'THE SCOURGE OF SOCIETY'

Meth Awareness Tour A Reminder Of The Drug's Addictive Pull

If we turn our heads and fail to face the problem of methamphetamines
the problem may not be solvable in 10 years, U. S. Rep. Steve Pearce
(R-NM) said Wednesday.

"Meth is a scourge on our society. It is not only very addictive but
very violent."

Pearce was in town on the third day of a 17-stop tour across the 2nd
Congressional District intended to raise awareness of the problem of
methamphetamine use and to elicit ideas and strategies for combating
what many believe is an epidemic.

Pearce told audiences convened in Mescalero and in Ruidoso that "We
cannot arrest our way out of this problem nor restrict our way out.
Nor can we spend our way. The solution has to be raised locally; from
families and communities."

Pearce said he and his staff have dedicated the month of August to
drug awareness. Following the meth tour, his office will look at
legislation that can offer support to local law enforcement agencies,
schools and health care providers. But, he urged, "I'm here to tell
you, no one from Washington is coming to help you. We can send money
and make laws but that is all we can do. We have to put an end to the
desire and the demand for meth where it begins."

Pearce, who had been in Anthony on Monday, said he learned there that
veteran inmates in the La Tuna Prison trade commissary privileges for
urine from new inmates who were meth users.

"They drink the urine to get high," he told audiences. "Now, if I
think about my son or daughter doing such a thing, it would hit home.
This is an example of just how powerful the pull of this drug is and
what people will do to get it."

The popularity of Methamphetamine among drug users has sky-rocketed
in the past 30 years with the growth in lab operations here and in Mexico.

Authorities say that meth trafficked across the border can be
addictive after just one use as the grade made in super labs in
Mexico is higher than that made in domestic labs. Within 30 days
users can lose their teeth, 30 percent of their body weight, and are
susceptible to brain damage, heart failure and stroke. At the same
time, user behaviors become increasingly erratic due to the damage of
neurons that contain Dopamine and Serotonin.

Greg Cordova, fire chief in Mescalero, said that he has seen first
hand violence and delusion among meth users.

"I've seen a three-year old boy hanging in his own home by his father
who was strung out on meth. I've seen a man on meth with a broken arm
keep coming after officers and not feel the pain. I've seen a lot of
ugly things and it breaks my heart," he said.

Dr. Charles Harrison, newly appointed superintendent of Mescalero
Apache Schools, told Rep. Pearce he is "deeply concerned" about the
threat of methamphetamines on today's youth.

"I began my career in education in the '70s and in our drug training
we focused on three things: Prevention, intervention and
rehabilitation. As the school years have gone by prevention education
for our youth has gone down the line from 9th grade to 7th grade and
now we, in some places, are doing it in Kindergarten. I'd say that is
a sad statement."

Dr. Paul Wirth, superintendent of Ruidoso Schools, said he advocates
for an age-appropriate but pro-active, "scared-straight philosophy"
in all schools in the country.

Wirth described a presentation put on by State Police officials at
Ruidoso High in recent years in which a graphic video shown was
highly effective.

"Frankly, we scared the heck out of our kids and staff. We told them
the scary truth about meth, we gave them the facts. I would encourage
other school districts to do the same," he said.

Pearce said he is hearing alarming statistics from school
administrators in his district. When in Carlsbad July 31, he learned
that methamphetamine afflicts 11 percent of Carlsbad's high school
population - nearly four times the national average of three percent.

Pearce said his concern extends to children who do not choose to do
meth, in its varied forms, but who are otherwise affected.

"When meth is cooked in a home lab it stays in the sheet rock and
furnishings and eventually affects the health of the children," he
said. "It can be toxic."

Responding to inquiries about early testing, Pearce said he would
study mandated testing of newborns in hospitals and expanded testing
of teens in school but said that until such a mandate comes from the
federal government, if it comes, each hospital and school district
can make routine testing a part of their in house policies.

Pearce talked about new laser technology currently being used by the
federal government that might be applicable to communities.

"What it is, is a series of lasers set up that can sense drugs like
meth. That information is picked up by UAVs that fly over the area
and reads the chemical imprints. AdvertisementWe are trying this on
the border now but sometimes when we talk about bringing such
technology into our neighborhoods you begin to see controversy," he said.

Judy Miller, a Ruidoso Downs City Councilor, said meth dealers should
be charged the same as murderers.

"If you start meth it is likely going to be what kills you," she
said. "Using it is a terminal illness and the dealers know that."

Speaking as one, members of the 12th Judicial District Probation and
Parole Office, said they are seeing an increase of meth among
probationers during drug tests and asked why probationers who test
positive for meth use can't be charged with "possession of methamphetamines."

Calls for tougher sentencing was heard from forum participants in
both Mescalero and Ruidoso but court and law enforcement agents said
their department's are already overwhelmed.

Frank Hooper, director of the new Lincoln County Narcotics
Enforcement Agency, said the public's help in fighting meth
production, sale and use is paramount.

"At one time I had six narcotics officers now there are only two of
us," he said. "I get about 10 calls a week from people reporting
unusual traffic at a house they're watching but most of my time is
spent in the office dealing with paperwork and getting a search
warrant requires more than what a caller can provide."

Hooper said individuals who are inclined to monitor their
neighborhoods can help by documenting the time when activity was
observed; collecting descriptions on persons going in and out of the
residence, the license plate numbers on cars seen, and even
video-taping activity, when possible.

"Without more resources it is an uphill battle for us," he said.
"This [methamphetamine epidemic] does not look like a battle we are
going to win unless there is cooperation by everyone."

Across the board agency representatives present at the meth talks
said that they are understaffed and under funded but all agreed that
circumventing use through education was the key. To begin changing
things, access to rehabilitation and counseling services must be made
possible, they said.

"I can sit here and say that we need more money for prosecutors and
law enforcement but when I look outside myself, I understand the most
important thing is education and intervention," David Ceballes,
deputy district attorney, said.

Pearce said that what was revealed in Mescalero was that smaller,
tighter communities face challenges different from larger
communities, including a heightened fear of reprisal from
methamphetamine dealers. Testimony was heard about families who have
faced drive-by shootings when parents complained that their children
were being lured into meth use.

Doralynn Simmons told Rep. Pearce that dealers seem to target
reservations for staging distribution of drugs because "they feel
more safeguarded."

"They have an understanding of how our laws work and protect them on
the reservation," she said.

Mark Chino, president of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, said he would
talk to the tribe's local telephone co-op to see if a hotline can be
set up where activity can be reported anonymously.

Meanwhile, Debbie Toclan-ny, coordinator of the Mescalero Drug Court
Program, said she would help organize a community helpline for users
and would like to be a part of a Neighborhood Watch program on the reservation.

Pearce said the atmosphere he encountered in Mescalero "demonstrated
precisely what he was hoping to accomplish" through his
methamphetamine awareness tour.

"This forum for discussion galvanized a community eager to fight the
methamphetamine crisis," he said Wednesday.

Pearce added that he has benefited from talks with residents and
leaders in all the communities he has visited and said he would be
back to help them "win this battle for the lives of our children."

Pearce said he plans to return to the area in October to help arm
schools with training programs for staff and education for youth. A
copy of all ideas expressed in Pearce's two week tour of communities
is to be distributed from which "communities can draw from one
another for solutions," as well.

Fast fact: Methampheta-mine cases handled by narcotics teams in New
Mexico grew from 267 in 2002 to 325 in 2003, according to the New
Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. In the same years, meth
labs seized by the DEA grew steadily from 46 in 1999 to 190 in 2003
to 120 in 2004.