DRUG FORUM AN EYE-OPENER

Production, and Usage a Serious Area Problem

VIRGINIA - Methamphetamine is a factor in 90 percent of the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Agency cases being handled in Minneapolis.

Still, recovering meth user Joe Schmidt says law enforcement isn't
making a dent in the problem.

"This affects everyone, everywhere, and anybody I've ever associated
with the drug has never been caught," Schmidt, a Pengilly native,
said. "These guys have good numbers but there are so many more."

When asked how many meth users, dealers and producers he personally
knows, he estimated about 100.

It was just one of many eye-opening facts the crowd of about 80
learned at the Free Your Community from Meth program Thursday
afternoon at the Park Inn. The panel discussion, sponsored by the
United Way and many other local groups, was one of five scheduled this
week.

Two more programs are scheduled for today. The first will be at 7:30
a.m. at the Chisholm Senior Center and the second will be at noon at
the Virginia Park Inn. The panels include former methamphetamine
addicts and their parents, law enforcement, treatment center officials
and a DEA agent, Cinda Lutz.

"St. Louis County attorneys are prosecuting more meth cases than DWI
cases," Lt. Tim Harkonen of the Sheriff's Department told the crowd.
"When you get to that point, you have a problem. Folks, we live on the
Iron Range, where alcohol has, somewhere along the lines, become a
part of the culture."

The panel discussed the effects of methamphetamine use, including
rotting teeth, open sores, paranoia, loss of appetite and staying
awake for days on end, only to crash after "coming down," for one to
three days.

They also talked about how addictive the drug is.

"Users become obsessed with the drug," Bob Whalen, with the inpatient
treatment program at the Fairview University Medical Center in
Hibbing, said. "This drug has a gravitational pull that is so strong
that traditional treatments aren't really suited to it."

They need longer-term treatments to deal with the addiction, which can
overcome them the first time they use meth and never really goes away,
he said.

The audience also learned about the financial obstacles facing
treatment services, leaving many who need help to fend for themselves.
The panel included four recovering methamphetamine addicts, and each
had troubles getting help from the system. They have relied on family
and friends to help them stay sober.

"With everything as tight as it is, a lot of people fall through the
cracks," Pat Grahek, chemical dependency counselor at the Arrowhead
Center, said. "I am so pleased that this many people are here. You
can't get a group like this together for anything less than a keg party."

The size of the crowd at the 2:30 p.m. program showed that the
community is concerned and ready to take a stand against
methamphetamine, Lutz said.

"This problem affects everyone," she said. "The materials used to make
meth produce hazardous waste. The ratio is, for every pound of meth
made, there are five to seven pounds of waste."

About 20 percent of the methamphetamine used in Minnesota is made in
Minnesota, she said.

And the state spent $23 million just on cleaning up abandoned meth
labs, Doris Schmidt, Joe's mother, said.

"It's terrible when this hits you in your family," she said. "But what
you need to know is, it's terrible when it hits you in your community,
too. If it doesn't hit you personally, it will hit you in your
pocketbook. This problem affects everybody."