VICTIMS OF 'METH' ABOUND

Advocates of drug legalization, citing the failure of Prohibition,
argue that banning the use of mind-altering substances by consenting
adults is not only an exercise in futility but an overreach of
governmental authority in a free society. Some even call illegal drug
use a "victimless crime" - at least beyond those who use the
substance. Yet when the drug is methamphetamine, victims abound, and
the risks imposed by its use aren't limited to those who take it.

While enforcing drug laws has long been a dangerous task for the
police, enforcing meth laws brings the added menace of exposure to
hazardous materials. That threat hit home in Moncks Corner last week
when two Berkeley County sheriff's deputies were hospitalized after
participating in a raid that resulted in the arrests of four men on
assorted charges, including the manufacture of methamphetamine.

According to a report in The Post and Courier, the officers became
dizzy, with one having trouble breathing, after inhaling fumes in a
mobile home that police said contained a meth lab. Fortunately, those
ill effects were short-lived - this time.

Unfortunately, the growth of the meth market, and the high-risk
methods used to supply it, appear to be a long-term trend, here and
across the nation.

Berkeley County Sheriff's Capt. Whilden Baggett told our reporter:

"Meth labs, we've been talking about them for the last couple of
years. It seems that all the things we thought and were planning for
are coming true."

Capt. Baggett added that the Sheriff's Office dismantled at least 30
labs last year, and expects to dismantle a larger number this year.
Such labs typically are set up in residential areas.

That realization is particularly harrowing in light of the volatile
process required to make meth. Its "cooks" stir up a veritable
witch's brew, often including antifreeze and battery acid, that can
produce not just noxious fumes but powerful explosions. The rise in
this drug's popularity also has been accompanied by a rise in child
abandonment and abuse as parents locked in meth's addictive grip
neglect their duties to their offspring.

So debate the pros and cons of our drug laws in pursuit of more
effective policies. But don't imagine that the only victims of meth
are those who use it.