DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME, WARN COPS

Meth Labs Putting Children At Risk

Home-based meth labs are taking a growing toll on children in Alberta, warn
Mounties.

In the past two years, several methamphetamine labs, which had the
potential to harm kids, were uncovered in northern Alberta, said Sgt. Ian
Sanderson, the drug awareness co-ordinator with K-Division.

In one instance, three children aged eight, six and four were found in a
home which had a meth lab, he said. In another bust, chemicals were being
stored next to children's toys.

"This is something that we know that if we don't do anything about it, it's
going to be a very large problem as it has in every other jurisdiction in
the world," said Sanderson. "What we're trying to do is get the jump on it
to make people aware and understand what the issues are, and to work
together to deal with issues with children, and breaking the cycle of meth
use in the family and meth cooking in the home."

Kids in homes where there are meth labs are exposed to health risks such as
inhaling chemical fumes or ingesting toxic chemicals or drugs. The
chemicals are carcinogenic, poisonous, corrosive and explosive.

In the United States in 1999, 950 children were found at meth lab sites.
That number more than doubled to 2,028 in 2001. And 35% of the kids found
at lab sites in 2001 tested positive for toxic levels of chemicals in their
bodies.

In the U.S., some children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder turned
out to have exposure to methamphetamine - which explained their
restlessness and poor ability to pay attention, said Tom Manning, deputy
district attorney for San Diego County, who was at an RCMP-hosted seminar
on the issue yesterday.

Children's Services Minister Iris Evans, who was also at the seminar, said
she would like to see parents with home-based meth labs serve longer
sentences because they endanger their kids.

"If a child is shown to have some negative effects and has been identified
as having been exposed, then we should be able to present that evidence in
court and actually hammer (parents) with it," Evans said. She added that
she also wants to find out whether social workers wear proper protective
suits when they go into meth lab homes. If they don't, she'd like to see
guidelines put in place to protect the workers.