SPEECH GIVES VIVID TALE OF METH USE

HOPKINSVILLE -- It wasn't a pleasant or inspiring speech that
Rotarians heard at the Memorial Building Tuesday. Instead, Logan
County Deputy Sheriff Bob Gregory provided the civic club with a
horror story of the methamphetamine epidemic that is spreading through
the country.

Gregory has spoken of the evils spread by methamphetamine usage to
8,000 citizens in Logan County, and that doesn't count the several
schools, churches and other groups in neighboring counties.

"Our sheriff (Wallace E. Whittaker) started this program about six
months ago and our numbers (concerning methamphetamine activity) have
gone down already," explained Gregory.

Gregory, who is the sergeant major of the Logan County Sheriff
Department and a retired Army sergeant major, was blunt in his
presentation. He showed photos of adults who have been killed through
their association with meth. He exhibited several photos of toddlers
and infants who were damaged either by the drugs, or by their user
parents.

"Nine-and- a-half out of 10 people are addicted to meth the first time
they used it," said Gregory.

Methamphetamine was first introduced to fight different illnesses such
as depression, Parkinson Disease and nasal congestion. Both the Allied
and Axis troops in World War II used it.

Now, it's an illegal drug, that uses such over-the-counter components
as ephedrine, pseudorphedrine, iodine, anhydrous ammonia, coffee
filters and lithium batteries for its home-brew manufacture. Equipment
used can be as simple as camping stoves, aquariums, glassware and mason jars.

Gregory said there are as many as 36 ways of "cooking meth" - and none
of them are clean or user-friendly.

Signs for detecting the manufacture and usage of meth in a
neighborhood include strong, unusual odors (not unlike cat urine),
heavy automobile traffic, large amounts of trash and the frequent
burning of trash so police won't discover the actual practice.

Illegal lab often employ heavy security measures.

But sometimes, those security practices break down, especially in the
face of Gregory's publicity appearances.

Gregory said some of his department's best tips came as the result of
his appearances at Logan County schools. He pointed to at least three
large lab discoveries that were the result of speeches given to sixth
graders.

"Keep your eyes, ears and noses open. Call your law enforcement
agencies, such as the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force, when you
discover something," said Gregory.

Gregory had a conversation with Christian County School Superintendent
Bob Lovingood following the meeting. There maybe a visit paid to the
Christian County schools by Gregory next year.

"We hope to have something like that in our schools in the future,"
said Lovingood.