METH TRAINING EDUCATES MANY

Cannonsburg Efforts to educate the community about the most prevalent
manmade drug in the United States were successful Tuesday as about 150
people turned out for an extensive, in-depth training workshop concerning
methamphetamine.

The workshop was sponsored by ALERT Regional Prevention Center to educate
the FIVCO region about the production, distribution and use of the highly
addictive drug, commonly referred to as "meth."

Program participants were exposed to the various types of meth, including
information about packaging, amounts and prices.

Ricky Kirk, youth alcohol initiative director for ALERT, said Boyd and
Greenup counties are in a "meth valley," and while the area has not seen as
much meth activity as other areas, the drug is still an important issue.

"Prevention and education will teach people what to look for," said Kirk.
"Hopefully this will help get the information out."

Which was exactly the point of the morning session.

Lt. Col. Danny Fenwick, with the Kentucky National Guard Counter-drug
program, said the presentation was specifically aimed at teaching people
about the dangers of meth - dangers that are not exclusive to meth users.

"We have kids on roadsides, picking up trash for Adopt-a-Highway, who are
exposed to these hazardous materials," Fenwick told a reporter during a
break at the conference.

Fenwick refers to meth as "a chemical cocktail of commonly available over
the counter products available at any discount or hardware store."

And the chemicals needed to mix the potentially deadly concoction include
acetone, rubbing alcohol, ether, sulfuric acid found in drain cleaners,
salt, lithium, farm fertilizer, red phosphorous, iodine and driveway cleaners.

Because production materials are often disposed of in woods or on highways,
the drug's toxins pose dangerous effects to the public at-large.

Fenwick said farmers, park rangers and sanitation workers have all been
exposed to meth lab leftovers. Some damage has been done in these
situations by explosions of chemicals being dumped into the trash and
inhalation of chemical fumes.

And the reach of meth is unbelievable.

Meth use is a problem among all age, gender and racial demographics.

But the way meth is making its way into the state may be surprising to many
who believe it is only manufactured in private labs in the homes of poor
people living in the backwoods of eastern Kentucky - a stereotype often
perpetuated by media in other parts of the state.

In fact, according to Drug Enforcement Administration officer Milton
Galanos, 80 percent of meth seized in Kentucky comes from the southwest -
much of it smuggled into the state via the Mexican drug cartel.

Galanos told the audience only about 20 percent of meth in the state is
made in the state, while the other 80 percent is controlled by organized crime.

Fenwick said when he began putting his presentation together about a year
ago, the cartel wasn't as much of a factor as it is now.

But now, he said meth is smuggled over the border by migrant workers at an
alarming rate.

"Nothing against them (migrant workers)," he said. "The Mexican cartel
often forces them to be mules."

But the change in meth distribution only seems indicative of the problems
law enforcement constantly deals with when it comes to meth.

The drug itself was developed in the late 1800s by a German chemist and its
uses have varied over the years.

Meth was used by soldiers in World War II. It was used to treat narcolepsy
and Parkinson's disease. And it was used by rowdy motorcycle gangs who
eventually turned its production and distribution into a vehicle to make
money. The drug was made illegal in 1970.

And meth continues to evolve today.

Fenwick said as soon as law enforcement officials start to grasp a certain
method of production, a new method pops up and the learning process starts
all over again.

"There are so many processes of making it, we can't keep up with it," he said.

But that doesn't mean law enforcement and other officials aren't doing
everything in their power to weed out meth producers and users.

The Kentucky General Assembly passed Senate Bill 63 during this year's
session. The bill puts limits on the amount of ephedrine - a common over
the counter drug found in cold medications - a person can purchase. The
bill also requires pharmacies to keep over the counter drugs containing
ephedrine behind the counter.

Fenwick said the bill may curtail some meth production, but it won't stop
the problem. In fact, Fenwick predicts the bill will drastically increase
the price of ephedrine on the black market.

But more governmental efforts and combined efforts of an educated
community, law enforcement, county attorneys and judges may help the
problem, Fenwick believes.

"It would be nice if they'd just quit doping," said Fenwick. "But they won't."