LOST TO METH

Drug's Toll Mounts As Heavy Use Continues

Decades after crystal methamphetamine was first revealed to be the scourge
of Southern California, some recent horror stories show how this dangerous
drug continues to plague our communities.

A 16-year-old girl was shot and killed by Escondido police in May when she
inexplicably put a gun to the head of an accomplice following a day-long
violent crime spree. Toxicology tests showed she was high on meth.

A mother and father who drowned along with four of their children at Lake
Isabella last month had meth in their systems.

A driver shot to death by police in May after he fired at a tow-truck
operator who had stopped to help him in Oceanside had enough
methamphetamine in his system to cause irrational behavior, toxicologists said.

While meth use may have declined locally since the early 1990s, nearly
one-third of adults arrested in San Diego still test positive for the drug.
Nearly 40 percent of all substance-abuse treatment admissions in our region
are for meth. And juvenile users report that meth is more available than ever.

Experts say long-term, heavy use of methamphetamine leads to drug-induced
psychosis resembling paranoid schizophrenia, with violent delusions and
tendencies. Abuse of this drug is so common locally we tend to overlook its
link to the violent, bizarre stories in the news almost every week. In the
most sordid, depressing way, meth has become embedded in the fabric of our
community.