SEMINAR POINTS OUT FAR-REACHING METH DANGERS

Methamphetamine use is not just a drug problem.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Hydee Hawkins, it's a "national
epidemic," affecting otherwise law-abiding Americans and their
children, and is the number one drug that law enforcement battles today.

This was the focus of an hour-long symposium last night in the Small
Ballroom of the Student Center for National Methamphetamine Awareness
Day. The day was created after President George W. Bush issued a
proclamation earlier in November.

"On National Methamphetamine Awareness Day, we underscore the dangers
of methamphetamine and reaffirm our collective responsibility to
combat all forms of drug abuse," Bush wrote in a statement.

Hawkins was the speaker at the event. She has been prosecuting meth
cases for 15 years.

Three students and eight adults listened to Hawkins as she detailed
the physical effects of meth, the basics of meth production and the
effects of meth usage and production on children.

Sometimes called the "poor man's cocaine," Hawkins said that the
effects of meth last for 14 to 16 hours and that the user cannot sleep
during that time. She said she has seen many cases of truck drivers
using meth because it allows them to drive all night.

"I can't think of anything worse than an 18-wheeler on the road with a
driver that's under the influence of meth," she said.

Because of its potency, 99 percent of users are hooked after their
first try, Hawkins said. There are 1.5 million regular meth users in
the U.S. with one to two labs being discovered each day.

"If you do not stop, if you do not get help, you will die," Hawkins
said.

In addition to death, meth usage can cause blindness, tooth decay and
birth defects as well as many other health complications.

Hawkins stressed that meth affects many children.

From 2000 to 2005, 15,000 children were removed by law enforcement
from homes with meth labs, she said. Many of these children had been
exposed to the chemical fumes used in making meth, but the long-term
dangers of such exposure are unknown.

Kentucky is one of 41 states currently restricting the purchase of
pseudoephedrine, a common

decongestant in cold medicine and a key ingredient
in

homemade meth production, by placing the medication behind pharmacy
counters.

Van Ingram, of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, expressed
doubt over the effectiveness that limiting access to pseudoephedrine
is having on meth production.

"Folks who make meth won't be put off," he said.

At UK, Holly Hopper coordinates the Drug Endangered Child Training
Network and is chairwoman of the Kentucky Alliance for Drug Endangered
Children.

Hopper said that she works with the Colleges of Dentistry, Medicine
and Public Health, as well as the Kentucky Public Safety Cabinet to
help children affected by meth and other drugs.

"We put forth a concerted effort to protect and treat kids," she said.
"We are making progress, but there's always more to do."

Undeclared freshman Stephanie Kenney was one of the three students who
attended the symposium. She said she went for her UK 101 class.

"I really liked it," she said. "I didn't know it was just so easy (to
make meth)."