy, he was told by a panel of experts. The panel was
assembled to discuss solutions to problems raised recently in a joint
project by The Oklahoman and KWTV NEWS9 called "Meth: Shattered Lives."

"We have two alternatives -- treatment or send them to jail," said District
Judge Tom Lucas, who presides over a Cleveland County drug court. "What we
have to do is send the violent ones to prison and have more substance-abuse
programs for the others."

Jeff Gregory scolded the panel, saying it doesn't realize how big the meth
problem is in Oklahoma and how the state has become a nationwide
distribution system for meth.

Stephen P. Alcorn, assistant district attorney for Oklahoma County, said
law officers are aware of the problem, particularly how it affects children.

"We see stuffed animals of little children with iodine stains (one of the
common ingredients used to cook meth)," he said. "We take food out of
refrigerators that tests positive for meth. We are trying to do everything
we can to help children."

Ben Brown, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services, said he was on the panel partially to convince
the audience treatment works.

"It's cost-effective and works well in conjunction with the criminal
justice system," he said.

Alcorn agreed that it's possible to "do what is right for both the
individual and society," but he said at times treatment doesn't make sense.

Meth abusers leave victims when they burglarize and steal to buy drugs, he
said. Still, he wants to see more money for treatment.

"Luckily, I'm not in the Legislature trying to find a way to get the
money," he said.

Jerry Regier, state Cabinet secretary of Health and Human Services, said
solutions to the meth problem involve more than deciding whether to spend
money on treatment or on prisons.

"One of the things you can do is hold elected and appointed officials
accountable," he said. "It's not always a matter of more money. It's the
more effective use of money."

Sandra, a recovering meth user, said women have few options.

"There needs to be a place where women can go to feel safe and get job
training," she said.

Lucas agreed that a critical challenge is to develop a better after-care
plan for meth users, particularly given the highly addictive nature of the
drug.

"Recovery is a choice," said Lisa, a recovering meth user. "No one can be
made to quit. Therein lies the dilemma."