METH AWARENESS CLASS TO SPELL OUT THE DANGERS

Would you smoke or inject into your flesh a substance made of drain
cleaner, charcoal lighter fluid, phosphorous scraped off match heads, lye,
and other chemicals? People all over the Upper Cumberland are doing that,
and some may be your neighbors.

The stuff, called methamphetamine, can make users hyper, paranoid, and
dangerous.

It is so addictive that some people choose it over their own children. It
is so dangerous -- to human beings and to the environment -- that
specialists have to be called in to remove the finished product and its
ingredients when someone is caught with it.

Meth is the Upper Cumberland's worst illegal drug problem, and the problem
is growing worse, law officers say.

"It's very addictive, it's relatively cheap to make, and some people are
making a profit out of it," said Putnam Sheriff's Detective Greg Whittaker,
who has become something of an expert in the problem through his work.

Whittaker and other officers believe the public in general needs to know
more about methamphetamine, as more and more law enforcement effort goes
into trying to curb its manufacture and use.

More public awareness could mean more help from the public in the fight
against the problem, Whittaker thinks.

Thus, he and other officers, including Tennessee National Guard members,
federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents, Dr. Sullivan Smith, and
hazardous materials specialists, are offering a free "meth awareness" class
to the public this Thursday, April 24, at 6:30 p.m.

It will be held at the Cookeville Community Center, and everyone is invited.

"We want to let everybody know what this stuff smells like, what chemicals
they might see around a place where it is being made, and what to do when
they suspect they are near it," Detective Whittaker said.

Just the fumes from meth can be dangerous, and it also poses a danger of
explosions and fires, he said.

Meth is "cooked" in makeshift "labs" that can be set up in kitchens or
motel rooms or apartment houses, and anywhere else the cookers decide to use.

They can and often do carry the equipment and ingredients around in cars or
trucks, set it up and cook most any place, then dismantle and hide the
equipment and sit back to use the drug or else sell it to others.

An estimated 90 percent of those who "cook" are also users, and just that
fact makes the whole process even more dangerous since those who are high
on it often cannot think rationally.

"It is a very dangerous drug, and we need the help of the public as we
fight it," Detective Whittaker said.

Sheriff David Andrews has made the fight against meth a priority, and his
effort to locate, arrest, and prosecute those who are making the drug has
been received well by the public, officers say.

Detective Whittaker had planned this same awareness class for the public
for a night last January, but had to cancel it then due to bad weather.

Now, it is scheduled again, and he and Sheriff Andrews hope everyone will
attend.

The free session is at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 24, at the Cookeville
Community Center.