METH: THE NEW FACE OF AN OLD PROBLEM

Several members of my staff were huddled around a computer monitor,
grimly staring at the screen. There was an eerie stillness about the
group. Wondering what new bad news the Internet had brought, I went
to see what they were watching.

What I saw wasn't news, but it should have been. The group was
viewing a presentation called, "The Faces of Meth." It featured
before and after photographs of methamphetamine addicts. The "before"
photos were of attractive, healthy-looking men and women. The "after"
photos, taken within months to a few years of methamphetamine use,
depicted those same people as gaunt, sore-covered caricatures of
their former selves, aged far beyond their years.

From the time television first treated viewers to the this-is-your-
brain-on-drugs image of an egg sizzling in a hot skillet, we have
struggled to bring home to our children the harm that drugs can do.
At the close of this month, we will have a unique opportunity to get
this message across once more.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice, in partnership with
governors and other state and local officials, is sponsoring
Methamphetamine Awareness Day. It is a day dedicated to raising
awareness about the effects of this dangerous drug.

As my staff's experience with "The Faces of Meth" shows, we all have
more to learn. Variously known as "crank," "speed," "ice" and
"crystal," methamphetamine is an addictive, synthetic central nervous
system stimulant. It comes in powder, tablet, crystal and rock form.

It can be smoked, snorted, swallowed or injected. Its basic
ingredients include chemicals so dangerous that we routinely lock
them out of our children's reach: paint thinner, ether, Freon,
acetone, drain cleaner and battery acid, to name a few.

Its initial effects make meth a powerfully seductive drug. It creates
a euphoric rush, imbuing users with energy, decreased inhibitions,
suppressed appetite, increased metabolism and a sense of control.

The long-term effects are a different story. Over time, meth damages
brain cells, which can result in symptoms like those of Parkinson's
disease. Meth use decays teeth at an alarming rate. It can produce
paranoia, homicidal and suicidal ideation and hallucinations. One of
its more notorious effects is known as "crank bugs" - the sensation
of insects creeping under the skin that leads users to pick and claw
at healthy tissue, creating sickening sores that cover the face and body.

The effects of meth are not limited to those who use it. Meth labs
pose such environmental risks that investigators cannot enter them
unless covered from head-to-foot with protective clothing and masks.

Not so for the children inside these labs. In case after case,
toddlers have been poisoned, burned and sometimes even killed by
their would-be caretakers' attempts to produce meth in the places
these children call home.

This coming week, government and the media will be presenting a wide
range of outreach programs to inform the public of these and other
facts about methamphetamine. I urge you to take this opportunity to
learn more about the grave risks this drug poses and to pass that
knowledge along. The before-and-after images showing the faces of
meth are a good starting point.

These pictures and other information can be found at
www.usdoj.gov/methawareness and www.justthinktwice.com.

We've come a long way since the fried-egg approach to drug education.
More than telling our children to just say "no," these images can
show them why.

Gregory R. Miller is the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Florida.