DRUG TASK FORCE HELPS IN BATTLE AGAINST METH

Editorial Focus: Drug Problem

Kudos to the Eufaula Police Department and the Barbour County Drug Task
Force for organizing Monday's informative town hall meeting on the growing
problem of methamphetamines.

An interview with a Drug Task Force agent earlier this summer revealed
startling news about the drug problem in Eufaula.

Drug Task Force Agent Stephen Hanners told us drug dealers and users
arrested estimate as many as 200 Eufaula teenagers are already meth users.
The drug was first seen on the street only about one year ago.

Its apparent rapid spread isn't surprising. The Drug Enforcement Agency
says meth is more deadly and 10 times more addictive than crack cocaine.

Agent Hanners also told us one suspect he arrested claims six out of 10
Eufaula teenagers have used drugs of one form or another, be it meth,
marijuana, Ecstasy or cocaine. We can't be sure whether those estimates are
accurate or not.

Four meth labs seized in Barbour County this year, including two in
Eufaula, are proof positive that meth is on the rise locally, though. One
of those labs was only blocks from Western Heights Elementary School, and
the other only a stone's throw from downtown Eufaula.

A noted expert on meth from the Drug Enforcement Agency shared his
wide-ranging knowledge of drugs like meth, Ecstasy and the date-rape drug
at Monday's town hall meeting.

The crowd was fairly good, yet considering the seriousness of the drug
epidemic in Eufaula and Barbour County, it should've been better. Perhaps
some parents are still in denial about the risks their children face every day.

DEA Special Agent Tom Halasz effectively communicated how toxic chemicals
from household products can be extracted and mixed together to make meth.

The drug itself is deadly, and manufacturing it is just as dangerous.

It's not surprising that 15 percent of all meth labs are discovered by law
enforcement because they blow up or start a fire. Even if meth cooks don't
blow up a lab in their face, they inhale deadly fumes every time they cook
a new batch of the drug.

Halasz said the South has remained on the fringe as far as the spread of
meth. Now that it's here, expect it to spread like wildfire, he adds.

We hope our teenagers and young adults realize just how stupid using meth
(called "crank" or "ice" on the streets), Ecstasy or any other illegal drug
really is. Meth use can lead to depression, malnutrition, liver failure or
even stroke.

Parents need to realize meth isn't a downer like alcohol, so the symptoms
aren't the same. Meth is a synthetic stimulant that puts its users on a
dangerous high.

Meth has no odor, so parents need to look for other symptoms. Users might
get jumpy, paranoid or irritable. They might obsessively scratch itchy
skin, appear moody or lose their appetite.

Give the Drug Task Force credit. They did their part to spread word of the
drug's dangers.

Now it's time for parents to do their part.