CITIZENS NEED TO STAY FOCUSED IN THE BATTLE AGAINST METH USE

Earlier this week, Randy Price discovered a methamphetamine lab dumped in a
trash can at his truck stop. It's a sad reminder of the scourge of meth
abuse on the Ozarks.

As candidates come seeking your vote for various local and statewide
offices, it's appropriate to ask them how they would help deal with the
problem of meth abuse in our area.

This affects everyone. Meth labs are an explosive biohazard that have the
ability to harm innocent bystanders.

Of course, the greatest danger from meth is to the meth users themselves.
The Journal of Neuroscience recently published results from the first high
resolution MRI study of meth addicts' brains.

The results aren't good, according to a story in the New York Times.
Prolonged meth use can quickly cause brain deficiencies similar to those
that afflict Alzheimer's patients.

Researchers found one surprising result. White fibers in meth addicts'
brains were severely inflamed, making the brain 10 percent bigger than it
should have been. Those fibers, however, were not dead, researchers said,
and the nerves could possibly recover if addicts quit. For the overall
health of our community, everyone needs to be concerned about meth and the
harm it causes.