CHATS LEARN ABOUT DANGERS AND GROWTH OF METH PROBLEMS

ACSD Asks For Community's Help

"Meth labs often go unnoticed. A mother might notice a strange chemical
smell in the vicinity, but she might not be aware that her neighbor is
making meth. A store clerk might not be aware that a customer who has
purchased dozens of boxes of decongestant medicine containing ephedrine (a
necessary ingredient in making meth) is a meth producer. And a farmer might
not be aware that the large amount of fertilizer or anhydrous ammonia
stolen from his storage tank is a common ingredient for making meth."

Take from the January 2004 North Carolina Methamphetamine Summit -
Responding to Methamphetamine: Combating North Carolina's Fastest Growing
Drug Problem

The Ashe County CHATs (Community Health Action Teams) held a special
meeting last week with guest speaker Detective Chris Miller from the Ashe
County Sheriff's Department to learn more about the growing problem of meth
labs.

Last year, Ashe County was the second highest county in the state in the
amount of clandestine methamphetamine labs that were busted, according to
Miller. Watauga County was the first county with the highest number of labs
found. Miller said there is a statistic that for every one person who makes
meth (called a cooker), he or she teaches five others how to make meth.

Methamphetamine is an illegal drug known as meth, crank, ice, speed, go-go,
go-fast and other names. Miller said it is predominantly used as powder and
a lab or a cooker can easily be detected by unusual odors around the meth
lab or on the person who has been cooking. He said people have reported
smelling ammonia or cat urine or a sulfur-type odor while others say it
smelled like rotten feet. Miller said he thinks it most often smells like a
metallic smell of burnt chemicals.

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that impacts the central
nervous system. Meth users usually experience temporary euphoria and a
sense of increased energy. The typical high can last six hours or more and
can produce dangerous side effects such as irritability, paranoia, violent
behavior, insomnia and brain damage.

Users of meth will often get addicted quickly and Miller said it more
difficult to kick the habit than heroin. The body of a user will generally
begin to break down about three to six months after starting the habit
because he or she quits eating and sleeping because the only thing they are
focused on is getting more meth. He said it has been proven that
methamphetamine use can make a user become a paranoid schizophrenic. He
told of several deaths where users were high and killed their children or
friends because of their paranoia.

Miller talked with the group about the many dangers that clandestine
methamphetamine labs pose to the county. Because of the explosive chemicals
used in cooking meth, there is a very high chance of a fire and explosion.
Breathing the chemicals or gases is very dangerous and can often be fatal.
Since meth can be made with common household chemicals and other common
items, the profit margin is very high for the cooker and they aren't afraid
of the current penalty of law.

Miller said the possession of the chemicals is a felony in North Carolina.
He passed out a sheet with the products used to produce methamphetamine.
Miller said there have been several people arrested in the county with
precursors (items used in meth labs). He mentioned one incident when he was
at a local business and an individual came up behind him with several items
in a large quantity in his cart used to make meth. Miller and his partner
waited for the man to come out of Wal-Mart and called his tag into
communications. The man was later arrested.

Miller asked that the community help them and report anyone they see
purchasing a large number of items used in making meth to the Sheriff's
Department by calling Crimestoppers. "These labs are everywhere and they
are right here in this county. We are doing everything we can to stop it.
Any help you can give us in being more sets of eyes out there looking for
these items, we appreciate it," he explained.

"If they will do it right next to a uniformed officer, they will do it
right next to you. Get to a phone with a tag number or any information and
let us know - we will get there ASAP."

Miller said that children have been found in the homes of individuals
arrested on charges of producing methamphetamine. One question asked by the
group was how it affects the children. Besides the obvious danger of an
explosion, Miller said he has saw children with emphysema and COPD (chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease).

Attorney General Roy Cooper is also concerned about the children as a
statement from him reads in the report from the North Carolina
Methamphetamine Summit. "Law enforcement officials, public health officers,
policymakers and the media have warned about the disastrous effects of this
drug. It destroys lives through addiction, mental illness, crime and
violence," his statement reads.

"Just as disturbing, these labs have put children and unsuspecting
neighbors at risk by exposing them to the dangers of crime, toxic
chemicals, explosions and fires. In too many cases, we find children living
in the very homes where these dangerous drugs are made. In North Carolina,
children have been found in approximately 25 percent of meth labs. We must
stop this from happening."

If you have any information about anyone you know who could be producing
methamphetamine, call Crimestoppers at 336-246-4188. Your report can be
made anonymously.