OFFICERS EDUCATE ON THE SEEDY SPECIFICS OF DRUGS

A table in front of Citizen Police Academy students was covered in
drugs -- everything from Ecstasy to LSD, along with paraphernalia
used to do drugs and common items people use to hide them.

Agents Daryl Pace and Brad Crowe gave the students a crash course in
drugs, beginning with a video of police using undercover agents to
bust several sales.

Crowe, who worked 12 years with the Clarksville Police Department
Drug Unit, said that no matter what anybody thinks, drug use "is a problem."

"I don't care what area of town you live in, there are drugs in your
neighborhood," he said.

Cocaine

Crowe said the most abused drug in Clarksville is cocaine, which can
come in a powdered form or a rock form called "crack."

The powder form is typically snorted, injected or taken orally, and
the effect of a small amount can last 20 to 40 minutes.

The rocks are smoked with a pipe. As the rock melts, the vapor goes
into the brain, giving the user a feeling of euphoria. But each high
a user receives will never be as intense as the one before it, which
leads to people buying more and more crack and getting money for it
in any way they can -- including theft.

After doing the drug so much, users require it to get back to a normal state.

"I've seen it bring down some high-profile people," Crowe said.

Getting off cocaine, Crowe said, is difficult to do because it
requires an entire change in lifestyle to prevent the addict from
wanting to use again.

Prescription drugs

Prescription drugs are also widely used. Crowe said these are
particularly dangerous because people are taking the pill without
the advice of a doctor, who knows how the person's body will respond.

Those who aren't prescribed the drugs usually get them from someone
who sells them to cover their cost of living, often by stealing them
from terminally ill patients or drugstores.

An example, Crowe said, is when a local drug store was robbed of
OxyContin, a powerful pain pill. Drug stores rarely carry the
painkiller anymore.

"It's a case where this drug can really help people in pain, and
people abuse them and cause things like that to happen," Crowe said.

Ecstasy

Ecstasy, known as a party drug, is a "touchy-feely" drug that is
taken orally and can be common on or near college campuses.

The tablets look like normal pills. The drug raises the body
temperature and can "cook the brain" if the user doesn't drink
enough water. And it can cause the user to grind his teeth, which
explains why many rave-goers are seen with pacifiers hanging around
their necks.

Marijuana

Marijuana, which is a green plant that is smoked, gives the user "a
euphoric feeling" and "allows them to relax."

The drug also changes the user's perception -- from sight to
hearing, taste and smell -- and the user might "find everything
funny or raid the refrigerator."

A low dose, Crowe said, causes mild enchantment, and higher doses
can lead to paranoia.

During a controlled burn, students got to smell marijuana smoke -- a
distinctive odor.

LSD

LSD, otherwise known as acid, alters the user's awareness and senses
and can give the user hallucinatory visions such as the walls
changing colors or "breathing," and the visions often don't leave
when the user closes his eyes.

Crowe said when someone does LSD, a small molecule remains in the
body and can work its way to the brain several months or years down
the road, causing a "flashback," or returning feeling of being on the drug.

Meth

Methamphetamines usually are created in a lab in someone's home
using ingredients such as lithium from batteries, anhydrous ammonia
and other caustic materials.

"People often say that the best way to find a meth lab is to wait
for one to blow up," Crowe said, noting the explosive chemicals involved.

The user may lose interest in sex and have welts on the skin. Users
also may become violent or have suicidal urges.

Roots of crime

The effects of drugs on the community, Crowe said, can be seen in a
2002 study where 56 percent of local inmates who committed robberies
said they did so while on drugs, 56 percent with weapons charges
said they were on drugs and 55 percent with charges of
burglaries or motor vehicle theft said the same.

Fighting crimes caused by drug users, Crowe said, is "a never-ending
battle that these guys fight every day."