PICTURES SHOW HORROR OF METHAMPHETAMINE USE

KINGSPORT - Few turned away from the images, and many stared in disbelief.
Pictures shown at Monday's drug education in-service for Kingsport teachers
and members of the community were meant to be disturbing and elicit a
collective shudder from the audience.

One of a teenage girl emaciated by methamphetamine use showed black
under-eye circles, lifeless hair and skin, dry cracked lips, and hundreds
of scabs over her face, back and arms from sweating out toxins in her body
and compulsive picking of her skin.

Other pictures showed people burned alive while cooking methamphetamine in
their homes, so graphic that nothing was left to the imagination.

And finally, a picture-perfect image of a teenage girl - pretty, blond,
healthy. Those in attendance learned the girl died after her first
experimentation with the drug Ecstasy, which caused a rapid rise in body
temperature.

Chief Warrant Officer Wilson (first name has been omitted at the officer's
request) apologized up front for what he would show during the
presentation, which was held to educate people on the prominent drugs being
used in the region and how to recognize drug use among teens.

Wilson works with the Southeast Tennessee Drug Task Force. But Wilson said
many teachers who have gone through the presentation request those pictures
be shown to youth so they can see the realities of drug use.

Wilson, who has been with the task force for three years, said
methamphetamine or crystal meth or crank has become one of the most
prevalent drugs in the region. Almost 1,000 meth labs have been discovered
in a 40-county region in Wilson's three years.

The drug is highly dangerous, not only for users but also those living
around and anyone who enters the home of a meth manufacturer. The chemicals
used to make meth are so combustible that one in six meth labs explodes.

"The chances of becoming addicted are very high," Wilson said of meth use.
"But the chance of getting off (methamphetamine) is very low. ... If you
walk into a home where someone is cooking meth, get out."

But how do you know if your neighbor is cooking meth?

The signs are apparent, Wilson said. Methamphetamine is made up of
over-the-counter medications such as No Doze and Sudafed. Those are
combined with chemical solvents such as acetone. And the meth is cooked
with gas or Coleman fuel. Paraphernalia may include red-stained coffee
filters, empty plastic coke bottles with tubes, and torn lithium battery
casings and matchbox strike strips.

Then there is the smell.

Wilson said the chemical stench that remains in the home, clothes and skin
of someone who is cooking meth cannot be described by anyone.

When you smell it, you'll know, Wilson said.

"The average meth cooker lives in a 20-year-old trailer. You see people on
TV selling cocaine and living in these luxurious homes. That's not a meth
maker. They have trouble putting shoes on their child's feet. Their homes
are nasty and they smell nasty."

Other signs parents and teachers may notice with teens using drugs is
increased energy, decreased appetite, temperament changes, and drug
paraphernalia from raves such as pacifiers, armbands and drug enhancers
such as Sucrets.

"It's all of our jobs to do something about it," Wilson said to audience
members. "There is no way in the United States that police can do this on
their own."

Wilson urged anyone with any information about a possible methamphetamine
manufacturing site to to call the toll-free anonymous hot line at
1-866-RID-METH.