CITIZENS CAN FIGHT BACK AGAINST METH

OUR VIEW: Yes, there are effective strategies that voters and the
government can use. Here are some.

How bad is the meth problem in our area?

This bad: "Meth is the single most serious law enforcement issue that
North Dakota is facing, or has ever faced," attorney general Wayne
Stenehjem told the New York Times.

And if you spent any time with Herald staff writer Rona K. Johnson's
recent series on meth, you'd agree.

Meth is methamphetamine. First synthesized in 1919 in a Japanese lab,
it's a member of the amphetamine family of drugs - a family that
became part of the landscape in America and around the world in the
early- and mid-1900s.

During World War II, for example, American, British, German and
Japanese soldiers were given amphetamine tablets -"pep pills" - to
stay alert for long periods and ward off drowsiness.

But after the war, the Japanese military's vast stockpiles of
amphetamines became available for civilian use - and Japan endured an
epidemic of methamphetamine abuse in the 1950s. Something similar
happened in America in the 1960s, as truck drivers, athletes, college
students and others took methamphetamine and other "uppers" to get
high and enhance performance. Widespread abuse let to tighter and
tighter restrictions on production and supply.

To this day, methamphetamine still is made and marketed legally as a
prescription drug, under the trade name Desoxyn. But illegal
manufacture and use has metastasized into a cancer on rural America.
The purity and concentration of "homecooked" meth generates such
intense euphoria that it can be psychologically addicting after only
one use. The chronic abuse that follows leads many users to a Stygian
underworld of skin sores, tooth loss, malnutrition - and often, child
abuse, domestic violence and death.

To make matters worse, meth addiction turns out to be extremely
difficult to treat. Mental-health professionals still are struggling
to develop programs that will keep a majority of users from relapsing
once the treatment has ended.

But citizens must not give up hope. That's the No. 1 message from
police officers, social workers and others who see the results of meth
abuse: There are things society can do to to greatly reduce the
severity of this problem, even though, realistically, it may never be
eliminated altogether.

Those measures include:

. Passing laws to more tightly restrict meth "precursors" - the
ingredients, such as certain cold tablets, that get used in the
manufacture of meth.

. Fully training and equipping police officers and other people
involved in meth response. Just as an example, a kitchen "meth lab" is
an extremely hazardous waste site, one where dangerous chemicals such
as acetone and hydrochloric acid saturate carpets and contaminate
plumbing - or cause the whole structure to go up in flames.

Busting, securing and cleaning up such crime scenes demands very
specialized training and protective gear.

. Strengthening school-age prevention programs. Meth is a tremendously
dangerous drug, and educators should pull no punches in presenting
that fact to young people. If they don't already do so, teachers also
should talk about the drug's history - for example, its widespread use
during World War II - and point out how that "historic" use differs
from today's. Such frank talk can help overcome teenagers' natural
suspicion that grownups are exaggerating a drug's risks.

. Support research and funding for developing more effective
prevention, treatment and lab cleanup programs.

Thanks to news stories and other reports, awareness of meth's
realities is growing fast among the general public. Let's strike while
the electric skillet - a common meth-lab tool - is hot and keep
working on solving this serious problem.