DON'T MESS WITH THE 'METH'

An alarming trend seems to be developing in the Covington County drug world.

In recent months, we have seen increasing reports of arrests for
methamphetamine.

Methamphetamine, also known as speed, meth, crystal, crank and sometimes
ice, is a speed-like drug that is highly addictive.

Methamphetamine used to be a commercially produced drug, used in nasal
decongestants, bronchial inhalers and in the treatment of narcolepsy and
obesity.

In the 1970s methamphetamine became a Schedule II drug -- a drug with little
medical use and a high potential for abuse.

Since methamphetamine is a Schedule II drug, it is no longer commercially
produced. Now, meth users cook up the illegal stimulant in clandestine
laboratories, often using crude equipment and common household ingredients.

The result is a potentially lethal mix of hazardous materials and flames.
One wrong move by the meth cooker and the whole lab can explode.

When police discover a methamphetamine lab, they have to take special
precautions to discard of the hazardous chemicals.

Needless to say, fighting the war against methamphetamine is an expensive
and dangerous proposition.

When I lived in Arkansas, the county the newspaper I worked for covered,
Saline County, had one of the highest arrest rates for methamphetamine in
that state.

Almost every day, we were covering stories about meth labs being discovered.
There were even a couple of instances of the labs exploding.

What amazed me is that people actually put these dangerous chemicals in
their bodies.

The sheriff there showed me a hole that had been burned in the seat of one
of the patrol cars after some of the ingredients used to make meth had
fallen out of a suspect's pocket.

Meth users can ingest this stuff into their bodies, smoke it or inject it.
The resulting "high" is speed-like that causes users to lose sleep and
neglect food.

The drug is highly addictive and after prolonged use, users become extremely
paranoid.

I had a former meth user tell me she got to the point where she believed spy
cameras were hidden in the telephone poles across the street from her house
and that army men were hiding in the bushes. She was afraid to even leave
her house.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that people should not mess with
meth. Not only is it illegal, but it is dangerous and even deadly.

While it is disturbing to see increasing instances of meth use in Covington
County, hopefully it is more an indication that law enforcement agents are
doing a good job rather than it is an indication that there is increasing
use of the drug.

And, hopefully, the good police work will put a stop to it.