METH MADNESS

Methamphetamine use in Angelina County is running "rampant," says the
executive director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council of Deep East
Texas.

And Phyllis Grandgeorge has the number to back her statement: The
number of meth addicts visiting the drug abuse council is up 150
percent since 2003.

That's scary because in 2003 we already knew meth use was a huge
problem in our community. And local law enforcement officials have
been busting hundreds of meth labs -- which aren't hard to set up -- in
just the past couple years.

What is becoming more and more clear is the fact that, if we want to
curtail or eliminate meth manufacture and use in Angelina County, it's
going to take a concerted effort from all of us.

ADAC on Thursday hosted an education conference to let more than 200
people -- children's advocates, substance abuse counselors, educators,
law enforcement officers, probation officers and others -- know more
about methamphetamine abuse and recovery.

It seems that some of our citizens who, in particular, need training
are ministers and counselors at our churches. Vallie Cross, an ADAC
official who spoke on the issue Thursday, said many addicts are more
than willing to participate in faith-based recovery -- "They have seen
hell already," she said -- but often ministers don't know how to handle
people who are under meth's spell.

"Things are moving pretty fast, and pastors don't know what to do,"
Cross said.

Meth is making foster children out of an untold number of kids whose
parents are addicts, so there's also a need for people to counsel and
support those children. Most of those kids have been neglected if not
abused, according to Grandgeorge.

We are glad to see so many people working together to respond to the
meth crisis in Angelina County, but more of us -- especially those of
us, like church and school leaders, who come in contact with young
people on a regular basis -- need to take the initiative to recognize
signs of meth abuse and production.

And we really need to become better equipped to help meth addicts
navigate the road to recovery, and to help children rebound from the
obstacles they face from having parents who are meth addicts.