PUBLIC AWARENESS NEEDED TO COMBAT METHAMPHETAMINE

It's been called the devil's drug for the ease with which it destroys its
users, but it also has the potential to destroy communities. That's why
law-enforcement agencies on the Treasure Coast want to stamp out the
production of methamphetamine before use of the powerful drug becomes
epidemic here as it has in so much of the nation.

Local awareness of meth labs was heightened with the arrest last month of a
Port St. Lucie woman who allegedly was manufacturing the drug -- out of a
FEMA trailer.

Asked at the time if Port St. Lucie had a meth problem, Detective Gary
Grenier said, "I think it's going to be if we don't continue to track down
these labs and put them out of business."

The increased use of meth -- alternately known as speed, ice, crystal or
crank -- is now being compared to crack epidemics in inner cities during
the 1980s. The meth craze began on the West Coast of the United States
about a decade ago and has been slowly making its way eastward.

In 2001, authorities in Florida broke up 28 meth labs. Last year, more than
330 labs were busted, including a growing number on the Treasure Coast.

According to a recent report by the National Association of Counties, a
survey of 500 law-enforcement agencies in the United States found 87
percent saying they had seen an increase in meth-related arrests in the
past three years.

The use of meth creates a sense of euphoria, as well as irritability,
insomnia, hallucinations, paranoia and a tendency to violence. Most county
sheriffs say meth is their main drug problem, related to increases in
robberies, burglaries, assaults, domestic violence and child neglect. There
is even a term for children found in the homes of meth users and
subsequently placed into foster homes: "meth orphans."

The "cooking" of meth is complicated and extremely dangerous, but the
ingredients to manufacture it are relatively easy to obtain. One of the
ingredients is pseudoephedrine -- found in common medications such as
Sudafed, Actifed and Tylenol Sinus.

To reduce the sales of such medications, a Florida law that took effect in
July limits the number of boxes customers may purchase at pharmacies and
the medications must be kept behind the counter, rather than on shelves.

The labs used for manufacturing meth have been described as "toxic waste
dumps" that can cost tens of thousands each to clean up.

Law enforcement alone cannot rid a community of this scourge. An aware and
vigilant public is also necessary. The costs of not recognizing the
potential problems are too great.

Meth Facts

* According to the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health,
approximately 12.3 million Americans ages 12 and older reported trying meth
at least once.

* Meth users are generally high-school and college students, white- and
blue-collar workers and unemployed workers in their 20s and 30s.

* Meth comes at a high cost to communities with an increase in crimes
ranging from theft to assault and an increase in children displaced to
foster care.

* Meth labs are highly toxic and dangerous and difficult to clean up.

Source: National Association of Counties, Office of National Drug Control Policy