AGENCIES HELP KIDS FOUND IN DRUG LABS

Lawmen and social workers in North Carolina are trying to find ways to help
children whose parents make or use methamphetamine at home.

Methamphetamine traffic has grown statewide, and narcotics agents say they
have seen an increase in the number of children living in homes where the
drug is made. Last year, lawmen found children in 20 percent of the 177 meth
labs that were raided in North Carolina.

The state attorney general has recommended that lawmakers make it a crime to
expose children to meth labs. Authorities say the children are often abused
or neglected, and the labs' toxic fumes and explosive chemicals put them in
danger.

Karen Taylor George is executive director of the North Carolina Association
of County Directors of Social Services. She said 69 children were taken out
of North Carolina meth homes last year.

Nationwide problem

It is an issue that lawmen and social workers face across the country. In
2002, more than 3,000 children were found in more than 15,000 meth labs that
were raided nationwide, according to the White House Drug Policy Office. Of
those children, more than 1,300 were exposed to the chemicals used in
producing the drug, the office said.

Lawmen in North Carolina have been trying to fight the spread of meth before
the drug becomes as popular as it has in other states. Authorities say users
often become lab operators to support their habits. Lawmen say they must
team with social workers, school officials and children's advocates to help
children who are affected by the drug.

"The meth home lifestyle is characterized by chaos," George said. She said
the homes often lack heat and running water, they are dirty, and the
children do not get proper medical care. Their schoolwork suffers and they
can be exposed to pornography and guns.

"There is an increased risk of sexual abuse," George said. "The children are
at the mercy of whoever is in the home."

Meth labs have been found in more than 40 states, according to the DEA. In
North Carolina, the drug is most prominent in the western part of the state.
Lawmen seized 34 meth labs last year in Watauga County.

Five years ago, narcotics agents found six meth labs in the state. In 2001,
the number rose to 31. A year later, 98 drug labs were found. Through March
30, State Bureau of Investigation agents had raided 78 meth labs this year.

"Methamphetamine is a dangerous synthetic drug that is being made in secret
drug labs across our state," Attorney General Roy Cooper said. "You usually
think about illegal drugs being manufactured in a different country, but
it's in the house next door and in the apartment down the hall."

Over the past few years, more meth labs have been found in Harnett and
Sampson counties than in any other counties in the Cape Fear region.
Cumberland County had the second most in the region last year, with three.
Five labs were found in Harnett County and two in Sampson, according to the
State Bureau of Investigation.

"This is such an epidemic that it's going to take all of us having knowledge
and working together," Harnett County Sheriff Larry Rollins said.

Stimulant

Meth is a stimulant that affects the central nervous system and causes
increased activity and decreased appetite. The drug increases the heart rate
and blood pressure, which can lead to heart attack or stroke.

Dealers use the labs to make, or "cook," meth. The drug gives the user a
feeling of euphoria that can keep him awake for up to three days. Part of
meth's appeal is its accessibility, lawmen say. Instructions on how to make
it can be found on the Internet. It can be made using common household
products, such as batteries and allergy medicine.

Chemicals from meth labs can lead to illnesses in those who make the drug or
people living and working nearby. The U.S. Department of Justice says about
15 percent of the labs are found because of a fire or explosion. Two years
ago, 26 children were injured and two were killed nationwide from being
involved in meth labs, according to the Justice Department.

Social workers in Harnett County have taken at least four children from
homes where meth labs had been operating. In one home, the lab was in the
attic.

"One of the houses that we had the children removed from is now being
cleaned so the family can move back in," said Cindy Milton, program manager
for children's services at the Department of Social Services.

The National Jewish Medical and Research Center found that when meth is
cooked it produces toxic fumes. Those fumes can spread throughout the home
and seep in the carpet, walls and clothes. The center, which is in Denver,
Colo., specializes in respiratory illnesses.

Decontamination

When children are taken out of these homes their clothes, toys and other
belongings must be burned, Milton said. The children are decontaminated at
the scene and taken to the hospital where they are decontaminated again and
given a checkup.

Last year, the SBI received a $312,000 federal grant to help communities
identify and assess the needs of children who have been exposed to meth. The
money was used to update equipment and to help sheriff's offices and
departments of Social Services in Watauga, Ashe, Johnston and Harnett
counties.

"It's so easily manufactured that people can do it in their closet or their
car," said Pat Cameron, director of the Harnett County Department of Social
Services. "It's relatively cheap, and what we are afraid of, is that we are
seeing it expand so rapidly. But we feel fortunate that we are getting out
on the front end."

Conference

In March, lawmen, firefighters, school officials and social workers in
Harnett, Sampson and Johnston counties attended a conference on meth. They
learned what signs are indicative of a meth lab, how the drug is the made
and its dangers.

"We are just getting the training now," Cameron said. "It's such a new
problem."

He said Harnett County plans to write recommendations for how different
agencies can work together to handle the problem. Some of the grant that
Harnett received will provide medical care for children who are found in
meth homes and to replace their toys, clothes and books. It will also be
used to help them integrate into foster homes.

Milton said the children found in meth homes in Harnett County have shown
behavioral problems, but they have not complained of medical problems.
Authorities said children in other areas have complained of colds,
headaches, dizziness and fatigue.

Lawmen in Sampson County said they have raided labs where they have seen
toys and children's clothes, but they have not found any children. In
northern Sampson County in January, two boys playing in a field found a meth
lab in a food cooler. They found an empty propane tank and empty soda
bottles used to store chemicals. The boys told their parents, who called
deputies.

"It's not just a law enforcement problem," said Cooper, the attorney
general. "It's a community problem."

In April, a legislative committee recommended four bills that call for
stiffer penalties for people convicted of making meth. The bills were based
on Cooper's recommendations.

The bills would extend the prison time for people who manufacture meth or
make the drug around children. A person who makes meth could be charged with
second-degree murder if someone overdoses on the batch he made.

"We need to send a strong message that this will not be tolerated," Cooper
said.