NOT JUST THE USER SUFFERS

Approximately 1,200 people got the message. That's what MEADA was
hoping for.

The Rogers High School gym was full Monday for the methamphetamine
awareness meeting sponsored by the Otsego-Rogers MEADA
(Methamphetamine Education and Drug Awareness) group. A panel of law
enforcement officers, a child protection worker, chemical dependency
specialist and a recovering meth addict (see separate story on this
page) shared their knowledge of a drug considered to be the most
powerful and dangerous of them all.

Lt. Todd Hoffman, Wilkin County Sheriff's Department, described meth
as a stimulant "a lot like cocaine." But while cocaine is derived
from a natural substance (the coca plant), "There's nothing natural
about meth."

Ether, anhydrous ammonia and the lithium metal from batteries are
some of meth's ingredients.

"When was the last time you stuck a lithium battery up your nose?"
Hoffman asked the crowd. "But this is the stuff people are putting
into their bodies."

Why? Possibly because of the powerful feeling it creates. While
cocaine creates a euphoric rush that lasts 15--20 minutes, that same
feeling from meth can last 45 minutes or more. After the rush wears
off, there's still a high that lasts about one--three hours with
cocaine and up to 18 hours with meth.

The effects of meth go far beyond the user.

"If you're high for 18 hours, you think maybe that's going to affect
your job?" asked Hoffman.

Meth is an aggressive drug. With its use comes an increase in assault
and domestic incidents.

Hoffman urged parents, "If you think your kid is using drugs, search
their room."

If they are, one things parents might find are "foilies," strips of
aluminum foil used for packaging or smoking meth. Carbon residue is
an indicator the foil was used to smoke. A roll of foil in their room
or vehicle is another clue. When it is heated up and vaporized, meth
probably won't have a smell.

Another clue is light bulbs without filaments, which are used as a
pipe for smoking meth. Also, long-term smoking of meth corrodes the
teeth.

"Not all meth users are bad people," said Hoffman. "But meth users do
bad things."

Rogers Police Chief Keith Oldfather's law enforcement background
includes dealing with youth and drugs in Minneapolis. He had a stern
message for the youth in the audience.

"There is nothing more sickening than finding a dead 16-, 15-,
14-year-old in the street," he said. "People are dying from this
stuff If you ever need someone to talk to, come into my office. I
will listen. I will not be judgemental. I'll point you in the
direction we can both agree on I've seen this stuff on the street
and I don't want it to happen to you."

The importance of parents in the battle against meth was stressed
throughout the meeting.

Said Dustin Chapman, drug and alcohol dependency counselor at
Fairview Behavioral Services, "I hear parents say, 'Thank God my kid
just drinks and smokes a little pot.' Very few people who are
addicted to meth started out with meth. As parents, I'd hope you'd
have equal concern if you found out your kids are using alcohol that
you'd have if you found out they were using meth. It's your job as
parents to confront those situations and to know who your children's
friends are and who their parents are. If you suspect your children
are using drugs or alcohol, most schools have chemical health
counselors. If you know they are using, get them an assessment. If
you suspect at all, get some help and get it checked out right away."

"Law enforcement is not going to take care of the meth problem
alone," said Wright County Sheriff Gary Miller. "We can't build
enough jail cells. We have to get the whole community involved. We
need enforcement, treatment and education. The ephedrine laws have
helped, but as long as there is a demand, there will be a supply."

Besides the expense of building more jails, hiring more judges, meth
lab clean-up costs and treatment, "Meth diverts resources from other
things we want to do," said Miller. "What meth does to families, what
it does to children, it's pure evil. Get involved with your kids and
their friends and their parents. Look in your kid's backpacks -- you
are entitled. This drug affects all of us financially, as well as our
physical safety."

Nancy Noetzelman, a supervisor with Wright County Child Protection,
has a 30-year background in social services, "but I've never
experienced a social problem that is destroying our families like
meth."

In 2005, 370 children in Wright County were placed in foster care. So
far in 2006, that number is 217. Noetzelman estimates 71 percent of
those cases are because of meth.

"Meth is a sexual stimulant," said Noetzelman. "Many children taken
out of their homes have been sexually abused by their parents or
their parents' drug-using friends You cannot parent and use meth."

Said Wright County Attorney Tom Kelley, "A mistake is nothing more
than a building block in life never put that meth pipe up to your
lips. It may be the one mistake you may not live to correct."

Perhaps the biggest impact of the evening was made by Amanda, who
received a standing ovation after she shared her struggle with meth
addiction (see separate story).

"(Amanda's story) really impacted me," said Rogers High sophomore
Samantha Ivey. "She's my age."

The message of the meeting also got through to Rogers High School
junior Nick Ruettimann.

"One hit can get you addicted. I didn't know that," said Ruettimann.
"The effect it has on your teeth, I couldn't handle that."