UNITED FRONT AGAINST METH PLAGUE

Many Americans, through self-destructive choice, ruin their lives with
illegal drug abuse. In contrast, the many children whose lives are ruined
by such abuse have no choice in the matter. And the insidious spread of
"meth" addiction through our community and state is victimizing a growing
number of innocents, underscoring the growing need to counter this menace
with sufficient law enforcement, public education, treatment and child welfare.

As Jonathan Maze reported in Sunday's Post and Courier, the steep rise in
methamphetamine manufacture and use in our state has been accompanied by a
steep rise in child abuse, abandonment and neglect. Donny Brock, director
of outpatient treatment services for Charleston County, told our reporter
of the drug's negative impact on judgment: "That can explain why parents
are cooking up meth and letting their infant go two or three days without
eating."

That "cooking up" process, from a home-made witch's brew of legal
ingredients that makes cracking down on this drug very difficult, is a
highly volatile danger in itself. Yet its hazards aren't limited to
explosions. Ingesting or even just inhaling meth can induce a variety of
serious health conditions, with children particularly vulnerable. Some
children lose more than just their parents to meth. Dr. Olga Rosa, medical
director of the South Carolina Children's Advocacy and Medical Response
System, told our reporter it's all too easy to spot children suffering from
meth's effects: "It's very heart-wrenching. They just cry and cry and cry."

The meth plague tests not just traditional law-enforcement resources, but
the capabilities of hazardous-materials teams that must clean up the labs
and the social services that must find proper care for the youngsters who
deserve so much better.

Ninth Circuit Solicitor Ralph Hoisington wisely has assigned a special
prosecutor for meth cases, and S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster plans a
similar step. But if patterns established elsewhere hold here, this problem
won't be easily solved. A united front of police action, public awareness
and help for children in need is clearly in order.