INMATE DELIVERS 'SOBERING' MESSAGE

18-Year-Old Tells Rotary Most Cell Mates Are Meth Users, And Teens
Have Easy Access To Drug

COEUR d'ALENE -- Magistrate Judge Robert Burton on Friday asked his
fellow Rotary Club members to declare war on methamphetamine.

On Monday, it was learned Burton ordered jailers, over their
objections, to bring an inmate to the luncheon to speak at The Coeur
d'Alene Resort.

"Methamphetamine is being used by a lot of people in a lot of
different walks of life," Burton said. "So, be aware."

He said his objective was to educate the community about the its
"meth epidemic."

"I want to challenge this club to actually do something about it," Burton said.

Rotary president Dick Barkley said afterward he thought it was a
worthy request and the club should look into joining the fight.

"This sure has been a sobering message," Barkley said. "I'm sure we
can talk with the board and perhaps come up with something."

Burton said in district court about 80 percent of the crimes
committed, in one form or another, are traceable to methamphetamine abuse.

"The jails and prison are full," Burton said. "The majority of those
cases are meth related."

He said the drug is also giving rise to gangs moving into the area.

"There are 28 gang members in jail right now," he said.

Burton also said meth use affects not only users and their circle of
friends and family, but people they never meet.

He said often cooks will set up labs in motel rooms, make the drug
then depart, leaving toxic fumes and wastes in their wake.

He also said a high number of users' children are found to have been
exposed to the drug, with testing of their hair follicles showing the
drug in their systems. He said it's routine to find children born
addicted to the drug.

"This club has all of the high-profile people in it, everybody from
all walks of life, and here's an opportunity to do something," he said.

He introduced Jessica, an 18-year-old woman he placed back in jail
after she violated her probation on a juvenile conviction.

Jessica, whose last name was withheld, said she first tried
methamphetamine when she was 16.

"When I tried it the first time, I didn't like it," she said. Later,
she was turned on to meth at parties where smoking, drinking and
marijuana use was going.

She said the drug was easily found at schools and houses where one
would never think it was used.

She said it gave her the boost she needed to keep going. But all too
soon, she said she was hooked.

She said the drug is becoming more socially acceptable, especially
with teenagers.

"They think they can stay up longer and get their homework done," she said.

Now, in jail, she said she shares a pod with 25 other women. Of
those, 22 are users and five are pregnant.

Users are "teachers, health-care providers, store owners, child-care
providers, cab drivers, pregnant women and teenagers, just to name a
few," she said. "They are not all homeless people with no teeth.

But she said with treatment and support, the war can be won.

"Filling up our jails is not the answer," she said.