RECOVERING METH USER GIVES GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF DEBILITATING ADDICTION

A room full of concerned Coffee County citizens gathered Tuesday
evening to hear talks and ask questions about the growing problem of
methamphetamine abuse in Middle Tennessee. The program, "Why Should I
Worry About Meth or Meth Labs," was sponsored by the Tullahoma
Business and Professional Women.

Speaking at the event were Mayor Steve Cope and Earl Morris and Ray
Higgenbotham of the Tullahoma Police Department.

Another featured speaker was "Lorie," a recovering meth user from
Middle Tennessee who did not wish to be identified, but gave a graphic
account of what it is like to be an addict.

Lorie did not fit many people's perceptions of a typical drug user.
College educated, married with two children and living in an affluent
neighborhood, she kept her secret hidden for nine years until one day
in 2002 McMinnville police arrested her for manufacturing
methamphetamine.

During those nine years she lost her job, her husband, her freedom and
nearly her life.

Methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that has a
dramatic and dangerous effect on the central nervous system, and many
of its users become addicted on the first try.

Meth tricks the brain and body into thinking that it has limitless
stamina while in fact draining critical energy reserves needed to
maintain the body's vital organs and functions.

"It made me feel like I was Wonder Woman," Lorie said. "My work
improved. I was getting things done, and I just felt smarter."

Although Lori felt like "Wonder Woman" the drug was actually putting
her body through a roller coaster of chemical reactions causing
irreversible damage.

Meth is not just a man's drug, as Lorie testified. The drug's use has
been rising steadily among women, and according to the 2004 National
Drug Threat Assessment report, it has now become the number one drug
for middle aged white women.

"I find myself arresting just as many women as men," said Tullahoma
Drug Enforcement Officer Earl Morris.

Women, like Lorie, are initially attracted to the drug because of
promises of weight loss and increased energy. Lorie did lose weight -
more than 40 pounds. She also lost six teeth.

Tooth loss is a common result of meth use, Morris said. "The chemicals
in the drug cause the tooth's enamel to wear down, making it more
susceptible to decay."

There is nothing attractive about the physical effects of taking meth.
Many meth users experience open sores and rashes from their body's
reaction to the drug.

Bodily damage from meth use will occur no matter how the drug is
taken, and it can be used in a variety of ways. Typically it is taken
by smoking, orally or intranasal (snorting powder). It can also be
taken intravenously (through a needle) or rectally.

Lorie's preferred method was "snorting" or sometimes smoking
it.

Like many meth users, she was not unaccustomed to drug use. She said
she began drinking in high school and experimented with drugs on the
weekends.

One evening, when hanging out with a group of friends, someone
introduced her to meth. They all tried it and began to use it more
regularly.

"Eventually we went our separate ways because we didn't want to share
the drug," she said.

Lorie then started to make new friends, friends who could feed her
habit.

"I sought out people who could get it (meth)," Lorie said. "Your
associations change - you look for those who do what you do."

When her drug dealer was arrested in 1999 she became part of what law
enforcement experts call a "cell."

A cell is a group of meth addicts who loosely work together to make
meth. Each person in the cell has a specific function that will lead
to the creation of meth. While the meth "cook" goes through the
chemical processes of making the drug, other members of the cell spend
their time obtaining materials for the drugs production.

Attendees of the seminar appeared surprised by how easily obtainable
meth-making ingredients are.

The drug is made in makeshift "laboratories" in people's homes, cars,
commercial properties and sometimes hotel rooms.

The ingredients used to make meth can be found in most any hardware or
drug store such as lithium batteries, salt, drain cleaner, tape,
coffee filters and other common household items.

Members of the cell often drive from state to state stopping at every
Wal-Mart and convenience store along the way trying to get enough cold
medicine containing pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient used in
making methamphetamine.

"I would drive to Kentucky trying to get enough," Lorie
said.

Without ephedrine or psuedoephedrine "you do not have meth," according
to Morris.

"The problem is you can get this stuff out of just about any
decongestant," he said.

During the seminar Morris explained that meth is not just a danger to
the individuals that use the drug.

"I would rather arrest a thousand marijuana dealers than one meth
lab," Morris said.

"If you walk into a marijuana dealer's house you can get shot, but
with a meth lab you can get shot or blown up."

The materials used to make meth are highly combustible.

"If you cook meth too long it will turn into white phosphorous, an
explosive. If you cook it even longer it will turn into yellow
phosphorous, which is mustard gas," said Morris.

He also explained that catching meth manufactures is extremely
difficult because they are unlikely to sell to people they do not
know. Most people who make meth are only making enough to feed their
habit.

"Even if they are just making it for themselves it is still highly
toxic and dangerous to anyone around them," Morris said.

For every pound of meth manufactured six pounds of toxic waste are
created, he added.

Lorie said when she was arrested she had left her cell to make meth on
her own.

"I was cooking it in my basement while my child was sleeping," she
said. "My mind was gone and I had no idea what I was doing. When the
police came and arrested me it was like a manhole cover was just
lifted off of me, and I could see the light."

Lorie has been in recovery for 33 months, but it is a constant
struggle to avoid relapse.

Because of the drug's highly addictive nature it is not uncommon for
people who try meth just once to follow in Lorie's footsteps.

Mayor Cope urged everyone at the meeting to be aware of the meth
warning signs. "We want to have people aware of what is happening,"
Cope said.

"We are not going to lose the battle on meth," said Morris. "We just
need a little bit of help."