METH USE CONTROLS, WEAKENS FAMILY TIES

Grandmother: Kids Suffered The Most

GULFPORT - After their parents' first arrest on methamphetamine charges,
four South Mississippi siblings felt safe enough to tell relatives about
the horrors of living in a meth-infested home.

The children often were home alone while their parents went left to gather
ingredients to cook , sell or use meth, their grandmother said. At other
times, the home was a party place for drug users and a clandestine lab for
cooking the illegal drug.

"One time, the kids ate onions and mustard just to keep from going hungry.
That's all there was to eat in the house," said June, who asked that her
real name not be used.

"The kids know every ingredient used to make meth because they grew up
around it," she said. "It ruined a marriage, and the children were severely
neglected. They may have problems the rest of their lives."

The plight of June's family is becoming all too common. In Harrison County
alone, more than 100 meth-related arrests last year indicate a mere minimum
number of families affected by the highly addictive drug.

"It seems like once you use meth, you become programmed to want more," she
said. "After a while, family doesn't matter."

June's grandchildren went to live with different relatives following their
parents' arrests. At the time, there wasn't a legal mechanism requiring
automatic removal of children from meth homes or testing for possible exposure.

Since then, the state Bureau of Narcotics has developed a Drug Endangered
Children program that also coordinates medical and social service intervention.

As many as 80 percent of children from meth homes who are tested do test
positive for meth from the fumes, said Harrison County Sheriff George H.
Payne Jr.

"Meth's not only affecting the users," Payne said. "It's affecting
children, even children who live next door to a home where a meth lab is in
operation. It's affecting senior citizens and shut-ins being kept by people
who make meth in their home. We're dealing with this on a daily basis."

June said she hoped a drug conviction would keep her daughter and
son-in-law away from meth. It didn't. While on probation, they tested
positive for meth. The parents are undergoing court-ordered substance abuse
treatment and parenting classes. Their children remain with relatives.

"I just hope my daughter can wake up and come to her senses," said June.
"Her children need her, and I want her to be herself again."