KIDS SUFFER FROM STATE'S METH PLAGUE

Methamphetamine is poisoning Montana children.

Addiction to this lethal stimulant prompts parents to neglect, abuse and
abandon their children. Adults and youth are snorting, smoking and
injecting meth in communities all over Montana.

One might think that Attorney General Mike McGrath, the state's top law
enforcement official, would be focused only on enforcing drug laws.
Fortunately for Montana, he sees the big picture of the meth epidemic.

"Law enforcement can't do it alone," McGrath said on a recent stop in
Billings. "You also need treatment and prevention efforts."

McGrath noted that:

- - Child Protective Services in Yellowstone County reports drug use is a
factor in 80 percent of the abuse cases it investigates.

- - Cooking one pound of meth produces 5-8 pounds of highly toxic waste.

- - Nationally, a third of children taken out of homes where meth is
manufactured test positive for the drug.

- - The Montana crime lab processed evidence from 95 meth labs last year.

- - Thirteen percent of Montana school kids have used meth, according to the
Montana Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

A major part of the Department of Justice prevention campaign is
drug-endangered children. The department recently allocated some of a
one-time federal grant to temporarily help fund Michel's House, a home in
Billings where several addicted moms and their young children live while
the moms undergo treatment at Rimrock Foundation. Michel's House has worked
with the Yellowstone County Family Drug Court, providing the opportunity
for meth-addicted mothers to regain custody of their children by getting
treatment and learning to be good parents.

Onthenet: more on methamphetamine (http://www.methfreemt.org)

We know from years of the meth epidemic that violence and guns are
intrinsic to meth culture. That makes an extremely dangerous environment
for children. Babies born to addicts have increased the burden on the
foster care system, resulting in many more Montana children being without
permanent homes for extended periods.

Teenage girls need to know that methamphetamine is an extremely risky way
to lose weight. Overworked adults need to know that meth is highly risky as
an energy booster.

Drug enforcement can make meth harder to get. Prosecutors can put dealers
and manufacturers behind bars, but Montana can't afford to build enough
prisons to hold all the addicts. The prisons in Billings and Deer Lodge are
already full of meth addicts.

As McGrath said, "This is a community problem." Citizens must join law
enforcement in combating drugs by educating themselves and their children,
by supporting treatment and intervention to break the cycle of addiction
that now threatens generations of Montana families.