CRYSTAL METH ON RISE; WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Last year, police busted one clandestine methamphetamine lab in all of
Massachusetts.

Now, police in Greater Lowell have found two in a little more than a month.
And while police say that isn't enough to indicate the corrosive drug is
making inroads, it is enough to make them take notice. "I was talking to
my counterpart in Kansas City and it's a tremendous problem out there,"
Lowell Police Superintendent Edward Davis said. "There have been rumors of
it coming this way for many years, but these are serious indicators, and
we have to be vigilant." In some states, such as Hawaii,
crystal-meth-related deaths are rising sharply this year. And police blame
the drug for increasing counts of violent crime and destroyed lives.

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez recently called methamphetamine "the
most dangerous drug in America" for the toll it takes on children and society.

Commonly known as "crystal meth," "speed," "ice," or "poor man's
cocaine," methamphetamine can be cheaply and easily manufactured in
people's homes using over-the-counter drugs and household products. The
highly addictive stimulant, which can be smoked, snorted or injected,
produces a euphoric high by triggering a massive release of dopamine in the
brain. Davis said he has not seen an increase in methamphetamine on the
streets. But he adds that a June 11 meth-lab bust in Chelmsford, and
Thursday's arrest in a lab on Broadway Street, causes him concern.

Recently, National Association of Counties asked 500 law-enforcement
agencies in 45 states what their top drug problem is. About 58 percent said
it is methamphetamine.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy reports that 12.3
million Americans have tried methamphetamine and 1.5 million people are
regular users. "It's certainly on our radar screen," said Michael
Botticelli, the assistant commissioner for substance-abuse services at the
state Department of Public Health. "We've been fortunate in Massachusetts
and New England that we have not seen the crystal-meth production that
exists elsewhere in the country, but that doesn't mean we haven't seen
pockets of crystal-meth use," Botticelli said. As the drug's popularity has
spread toward the East Coast, Botticelli said health experts have seen
pockets of methamphetamine abuse -- particularly among urban gay men -- in
cities like New York, Philadelphia and Boston. The drug's main ingredient
- -- pseudoephedrine -- can be extracted from nonprescription cold medicine
and cooked over high heat with other chemicals like iodine and anhydrous
ammonia using recipes easily found on the Internet. Botticelli said
Massachusetts is exploring similar legislation, as well as increasing the
criminal penalties for large-scale meth production. Lisa Najarian, the
clinical site manager for outpatient services at the Lowell Community
Health Center, said she remembers being warned in the late 1980s that
crystal meth was making its way toward the East Coast. But Najarian and
Pauline Yore-Brown, LCHC director of behavioral health services, said less
than 1 percent of inpatient and outpatient addicts seeking treatment admit
to using methamphetamine.

Those numbers are consistent with patient admissions across the state,
Botticelli said.

But Najarian added that six months ago, a meth user would come to the
clinic only occasionally.

Methamphetamine addicts do not go through physical withdrawal symptoms like
heroin users, Najarian said, but do suffer from cravings and depression.
The health center treats addicts with therapy and acupuncture to reduce
those cravings. Brown, Najarian and Botticelli all said education and
prevention outreach are critical to preventing widespread use from creeping
into New England. The Department of Public Health has been working closely
with Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey's office on a variety of substance-abuse issues
and has conducted regional seminars educating public leaders on prevention
methods, Botticelli said. During the past year, Healey visited cities
across the state, including Lowell and Fitchburg. Though the conversations
often focused on heroin abuse, Botticelli said crystal meth has not been
ignored.

"Certainly, while heroin is really in epidemic proportions here in New
England, we have had concerns over preventing crystal meth from taking hold
as it has in other parts of the country," he said. "We want to get ahead
of the curve."