SPOTTING METH USE

Police are teaching Walker County parents and educators how to spot
children who are using methamphetamine.

Cumberland County, Tenn., Sheriff Butch Burgess and Mike Steinman, of
Cumberland County Neighborhood Watch, discussed meth use and exposure
warning signs Tuesday at Cherokee Ridge Elementary with guidance
counselors, family involvement specialists, teachers and parents.

"Meth sores happen to children, too," Burgess said.

Exposure signs include hair falling out on the desk, not bathing or
brushing teeth.

"Could you imagine how helpless you would feel as a child in a meth
lab environment?" said Phyllis Hunter, parent involvement coordinator
with North LaFayette Elementary School.

Hunter said she sometimes sees signs that worry her, and the biggest
tipoffs are excessive absences from school and malnutrition.

"Cigarettes is a place where most children start (on the path of drug
abuse)," Hunter said.

Children are exposed are through second-hand smoke, consumption and
contamination from lab settings, Burgess said.

To report a suspected meth offender or manufacturer, call agent Pat
Cook at the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force at (706)
375-5507.

"Most hospitals do not know how to test children for meth," he said.
"Low grade temperatures and respiration are distress signs of meth, so
hospitals need to work with law officers."

Margaret Lamb, parent involvement coordinator with Naomi Elementary,
said, "I notice smells, neglect as far as hygiene, and we've seen
homes with cameras."

Walker County schools participate in the DARE program, which
originally meant Drug Abuse Resistance Education, but it has evolved
to stand for Define, Assess, Respond and Evaluate to illustrate what
children should do when forced to make an important decision.

Naomi Elementary's DARE program targets arming parents with the
information to determine whether their children use meth, Lamb said.

"Sixty-eight percent of the babies born to women who used meth during
pregnancy are put in foster care," Burgess said.

"My wife and I have had 30 foster children," he said. "We got a
3-year-old that weighed 23 pounds, who had been exposed to meth."

Burgess said the child was terrified then of the bathroom and water,
but his condition has improved since then in his foster home.

Winnie Schmidt, nursing supervisor for Walker County school system,
said Betsy Quinn, a nurse at Hutcheson Medical Center, gave her the
workshop idea. Quinn suggested contacting Crossville, Tenn.,
authorities to present their speech to educators and parents who visit
students' homes.

"Most of the people here make home visits, and we want to educate them
first," Schmidt said. "They need to contact 911 or the Drug Task Force
if there is a problem. If children are in imminent danger, they can
contact the Department of Family and Children Services."

"Most meth addicts have bad teeth," Steinman said. "When you are high
on dope and you do not produce enough saliva, then your teeth begin to
rot."

Cumberland County Sheriff's Department investigator John Dishman said
five scratches would satisfy most itches. Meth addicts' senses are so
stimulated that their whole bodies itch, so if someone scratches an
itch excessively, that person may have been exposed to meth.

Meth addicts also lose several pounds in a short period of
time.

The worst stage of meth is the tweaking stage when addicts are
anxious, behave irrationally and their eyes move from side to side
like a pendulum. They are potentially homicidal, and they can become
suicidal as they come down from their high, Burgess said.

A meth rush lasts between five to 30 minutes.

"Anyone on meth tests positive to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia,"
Burgess said. "Meth addicts show symptoms of Parkinson's Disease
(meaning they shake)."

Meth disrupts dopamine production in the users' brains, causing them
to not care about their children, dulling their emotions and leaving
them dissatisfied with lives.

"Meth damages receptors, and they cannot feel good things anymore,"
Burgess said. "That is why things that used to be enjoyable, like
their children, are no longer enjoyable.

Signs of possible meth exposure

* Grades may drop drastically
* Excessive absences or changing schools
* Rashes or upper respiratory infection
* Abnormal odor in clothing or house
* Poor self-image
* Unconvincing stories about injuries
* Little desire to go home
* Self-destructive behavior
* Self-isolation from peers
* Low self-esteem
* Sense of shame
* Poor social skills
* Inability to trust others
* Failure to thrive
* Not liking to be touched.
* Speech problems
* Hyperactivity
* Fits of anger
* Attention deficit disorder
* Developmental delays
* Attachment disorders
Source: Cumberland County, Tenn., Sheriff's Department