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."