FIGHTING METH IS AN ISSUE FOR THE FRONT BURNER

The use of methamphetamine is spreading like a California wildfire
eastward across the United States, but officials here in New
Hampshire are working hard to dig a trench to keep the flames of
this epidemic at bay.

Members of the state Department of Health and Human Services, the
federal Drug Enforcement Agency, the U.S. Attorney's office, the
state attorney general's staff, members of state and local law
enforcement, and educators are teaming up with local businesses in
hopes of keeping this menacing drug problem from reaching the epic
proportions it has in other parts of the country.

We applaud their efforts and urge them to use whatever means are
necessary to halt the manufacture and use of this highly toxic and
dangerous substance.

The reason why an effort of this magnitude is so necessary is
because meth is a unique drug. It does not have to be imported from
some other region or country. It can be manufactured virtually
anywhere using substances readily available in any community by
anyone with a craving for the kind of high this drug offers and/or
the money its sale can bring.

Just a couple of years ago, Portsmouth police found a meth lab in
the trunk of a vehicle pulled over during a normal traffic stop.
Another lab, this one in an apartment, was subsequently discovered
by Dover police in that community.

The effects of this drug on its users are nothing short of
disastrous. Just take a look at some of the before-and-after
photographs associated with an article that appeared in Herald
Sunday (Visit seacoastonline.com for the complete story.) for
a glimpse of the havoc meth can wreak on the bodies and minds of
the people who use it.

But That Is Only Half The Story.

The process of manufacturing, or "cooking," meth is, in itself, a
hazard. That is because the process creates highly flammable
materials; more than one building has been leveled in this country
because a meth lab exploded on the site.

The manufacturing process also creates several pounds of toxic
materials for each pound of the drug produced, and those toxic
substances are often thrown out onto the lawn or flushed down
toilets, creating environmental hazards.

And then there are the children of the meth makers. They are exposed
not only to the threat of explosion, but the toxic fumes on a daily
basis. They are the innocent victims of this insidious drug.

Meth use and manufacture has overwhelmed law enforcement,
social-service workers, and the medical establishment in the western
states, perhaps because they were not prepared.

Hopefully, the efforts of DHHS Commissioner John Stephen, U.S.
Attorney Tom Colantuono, New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte
and others will better prepare this state for the onslaught that we
all know is coming.

We certainly hope that is the case.