ATTACKING METH

The rising number of criminal cases involving methamphetamine manufacture
and use should bring alarm to Alaskans. And, given that law enforcement
agencies see a growing meth problem in Alaska, efforts in the Legislature
to curb the drug's proliferation warrant approval.

Bills have been introduced by Democrats and Republicans, including Rep. Jay
Ramras of Fairbanks, to limit the amount of pseudoephedrine cold
medications that people can buy each month. Details of the bills differ,
but the thrust is the same: curbing the bulk purchasing of common cold
medications containing pseudoephedrine, which is used to make methamphetamine.

Meth use has become a serious problem in Alaska, and in Fairbanks, as noted
by the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy in an April
2004 report.

"Methamphetamine is a growing threat in Alaska. Availability of meth is
increasing, both from local labs and from meth transported into the state.
The Anchorage, Mat-Su, Kenai Peninsula, and Fairbanks areas have a
significant problem with clandestine labs. Southeast Alaska, specifically
Ketchikan and Juneau, tend to have relatively large amounts of
methamphetamine arrive in the area for use."

The statistics aren't encouraging.

The ONDCP reports that 5.9 percent of high school students have used
methamphetamine at some point in their life.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, meanwhile, reports that Alaska
was the site of 26 meth lab incidents in 2003.

The number of meth arrests by the Alaska Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit
doubled to 47 from 2001 to 2002.

What else do you need to know?

How about this, also from the ONDCP:

"The effects of methamphetamine can last up to 12 hours. Side effects
include convulsions, dangerously high body temperature, stroke, cardiac
arrhythmia, stomach cramps, and shaking.

"Chronic methamphetamine abuse can lead to psychotic behavior including
intense paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and out-of-control
rages that can result in violent episodes. Chronic users at times develop
sores on their bodies from scratching at 'crank bugs,' which describes the
common delusion that bugs are crawling under the skin. Long-term use of
methamphetamine may result in anxiety, insomnia, and addiction."

The ills of methamphetamine go on to include damage to the environment.
Manufacture of 1 pound of meth releases toxic fumes and creates 5 to 7
pounds of toxic waste, the agency says. It's no wonder that law enforcement
officers wear protective gear when dismantling a meth lab.

And how twisted and disconnected from reality are the makers of meth?
Enough that they show absolute disregard for children in their care. The
federal government reports that from Oct. 1, 2002, to Sept. 30, 2003, five
Alaska methamphetamine laboratory sites were found in which a child was
present.

Methamphetamine is a wretched drug, and efforts to end its production
deserve, and no doubt will receive, bipartisan support in Juneau.