GROWING METH EPIDEMIC KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES

Put a map of Nebraska on the table. Close your eyes and point to any spot.
Go to the town nearest that spot and you'll find methamphetamine.

Do it again and you'll get the same results -- if you know what to look for.

The illegal drug that provides users a longer and stronger high than
cocaine can be found in every community in the state and throughout the
Midwest, law enforcement officials say.

Unlike the cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and early '90s, methamphetamine
knows no boundaries of age, class, occupation or education. It spans
geography and is just as prevalent in the small farming communities as it
is in metropolitan Omaha and Lincoln.

"You wouldn't believe how you can actually get that drug," said recovering
meth addict Leeanna Robinett of Orchard. "It is everywhere, even in Orchard."

Allan Walton, the Nebraska State Patrol's lead drug investigator for
Northeast Nebraska, said that 10 to 15 years ago, only hard-core addicts
used methamphetamine. Now, because of a drop in price, increased
availability and other factors, meth has become so common that anyone --
from high school students to housewives and businessmen -- can smoke it,
snort it or shoot it into their veins.

"You don't even have to know anybody to get meth," Walton said.

The allure of methamphetamine -- also called crank, speed, crystal, ice and
tweak -- is that it's a very powerful stimulant that gives users a feeling
of euphoria that can last up to six hours. Users with enough quantity of
the drug can perpetuate the high for weeks at a time. They've reported
going on drug binges for up to four weeks without much food or sleep.

They say meth gives them an incredible amount of energy and a feeling of
supremacy. All of their personal problems seemingly disappear.

"You don't feel lonely anymore. You don't feel less than. You feel like you
can do anything," said "Sally" of Norfolk, a middle-age recovering meth
addict who asked that her real name not be used.

The drug plays with the brain's chemistry by supercharging what's known as
the "D1 and D2 receptors." It makes the body produce large amounts of the
natural pleasure-creating chemicals known as dopamine and seratonin. Users
say meth is hundreds of times more effective than alcohol at making them
feel good. They say cocaine is like chocolate compared to the pleasing
effect of meth.

"It's the user's super drug," Sally said.

Unlike cocaine and other hard drugs (except heroin), methamphetamine sets
up an instant addiction. By the first or second use, you're hooked. Within
weeks, the addiction grows from occasional use to complete dependence.
Experienced meth users say they've learned there's no controlling the drug.
It's a lesson they say comes hard and fast.

Rick Eberhardt, Pierce County sheriff, has seen the effects of
methamphetamine. He said parents have come to him and asked him to arrest
their child who's using meth. He's pulled over parents who were on meth and
hiding their drug under their child in the car seat next to them.

"I've had to take the kids away from them, and it just breaks your heart,"
Eberhardt said.

Experienced meth users report "losing everything" because of the drug.

"It grabs you by your groin, turns you upside down and shakes everything
out of you," said a meth user in the Pierce County jail who recently was
awaiting trial on a vandalism charge.

Recovering meth addicts who reflect on their drug use say their priorities
changed for the period of time they used the drug. Some turned to burglary
or writing bad checks to support their habit. Some women prostituted
themselves or were sexually assaulted. They no longer valued their jobs,
health, spouses and children.

"The general non-user can't, doesn't understand women choosing meth over
your kids," said Sally, the recovering meth addict. "Another woman addict
knows immediately that you don't have a choice."

"That's what meth does, it takes away everything that was important," she said.