STOPPING METH USE

Methamphetamine use is on the rise, and it's a growing, very serious problem
right here in Sampson County. Meth, as it is often referred to, is highly
addictive and extremely dangerous not only to the user but to those living
near one of the many labs that exist right under our noses. In Sampson
County alone over the last 18 months, four labs have been discovered and
dismantled. Suspicions are that there are many, many more out there that no
one has uncovered ... yet.

Labs can be large and often found in sparsely populated areas, or
they can be small and set up in a kitchen where addicts cook the drug
primarily for their own use.

Officers have found labs inside vehicles, homes, apartments, rental
storage units, motel rooms and perhaps scarier than anything, in close
proximity to schools.

The problem for law enforcement is that traditional methods to catch
meth dealers and users don't seem to work and have done little to
deter this growing crime.

That's why we salute our local law enforcement officers, Sampson
Community College and all the agencies and private businesses that are
forming a task force to help stop this epidemic before it inches out
of control.

We need to stop it. We need to do everything in our power to ebb the
flow of this illegal drug before it entices our children and threatens
the very fabric of our society.

To keep our heads buried in the sand, and to say this problem isn't
one that has an impact on us, would be foolish. It does impact us. It
already has.

If four meth labs have been discovered and dismantled in our county
already, how many more do you think exist that no one knows about?

If meth labs can be set up in storage facilities, motel rooms and
apartments, and if Methamphetamine use is growing, how many
clandestine activities do you think are happening even as we conduct
our day-to-day activities?

The truth is simple - Methamphetamine use, like the use of crack,
cocaine, marijuana and heroin, exists in Sampson County. People are
becoming addicted and addicts are, by virtue of the dangers associated
with the manufacture of this drug, putting innocent people in danger.

And the problem keeps growing.

We all have a vested interest in stopping this problem before it grows
any larger, and that means getting involved.

If you know of suspicious activity, call the Sheriff's Department, the
Police Department of the State Bureau of Investigation. being bought
in large quantities, alert authorities.

If you think someone you know might be addicted, get them
help.

All we ask is that you get involved. It will take everyone to solve
this problem ... and this problem needs to be solved.