METH-RELATED DANGERS FOCUS OF NURSES' SUMMIT

Nurses throughout Kentucky spent Friday learning about the extent of
the state's methamphetamine problem - and what they can do to help
themselves and others.

The Kentucky Nurses Association held its biannual health care summit
Friday at the Sloan Convention Center in Bowling Green.

Meth was the topic of choice because it impacts not only individuals
and families, but also entire communities, according to Susan Jones,
president of the association and a nursing professor at Western
Kentucky University.

"We want to provide information and to challenge people to do
something about it," she said. "Everybody has a part in this."

This seminar allows nurses and groups throughout Kentucky to meet
other groups that are working against meth, Jones said, and speakers
were armed with a wide array of expertise in the field.

Meth is not a problem that is limited to one portion of Kentucky,
said Van Ingram, branch manager for the compliance section of the
Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy.

Nationally, 12 million people have tried meth and 1.5 million people
are frequent users.

"It's amazing the dramatic affect this drug has on people," he said.
"You can watch people deteriorate very quickly."

Meth started showing up in Kentucky in 1999, and by 2005 it was
exploding, Ingram said. Since 2005, a law that limits the purchase of
pseudoephedrine - the one chemical in meth that can't been
substituted with another - has helped to curtail production.

Even with the reduction, however, more than 350 meth labs have been
found in Kentucky - meaning, Ingram said, there are likely more than
3,500 still undiscovered.

"There's still lots of work to be done," he said.

The state's upcoming meth check program, which will provide further
information about people shopping for pseudoephedrine, will further
help reduce labs, Ingram said.

"Oklahoma instituted a similar program and saw its number of labs
drop by 93 percent," he said.

The next step will be to figure out how to stop people from
purchasing pseudoephedrine online, Ingram said.

Major Mike Sapp from Kentucky State Police's Special Enforcement
Troop showed the nurses pictures, explaining how to spot meth labs if
they're doing a home visit.

Guard dogs, surveillance cameras and blocked windows are often
telltale signs, he said, as is an unusual amount of glass containers.
Smokers in homes with labs will typically go outside to smoke, he
said, because of all the explosive chemicals used in the drug's production.

"The biggest indicator is a strong chemical smell," he said.

Most of the items used in meth production don't look unusual in a
home, Sapp said - unless you know what to look for.

Cheyenne Albro, director of the Pennyrile Narcotic Task Force, warned
the audience about the dangers of exposure to meth laboratories.

"We call them 'kitchens of death' or 'toxic time bombs,'" he said,
"because that's what they are."

Some officers fighting cancer or other medical problems are being
told by doctors that exposure to meth labs may have caused their
conditions, he said.

"Without a doubt, meth is the most sinister drug I have ever
encountered," he said.