Health, Safety Hazard

STATE TAKES A STAND AGAINST METH PRODUCTION

Bobby Green couldn't take it anymore. His parents made and sold
methamphetamine at his home in Lee County, and the 12-year-old was scared
of the drug addicts who frequented the house. He was sick of the chemical
smell that wouldn't wash off. He was embarrassed by the holes in his
clothing believed to be caused by the toxic chemicals. But most of all,
Bobby was worried for his 7-year-old sister. She was too little, he said,
to spend her nights hiding in the woods from the putrid smells and drug
addicts and drug dealers. So Bobby (not his real name) did what any
desperate and scared child would do: He told the police. Bobby and his
little sister now live with their aunt in Kentucky. Bobby's parents reside
in a federal prison for manufacturing methamphetamine.

Methamphetamine, or "meth," has gained a foothold in Virginia. This year,
the Virginia State Police, working with numerous county and local agencies
and the Drug Enforcement Administration, has discovered and destroyed twice
as many meth labs in Virginia as it did last year. The Commonwealth is on
the brink of a drug epidemic. It's clear that methamphetamine production
and addiction in Virginia must be addressed now, before things get worse.

Virginia's law-enforcement community needs to work together to combat this
problem. That is why my colleague, John L. Brownlee, U.S. Attorney for the
Western District of Virginia, and I have called for a Virginia
Methamphetamine Leadership Summit - which we will convene in Richmond
tomorrow. Co-sponsored by Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, the summit will
include DEA administrator Karen Tandy and federal, state, and local
law-enforcement leaders from around the Commonwealth. Our goal is to
develop new strategies that will reduce methamphetamine's harmful effects
on our citizens. We are ready to commit the resources it takes to stop the
spread of this extremely addictive drug in order to keep all Virginians
safe and drug-free.

FOR THE PAST two decades methamphetamine production and use have spread
throughout the United States, hitting Southwest Virginia in the late 1990s.
It can now be found everywhere in the Commonwealth, including noticeable
increases in meth trafficking in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.
Methamphetamine abuse devastates the user physically and has an equally
detrimental effect on the user's family. It also brings the additional and
significant problem of the meth lab.

The meth manufacturing process is remarkably uncomplicated, making it
cheaper and easier for many meth users and dealers to produce the drugs
their bodies and customers demand. It requires mixing over-the-counter cold
medicine with caustic and flammable chemicals such as iodine, acetone, lye,
and Coleman fuel, all of which are readily available at local grocery and
hardware stores. Some recipes use red phosphorus, taken from matchbook
striker plates; others use battery acid and anhydrous ammonia, a chemical
commonly found on farms.

Making meth doesn't require a true laboratory. Many meth labs are found in
kitchens, basements, and bedrooms. Instead of high-tech equipment, these
labs are constructed out of rubber tubing, coffee filters, hot plates,
Pyrex dishes, and soda bottles. The labs are highly mobile, and often
stored in cars, so they can be easily moved from one house or hotel room to
the next.

THE PERCEIVED simplicity of manufacturing methamphetamine, however,
disguises its health, safety, and environmental hazards. Meth labs are
extremely dangerous. The labs are highly flammable and create toxic vapor
clouds that can kill or maim any person who inhales the fumes, including
the unknowing rescue worker, firefighter, or police officer. Anhydrous
ammonia, for example, can explode if improperly heated, and will erode the
propane tanks in which it is often kept, causing them to burst, and sending
toxic vapors and shrapnel in every direction.

The manufacturing process also is dangerous, leaving behind a toxic residue
that adheres to walls, windows, carpets, and clothing. The chemical residue
remains in the system of anyone living in a home with a meth lab. One study
found that nearly 35 percent of children removed from meth lab homes tested
positive for toxic levels of chemicals.

To make matters worse, children of methamphetamine users and dealers often
suffer neglect. They may be left to fend for themselves while their parents
are preoccupied feeding their own drug addiction. And when their parents
are arrested and sent to prison, they are left to the care of family
members and the foster care system.

It is always best to begin construction before the flood. Given what has
happened in other states - and the early warning signs here in the
Commonwealth - we must take the threat of methamphetamine production and
use seriously. If as a community we can be half as courageous as Bobby, we
will be able to prevent other children from having to do the work that is
rightfully ours.