METH LABS A PROBLEM THAT ISN'T GOING AWAY

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper Is Continuing To Bang The
Drum About The Dangers Of Methamphetamine.

He's right to do so.

Methamphetamine is a Schedule II stimulant. It's a drug that is
dangerous on every level, from production to use. Meth can be produced
from a virtual witches' brew of nasty ingredients, including battery
acid and antifreeze, and the production of a pound of meth can result
in 5 to 6 pounds of toxic waste.

Meth can be ingested in any number of ways, from eating it to inhaling
it to injecting it. Heavy use - and as meth is highly additive, heavy
use it common - can lead a user to take the drug over a period of days
without eating or sleeping. These "runs'' sometimes end in a heart
attack for the user, and sometimes end in tragedies involving others
as the result of highly flawed decisions at the hands of a ravaged
user.

The most frightening thing about meth is the rate at which the problem
is growing. An estimated 10 million Americans have tried meth, and the
number of meth labs is growing at an exponential rate. Four years ago,
nine meth labs were investigated across the entire state of North
Carolina. Last, 89 labs were discovered in Western North Carolina alone.

One lab was found within a half-mile of Candler Elementary School.
This is particularly troubling, as Van Shaw Jr. with the State Bureau
of Investigation recently noted that "Most kids removed from homes
with meth labs are having upper respiratory problems, chemically
induced pneumonia, those type of things.'' Not that parents of Candler
Elementary School students have to worry, as a half-mile distance is
far different than living in a home where meth is produced, but the
proximity is nonetheless chilling.

The thing about meth is it might be being manufactured almost
literally under our noses and we might not notice.

Pharmacist Tom Allison told the Citizen-Times, "I think it's a bigger
problem than you and I have an idea." Allison is one of the people who
have been calling for a statewide awareness campaign focusing on meth.

Attorney General Cooper's team is taking notice of this and is gearing
up to launch just such a campaign. Although details are still being
ironed out, spokeswoman Noelle Talley said we can look for "a
statewide awareness campaign using informational videos and materials
to highlight the impact of the meth problem on children, the
environment and taxpayers."

A more sophisticated approach could have businesses looking for
telltale signs of meth production, including keeping an eye out for
thefts or unusual purchases of "precursor chemicals'' associated with
meth production.

The meth epidemic is the public's problem, and the public is going to
have to be part of the solution. We've got a big problem that's
getting bigger.

It's time we started noticing it and responding.