METH USE CONTINUES TO SPREAD

Federal officials say problem moving east President Bush declared
Nov. 30 the first National Methamphetamine Awareness Day, aimed to
educate citizens about the dangers of the illegal drug.

Garrison Courtney, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman,
said officials have seen an upsurge in meth use even as legislation
to prevent its production is implemented.

"Especially in the last year, one of the things we've seen is a
spread from the West Coast to the East Coast," he said.

The danger of this particular drug extends beyond the individual user
and puts community members at risk.

"When there's some meth lab, it just doesn't go away," Courtney said.

Chemicals from the lab can pollute the environment, contaminating the
nearest air and groundwater, Courtney said.

Individuals who come into contact with infected water or air can
sustain damages to internal organs, including kidneys and lungs.

And then there's the possibility of the inflammable fumes from the
process exploding.

"It's environmentally catastrophic," Courtney said.

Chapel Hill Police spokeswoman Jane Cousins and UNC Department of
Public Safety spokesman Randy Young both said they did not have any
recorded cases of the drug found on the campus or in the town.

The 2004 National Survey of Drug Use and Health sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services found that 5 percent of the
country's population reported using meth at least once in their lifetime.

William Renn, psychiatry professor and program director for the UNC
Health Care's Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program, said meth addicts
are a rarity at his clinic.

"The cases are very few and far between," he said. "Alcohol is still
our biggest concern."

Even on campus, UNC students admitted they knew more about the drug
through the television than through personal experience.

Joe Rigdon, a junior biostatistics major, said he learned about it
from MTV's True Life.

"It seems like it's pretty bad stuff," he said. "I hadn't heard of
another drug that does that."

Meth often causes hallucinations of bugs crawling under the skin,
leaving a user to scratch until developing open sores.

The drug also decreases the amount of saliva in the mouth and, along
with the characteristic grinding teeth and excessive consumption of
sugar, leads to rapid tooth decay.

Although the drug is disfiguring, Courtney warned that the bigger
concern is its addictive power.

"It's so addictive that less than 1 in 8 have success in rehabilitation."

In response to the proliferation of meth labs in recent years the
N.C. General Assembly passed legislation in 2005 to put the drug's
ingredients - cold medications containing pseudoephedrine and
ephedrine - behind the counter.

Fourteen labs were discovered in the state in 2000; 243 were
discovered in 2004.

Courtney said the new laws have decreased production in the country,
but have not stopped U.S. consumption of the drug. He said the
majority of meth used in the United States is made in Mexico and
illegally imported.

"It's not just spreading in the U.S.," he said. "It's spreading globally."