STAFF GETS GLIMPSE INTO WORLD OF METH

GRANVILLE -- The pictures drew collective groans from 180 or so people.

They were images of those addicted to crystal meth, their faces
covered with sores and their teeth rotting in their mouths.

The photos were the most jarring part of a training session Monday at
Granville High School designed to educate school staff on the
methamphetamine epidemic that has raged in other parts of the
country, and may be headed here.

Granville school Superintendent Daniel Teplesky said he decided to
have the school host the event as part of the district's
superintendent's training day after hearing of the event's
availability through BOCES.

Teplesky said crystal meth has devastated rural areas similar to
those found throughout much of Washington County, and he said he
hoped the event would let those in the school system know what to look for.

"It's something I thought we needed to be aware of," he said.

Brought in to increase that awareness were Tim Moon and Patricia
Kilgore of Saratoga County's Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention
Council. The educators gave a presentation as part of a federally
funded education program known as Meth 360.

Moon told those in attendance that rural areas of upstate New York
could be "particularly vulnerable" to the drug, since those who
manufacture it like to do so in out-of-the-way places to avoid discovery.

Program participants were shown common household chemicals that, when
cooked in combination with the decongestant pseudoephedrine, can
create the highly addictive stimulant.

"If you've got a Wal-Mart or Kmart, you've got what you need to make
methamphetamine," Kilgore said.

They were also told of the drug's street names -- crank, ice, crystal
and speed -- and were told that production of each pound of crystal
meth results in 5 to 6 pounds of toxic chemicals that seldom are
disposed of properly.

Moon also showed the picture of a severely burned person who was
injured when a meth lab exploded.

Those who abuse the drug come from all walks of life, but working
moms seemed to be among the biggest user group because it is a
stimulant, Kilgore said. Children had been found to be living in
close proximity to one out of every three labs, she said.

But it was the before-and-after photos of meth addicts that drew the
biggest reactions during Monday's session. Those pictured seemed to
go from presentable to emaciated and riddled with sores and rotten
teeth within months.

"It doesn't take long for deterioration to set in -- quicker than it
does with other drugs," Kilgore said.

Local police have made a handful of arrests related to crystal meth
in recent years, most recently finding the remnants of a small meth
manufacturing lab at a home in Hampton last December.

[sidebar]

BY THE NUMBERS

methamphetamine labs found in New York state

2003 -- 72

2005 -- 25

2006 (to date) -- 18

22 million -- number of meth addicts nationwide

3 million -- number of addicts seeking treatment

65 to 70 -- percentage of meth manufactured in California and Mexico
"superlabs"

Source: Partnership for a Drug-Free America