METH IS AN ENEMY WE CAN'T IGNORE

For whatever the Chippewa Valley's faults, there is one thing we
justifiably boast about. That it's a great place to raise a family.

It's a safe environment. You can walk just about anywhere and feel
safe, even at night. You don't see crack houses, street gangs out of
control preying on the innocent or police overwhelmed by
lawbreakers.

But last Sunday, the Leader-Telegram published the first of a two-part
series by reporters Julian Emerson and Eric Lindquist about the
proliferation of methamphetamine in the Chippewa Valley. The second
part of the series appears today.

The stories are full of troubling facts and information about meth.
One of the most disturbing realities is that western Wisconsin is the
state's meth hotbed. The vast majority of meth lab seizures, discarded
meth lab waste sites and chemical/glassware sites are in this area,
south through La Crosse and west to the state line.

"I'm concerned that it can quickly reduce the quality of life in a
community," Eau Claire Police Chief Jerry Matysik said.

We can't just bury our heads in the sand and assume the police will
take care of it. This is dangerous stuff. It destroys families, and if
we're not proactive, it can destroy communities. It can take our
relatively safe environment and turn it upside down.

Meth is most dangerous to its users. Ingredients to make the drug
include lye, drain opener, starter fluid, Freon, anhydrous ammonia and
other nasty stuff. Obviously, such substances can deteriorate a
healthy young body in a hurry.

Meth reportedly is as addictive as it is toxic. Its users can stay
awake for days at a time, and they also often get violent and-or
paranoid. They are a danger to themselves and to others. The drug can
lead to an increase in sex crimes, domestic abuse, child neglect,
robberies, etc.

A local girl at a drug and alcohol counseling session described what a
boy on meth looked like. "His eyes were darting back and forth like
crazy. It was scary."

Some meth users get sores or scars on their bodies from picking at
imaginary bugs they feel crawling under their skin.

Also, cleaning up a meth lab can cost thousands of dollars because of
the hazardous waste left behind. Children playing in such homes are at
risk of exposure to all the dangerous ingredients used to make this
poison.

As more people seek to get a piece of the profits from making and
selling this garbage, we have a collective decision to make. We can
pretend that it' s not our problem or that somebody else can worry
about it.

But what we should do is become more aware of the warning signs of
meth in our communities and call authorities if we suspect it's in our
midst.

If we don't all work to nip this problem in the bud, we're going to
pay increased costs down the road to arrest, try and incarcerate these
people. We're going to see increased social costs of broken families,
lost jobs, child and spousal abuse, emergency medical care and all the
rest.

This remains a great place to raise a family, but it won't stay that
way indefinitely if meth makers and users think this is fertile ground
for them to operate. Some things are worth fighting, and the scourge
of meth is one such enemy.

"There are a lot of kids using meth in Eau Claire," said a boy at a
local drug and alcohol counseling session. "People just don't know
about it yet."

It's time we all started paying attention.