METH LABS POSE HIGH RISK FOR CHILDREN

Experts Say Drug Manufacture Puts Toxic Chemicals In Too Many Homes

LANSING -- Children are the often-forgotten victims of
methamphetamine -- exposed to toxic chemicals while their parents are
cooking the potent drug and then abandoned when police bust the labs
and haul the parents off to jail.

Methamphetamine, also know as crank, speed or "meth," is an addictive
drug. Unlike most street drugs, meth can be manufactured relatively
easily in homes, automobiles or outdoor labs in remote areas.

Detective Lt. Wayne Edington, section commander for the Southwest
Enforcement Team based in Calhoun County, said meth has been a
rapidly growing problem for his narcotics team. According to police
records, there were 207 busts this year as of Sept. 21, a 60-percent
increase over the same period last year.

"Meth has been the number-one problem for at least the last two or
three years," Edington said. "Probably 50 percent of our time is
devoted to meth-related issues.

"I've personally been involved with a little more than 100 lab busts,
and probably 50 percent of those have had either children present in
the household, or it was clear that at some point they spent time there."

Experts said the drug can be particularly harmful to children.

"Meth is a neurotoxin, and because children still have developing
brains, that's a big concern," said Erik Janus, a toxicologist for
the Department of Community Health. "Kids are much closer to the
ground, which doesn't sound like a big deal, but meth powder settles
on the ground, where it can be crawled on."

Janus cited several other factors that make children more vulnerable
to meth than adults. Some gases involved in manufacturing are heavier
than air, and can sink to the floor and poison children. In addition,
because children are smaller than adults, a dose of a chemical may
have a much greater harmful effect than on an adult.

"From my perspective, when I look at how clean a house has to be
after having a meth lab in it, we like to see it cleaned up to a
level that would not impact those children who may be crawling on the
floor," Janus said. "If you protect the health of the child, you
protect the health of just about everyone else who's in the house,
because the child is going to be the most sensitive."

Detective Lt. Tony Saucedo, unit commander for the Lansing-based
State Police methamphetamine team, has seen things that would shock
most people.

"We've had a case where a newborn's routine tests came back positive
for marijuana and methamphetamine two hours after it was born," Saucedo said.

The police can catch the criminals, but dealing with family matters
requires a different kind of expertise.

"If we find evidence of children living at the residence when we
seize a meth lab, we immediately contact child protection services to
come, and hopefully they remove the children and have them tested,"
Saucedo said.

Wendy Menifee, Allegan County child protection services supervisor,
sees the problem of meth and children on a regular basis. Allegan
County and other areas in Southwest Michigan have been hit more
heavily by the spread of meth than some other parts of the state.

"We're fielding about six to 10 referrals a month," said Menifee. "If
there's a meth lab bust, the chemical exposure is an immediate
concern. If there isn't a relative or someplace that we can have the
children go voluntarily, we will involve the court system."

Police response to the possible presence of children is rapid, and
they don't wait to finish their job before protective services
officials start on their job.

"While they're continuing to look at the home and clean up the
environment, we're looking at where the children can go," Menifee
said. "Relatives, friends, and if we can't do that then we contact
our judge to determine if we need court intervention at that point.

"From there we're following the case and determining whether the kids
are safe. Then we assess the parents' ability, and if they're not
able at that time to take care of the children," she said, the agency steps in.

Menifee said the unique aspects of meth present many more challenges
than with some other drugs. The agency's response to families
involved with other drugs, such as cocaine, is less urgent.

"The environment itself is hazardous, and we must remove the children
from that home," Menifee said.

Edington agreed that the risk to children involves more than just
physical exposure to chemicals.

"Meth causes a large release of natural chemicals that regulate our
mood," Edington said. "But once the system is depleted of those
chemicals, meth becomes a necessity to even stay awake and operate on
a daily basis."

Edington said the most extreme case he'd experienced was a meth user
who stayed awake for 11 days, then slept for four.

"If you've got children, you can't deal with them if you're asleep
for four days at a time, and you can't do it if you're up for 11 days
at a time and you're spending it making more meth," Edington said.

"A user's whole life can become meth, and everything else becomes
secondary. The children are just something else that's there."