FRESNO, METH AND MTV MIX IN DOCUMENTARY

Serena Altschul makes her way - in the dark - through the heavy brush
around an average-looking farmhouse just north of Fresno. She's surrounded
by state Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement officers, each dressed as if
they're going to war. Their objective: Close down another "super meth lab"
before the the night is over.

It wouldn't be until the next morning before Altschul would realize the
enormity of the subject of her MTV offering "True Life: I'm On Crystal
Meth" set to air at 10 p.m. today. The latest episode of the documentary
cable series looks at what many experts are calling one of the most
frightening drug epidemics this country has ever seen: D-methamphetamine,
commonly known as crystal meth or, simply, meth.

"I could not believe it. I had no sense of how huge an organization this
was," Altschul says of her trip here in November. That's when in the
morning light, the MTV reporter saw the vast amount of chemicals that would
have been used to turn out millions of dollars of the drug.

Why Fresno? Bob Pennal, Narcotics Enforcement special agent, explains in
the special that "California is to meth what Colombia is to cocaine." And,
while you won't find it in any Chamber of Commerce brochures, meth created
in Valley houses spread like a disease across the United States.

Altschul explains the decision was made to show that the meth problem isn't
confined to one group or the major cities, but that it stretches from
farmlands to family homes.

"This is not just 'their problem,' it is everyone's problem," Altschul adds.

The special goes from Fresno to Des Moines, Iowa, a central crossroads for
meth distribution to the rest of the country. "True Life: I'm On Crystal
Meth" talks to cookers and how the recipe for the drug is increasingly
available via the Internet and books.

After several days of surveillance at various farm houses, the team moved
in on the "super lab."

"The way it works is that in many cases there will be farms where the
owners have no idea a barn is secretly being leased out by caretakers.
There is a huge quantity of money involved and all they have to do is keep
their mouths shut. It is tempting," Altschul says.

The Fresno segment also includes a talk with a police informant who only
speaks from shadows in fear he and his family will be killed by those
behind the meth labs. His brief, but candid talk on camera comes after
hours of pre-interview discussions.

"He finally decided to cooperate because I told him we were trying to
inform people about this huge problem," the MTV reporter says. "He decided
to talk because he has been a pawn and now he is suffering the ill effects
of the meth."

The police informant reveals that despite never being a meth addict, he has
a variety of major health problems caused by being locked in barns and
farmhouses for days with the foul-smelling chemical mix. The labs here
belong to crime lords - many based in Mexico - who never have direct
contact with the drugs.

"This is a business. They don't use because it is a factory," Pennal says.

Despite the cooperation of the agencies, Altschul said there were some very
tense moments.

"There were a lot of times when we had to be very careful because the
materials used to make the meth are very toxic," Altschul says. Besides the
raid, the special also takes the MTV reporter to prisons, back-road
meetings with dealers and into the homes of addicts.

Unlike most news reporters, Altschul takes a very direct approach to the
story. She carries a small hand-held video camera used to collect footage
that might be lost under the glare of more sophisticated television equipment.

Altschul joined MTV in 1996 as a contributor to MTV's political-awareness
campaign. The New York native has produced the past "True Life" episodes
"Fatal Dose," a report on the rise of heroin use among young people, and
"I'm a Hacker," a look at the underground world of computer hackers.