SMALL CROWD, MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT METH

A small crowd asked some big questions at the follow-up community
forum on methamphetamine at Colfax High School Tuesday evening.

About 20 people attended an event that was the first of four
companion sessions to the Dunn County Community Forum on
methamphetamine held at Menomonie Middle School in November.

The second follow-up session is scheduled for Tuesday at Boyceville
High School from 6 to 8 p.m.

The Colfax forum featured the Dunn With Meth video, followed by a
panel discussion.

The panel was composed of Roxie Close of the Colfax School District,
Russ Cragin from the Dunn County Sheriff's Department, Dr. Steven
Rosas, a physician at the Red Cedar Medical Center who also is the
staff physician for Arbor Place, Jennifer Coyne of Arbor Place, and
Christine Murphy from Dunn County Health and Human Services.

Are teenagers operating methamphetamine labs?

The Dunn County Sheriff's Department has not found any meth labs
operated by teenagers in Dunn County, but teenagers have been
discovered operating meth labs in St. Croix County.

"What's most disturbing is we are seeing (meth use) in high school,
middle school and grade school age children," Cragin said.

The manufacture and use of methamphetamine often is generational and
runs in families, Coyne noted.

The anhydrous ammonia used on farm fields is one of the ingredients
of meth. Has it been banned?

Anhydrous ammonia must be transported in containers approved by the
federal Food and Drug Administration, Cragin said.

People operating meth labs will sometimes put anhydrous ammonia in
thermos bottles or in the small liquid propane tanks used for a gas
grill or a camper, he said.

"It's a bomb waiting to happen... the burns we see are incredible,"
Cragin said.

How are we addressing this as a school district?

The Colfax School District has not had to address methamphetamine use
until only the last year or two, Close said.

"Kids sometimes need something really graphic to make an impression
on them," Close said, referring to the presentation made by meth
expert Tim Schultz at Menomonie Middle School last fall.

Included in Schultz's presentation are graphic pictures of meth
users: rapid aging, rotten teeth and eroded gums, and burns suffered
when meth labs have exploded.

The pictures elicited audible gasps from the audience at Menomonie
Middle School, many of whom were middle and high school students.

"We have (Schultz) as a resource. I would like to have him come to
Colfax as a speaker," Close said.

Close also noted that she addresses methamphetamine in her classes at
the middle school and that the subject is covered in health classes
at the high school.

"The scary thing about meth is the whole idea of not even once. You
can use it once and become addicted. That scares me as a parent and
as an educator," she said.

A girl at Chi-Hi in Chippewa Falls became addicted to meth but said
she did not know it was meth when she started using it. How often is
it sold as something else?

Methamphetamine typically is not sold as something else, Cragin said.

Cocaine is similar to methamphetamine although it is not as
addictive, he noted.

Restrictions on the sale of pseudoephedrine have largely eliminated
meth labs in Dunn County, but "cocaine is making a big comeback," Cragin said.

Can meth be mixed with marijuana?

Methamphetamine is either injected, ingested or put into glass pipes
that are heated with a flame. Marijuana is a dried plant substance
that is smoked like tobacco, Cragin said.

Meth users inhale the fumes from the glass pipes, but they don't burn
it and inhale it directly. Mixing meth and marijuana would not be too
likely, Coyne said.

On the other hand, meth can be mixed with heroin, Cragin pointed out.
"We haven't seen that yet. Heroin comes from the East Coast, but it
will be here eventually."

What are the costs to the county associated with meth?

Costs associated with meth include the cost of jail time, foster care
for children and drug treatment, Murphy said.

But, she added, treatment for meth use "is not a week or a month. It
takes a long time to kick this. It takes a long time where it might
be safe to put children back in a home with their parents."

In the early days of treating meth addicts, it was believed that only
about 6 percent recovered.

"We now know that's not true," Coyne said. "There's about a 50
percent recovery, which is the same as other addictions."

How long does treatment take?

Methamphetamine can remain in the body for up to 120 days. In-patient
residential treatment at Arbor Place is usually between two and four
months, Coyne said.

When meth addicts were first being treated, the normal course of
treatment was 30 days. But since meth can stay in the body for up to
four months, those initial short treatments accounted for the low
success rates, she noted.

"Personally, I'd like to see treatment last for two years," Coyne said.

Dr. Rosas added, "We see many different people at different stages.
Length of treatment also will depend on the stage of the meth user."

What should you look for concerning symptoms of meth use?

In teenagers, look for changes in friendship groups and dropping
grades at school. In general, look for neglect of personal hygiene,
explosive behavior, more impulsive behavior, excessive talking,
constant movement with the hands and extreme paranoia, Cragin said.

"Meth users think everyone is one of three people: a cop, a snitch or
a member of the (Mexican) drug cartel. The paranoia is phenomenal," he said.

Early meth use could be confused with the normal ups and downs of
adolescent behavior -- except that the behavior becomes much more
explosive, Coyne said.

If my teenager uses meth once and then comes home, what might I see?

After a one-time use of meth, the person might be agitated, sweating,
be shaky and have tremors. Additional symptoms might include a quiver
in the voice, non-reactive pupils, excessive talking, excessive sleep
and high blood pressure, Rosas said.

If your teenager comes home one day and is suddenly talking
excessively to you when he or she generally does not do that, you
might want to suspect meth use, Coyne noted.

Does meth use cause permanent damage to the body?

"Many of the symptoms of meth use are reversible. It is individual.
It depends on the person. It is amazing how far back people can
come," Rosas said.

He noted that the liver is much more forgiving than the brain and
that brain damage associated with meth use is generally permanent.

How much does meth cost?

Cragin selected a plastic bag from a table display of methamphetamine
and assorted paraphernalia associated with meth use. Inside the
larger plastic bag was a tiny plastic bag about the size of a postage stamp.

"This is a gram. It is $200 worth of meth," he reported, explaining
that a heavy meth user can spend around $400 a day to support the
habit. "The residual crime to support a meth habit is astounding."

In addition to noticing physical changes in their children, parents
might also notice money or other items missing from around the house.
Neighbors might also report items stolen from their homes. Meth users
end up stealing and selling a variety of things to support their
habit, Cragin said.

For example, one meth dealer in the Twin Cities compiled a list of
items he was looking for, such as snowmobiles, pickup trucks and
four-wheelers. A group of meth users in Dunn County would steal those
items and then trade them for methamphetamine.

Is there a connection between the use of Ritalin that's been
prescribed and meth use? And what happens to someone who is taking
prescription Ritalin and then uses meth?

"I have seen no connection with kids treated with Ritalin for ADD
(attention deficit disorder) and meth use," Rosas said. "If a person
is taking a prescription strength dose of Ritalin and combines it
with meth, there won't be much of an additional effect."

Do people who use meth substitute that for other medications?

"Meth users neglect themselves all the way around and stop taking
their medication," Rosas replied.

And, depending on the medication, many meth users will sell their
medicine to get money to buy more meth, Cragin added.

Do you see much meth use at the university?

University students tend to use marijuana or Ritalin. The sheriff's
department has not seen much meth use among university students, Cragin said.

"The university students say it is very easy to buy Ritalin. They
take it to help them stay up all night so they can study for an
exam," he said, observing that methamphetamine often is considered to
be a drug used by rural white people.

What's the outcome for children who are taken out of meth homes?

"It's too early to have enough information," Murphy said, predicting,
however, that children who have been taken out of meth homes will
probably have similar reactions and problems later in life as
children who are taken out of homes for other reasons.

"We probably saved their lives when we removed them from a meth
house... kids are in extreme danger from the condition of the house," she said.

Parents who are high on meth have no recall about what they have done
or not done while they were high, and that includes not knowing
whether they have fed or taken care of their children, Cragin said.

What does meth smell like?

Meth smells like extremely strong cat urine. People using meth always
carry that smell around with them, Cragin said.

Meth has a sickly sweet strong chemical smell when it is smoked, Coyne said.