A CLOSER LOOK

I'm working on a series on the devastating methamphetamine epidemic
sweeping the country; destroying lives, hurting children, exposing
law enforcement officers and firefighters to dangerous chemicals,
which also puts them at risk of sickness and explosions, and
contaminates the environment with hazardous materials and waste.

The series begins this week, and I hope it will help raise public
awareness about this incredibly addictive and deadly drug; meth.

For a great resource for finding out more info about the hazards and
devastation caused by meth in Butte County, see the Butte County Meth
Strike Force's website at: www.2stopmeth.org.

The task force's mission includes:

Educating the community about the significance of the meth problem in
Butte County and the dangers the drug presents to the users and to
the community at large.

Providing support to local methamphetamine prevention efforts,
treatment programs, and law enforcement.

Their Web site includes information from how to find out if a home or
apartment was contaminated due to a meth lab to where to go for
treatment if you are addicted to meth. It also includes personal
stories from former meth addicts, which are filled with pain, regret,
and also hope and redemption to inspire others with the message that
recovery is indeed possible.

One former addict named Kimberly shared an especially emotional,
eloquent, and moving testimony about the suffering she experienced
and caused her family and friends through her drug abuse. At the
conclusion of her story, Kimberly writes:

"There is nothing more better than life itself, and to see all of the
people on Meth now, I reminisce back to the day when i thought Meth
was more than life itself. It saddens me to see all the pain that it
causes to oneself, let alone to all of the family and friends of the
abusers. If you are an abuser yourself and you are reading this,
please take note that it is so easy to lose everything you love for
that 'high.' Learn to love yourself and the people around you, there
is no 'high' better than that. And if you have children, stop and
take a hard long look at them before you take that next hit. Do they
need to pay for all your mistakes? Because in all reality, they are
the ones that pay the hardest. Thank you for letting me share this with all."

Words cannot really describe the heartbreak and suffering of people
whose lives are devastated and even destroyed by meth and the
unspeakable trauma and pain to their loved ones, including family,
friends, neighbors, and the entire community.

Studies have shown meth causes both short term and long term health
problems and can turn a once healthy human being into a sick and
weakened state, including damaging the brain and exhibiting symptoms
like Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's.

Methamphetamine is considered among THE most addictive, extremely
powerful drugs that stimulates the central nervous system and often
results in physical and psychological abuse and dependency.

As the Task Force Web site explains:

"Immediately after smoking or injection, the user experiences an
intense sensation, called a 'rush' or 'flash,' that lasts only a few
minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Snorting or
swallowing meth produces euphoria - a high, but not a rush. After the
initial 'rush,' there is typically a state of high agitation that in
some individuals can lead to violent behavior. Short-term use results
in increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, elevated
temperature, wakefulness, nervousness, anxiety, and insomnia. Other
short-term effects of meth use include: Decreased appetite, increased
activity, irritability/aggression. These effects can last 8-24 hours."

Meth can also produce a form of psychosis ("tweaking") and a user who
is tweaking has probably not slept in 3 to 15 days and becomes
extremely irritable and paranoid. "A tweaker does not need
provocation to behave or react violently, but confrontation increases
the chances of violent reaction. If the tweaker is using alcohol, his
negative feelings and associated dangers intensify," the Web site reads.

"Chronic use can cause paranoia, hallucinations, repetitive behavior
(such as compulsively cleaning, grooming or disassembling and
assembling objects), and delusions of parasites or insects crawling
under the skin. Users can obsessively scratch their skin to get rid
of these imagined insects. Methamphetamine causes increased heart
rate and blood pressure and can cause irreversible damage to blood
vessels in the brain, producing strokes. Other effects of meth
include respiratory problems, irregular heartbeat, and extreme
anorexia. Chronic, high-dose methamphetamine abusers are generally
undernourished with a gaunt appearance, poor hygiene, rotten teeth
and suffer from extreme paranoia.

Long-term use, high dosages, or both can bring on full-blown toxic
psychosis (often exhibited as violent, aggressive behavior). This
violent, aggressive behavior is usually coupled with extreme
paranoia. In the form of paranoia, hallucinations, mood disturbances,
and repetitive motor activity), increased risk of convulsions, heart
attacks, and weight loss. Meth can also cause cardiovascular collapse
and death. For pregnant women, meth use can cause premature labor,
detachment of the placenta, and low birth weight babies with possible
neurological damage. Intravenous users can suffer from AIDS,
hepatitis, infections and sores at the injection site, and infection
of the heart lining and valves," the Meth Task Force Web site reads.

I hope you read the articles I've working on about meth and share the
information with others. As one drug expert on meth said, "The most
important tools in combating the meth epidemic is education and
public awareness."