IS YOUR TEENAGER SNORTING COCAINE? EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

Jack Smith Parents of teenagers were probably alarmed about the rash of
recent under-age drinking arrests in Eufaula.

The good news?

Nobody got hurt. At least not yet.

The bad news?

We've got a much bigger problem that hasn't yet shown up in police reports.
But it will.

Good, solid sources of all ages tell me Eufaula now suffers from a problem
much more deadly and serious than teenagers drinking beer at the "fire
spot" a few miles out past where the pavement meets the dirt road at Fox
Ridge Road.

Too many of our teenagers are doing much more than drinking a few Natural
Lights now and again. They are snorting cocaine. They are using meth. And
they are going to ruin their lives if we don't get a handle on the problem.

I chose to write this column not to sell newspapers or spread gossip but to
hopefully start a dialogue between teenagers and their parents.

It troubles me deeply to hear reports about teenagers in this town-you'd be
shocked who they are-putting their lives and their futures in jeopardy by
using deadly drugs. A knowledgeable source confirmed to me that powder
cocaine is quickly becoming a serious problem among our teenagers.

Meth, a dangerously toxic drug made in clandestine labs often in rural
areas, was first seen in the Eufaula area a few years back and is still on
the street.

In an earlier story published in The Tribune, Drug Task Force Agent Steve
Hanners warned that meth was exploding onto the scene in Eufaula. An
informant estimated then up to 200 teenagers in Eufaula were meth users.
Drug Task Force agents said if meth ever gets into the neighborhoods
already infested with crack cocaine, watch out. The DEA says meth is 10
times more addictive than cocaine.

The Drug Task Force has slowed the supply of meth locally with about a
dozen meth lab raids in Barbour County alone in the past two years. That
doesn't mean teens aren't still using meth-they are-it just means good law
enforcement work has at least kept meth from becoming more rampant than it
already is.

The recent revelations about powder cocaine becoming a growing problem
literally kept me awake at night. I still remember the tragedy of Len Bias,
the University of Maryland basketball star chosen first in the NBA draft by
the Boston Celtics.

He never played a minute in the NBA. He died from a cocaine overdose before
the first day of practice. I'll never forget how that story made me feel.

What's equally troubling is to learn it's apparently becoming fashionable
in some circles to do drugs-hard-core drugs like cocaine and meth. When I
was in high school in the late 1980s, only the losers did drugs. The worst
the "good kids" ever did was light up a cigarette or chug a beer. I wonder
if Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign, ridiculed by critics, needs to be
resurrected.

So could it be I'm over-reacting to a few reports? Perhaps. But the more I
started asking around, to teenagers and adults alike, the more worried I
became.

Just flipping through the past year's worth of crime reports in The
Tribune, it's easy to see how widespread our drug problem is. There have
been about 200 drug arrests since last June. And those are only the ones
who got caught.

There have been eight meth lab busts this year alone by the Barbour/Bullock
County Drug Task Force.

Local law enforcement has seized some 500 grams of powdered cocaine, 300
grams of crack cocaine, 1,600 grams of marijuana and about $100,000 worth
of meth.

Law enforcement is working hard to do its part, but that's only one front
in the war on drugs. The other one is in our living rooms and around our
dinner tables.

So what can you as a parent do?

Talk to your children. They'll listen.

Look for signs. If they're doing drugs, there are likely signs that
something is wrong. Researching this column, I used our online archives to
pull up an old story on meth. Meth users often appear agitated or paranoid.
That's because meth is a powerful stimulant that dramatically affects the
body's central nervous system. It's not a downer like alcohol.

"A lot of the time they will just appear irritable or anxious," an expert
told us. "Especially with girls, they have no fingernails because they just
chew them off."

A meth high can last 15 hours or more, but meth users eventually crash.
Meth use can cause bouts of insomnia and depression. The long-term effects
are even worse and can result in liver damage or stroke.

According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services' website,
cocaine, which comes in powder users snort, crystals they smoke or liquid
they inject, causes a short-lived high followed by the opposite-intense
feelings of depression, edginess and a craving for more cocaine.

The website says cocaine users often don't eat or sleep regularly. They
also experience increased heart rate and even convulsions, and it's not
uncommon for cocaine users to feel paranoid, hostile and anxious after they
come down from the high.

Teenagers and parents alike can learn a lot more at www.health.org. on the
web or by calling 1 (800) 729-6686.

At The Tribune, we plan to do more on the drug problem and places teens can
turn for help.

In the short term, I hope any teenagers in trouble will talk to their
parents. If not, seek out a trusted adult, perhaps a guidance counselor or
church youth leader.

There is a way out. Help is available. All you need to do is ask.