METH CHANGES CITIZENS TO ADDICTS

They lose their teeth. Their children. Their dignity. And their health.

Often, the only thing that stops methamphetamine addicts from being an
addict is losing their freedom or losing their life.

Perhaps more than any other drug, methamphetamine transforms decent,
law-abiding citizens into risk-taking druggies who stop at nothing to stay
high.

One Oklahoma woman set herself on fire while cooking meth, then jumped out
the window to avoid the police and broke her ankle. She kept using.

Another woman stayed awake for seven days, then drank a fifth of tequila,
wrecked her car and had a chain-link fence penetrate her arm. She kept using.

"The only thing that a methamphetamine addict cares about is
methamphetamine. That's why we're dealing with these zombie-like people
every day. Methamphetamine addicts do not react rationally, said Sheriff
Keith Cain of Daviess County, Ky.

Kentucky shares Oklahoma's epidemic of methamphetamine labs, as well as the
craziness that goes with it.

Jim Acquisto, a Daviess County detective, told of two young cousins who hit
the jackpot when they stole two jugs of anhydrous ammonia, a meth
ingredient that is difficult to get, and one of the most dangerous.

"It freeze-dries flesh and can cause chemical pneumonia," Acquisto said.
The cousins hid the jugs in bushes, then returned to get them with three
teen-agers in the car.

While holding the jugs in coolers between their legs, one of them exploded
and the chemical went everywhere.

The teen-agers jumped out of the car and ripped off their clothing to stop
the burning. One ran naked to a nearby home and had a woman squirt him down
with a garden hose.

The teen who held the exploding jug suffered an ankle burn that exposed his
bone.

Nonetheless, Acquisto said, the same two were later caught stealing the
same chemicals again. The ankle victim was still undergoing skin grafts for
his prior injury.

Meth addicts either don't notice their health deteriorating, or they don't
care.

Because meth robs the body of calcium, longtime addicts typically lose
their teeth. Meth also takes away the appetite, causing addicts to wither
to a skeletal weight.

Addicts are sleep-deprived and stressed out from living on the edge.

Perhaps one of the saddest aspects is how they treat their children, both
born and unborn.

In the last six months, Acquisto said he's arrested two pregnant women
smoking meth inside a meth lab. In one case, the woman's father was the
meth cook.

"This guy is giving his daughter methamphetamine while she is pregnant with
his grandbaby," Acquisto said.

"I'm to the point where nothing shocks me anymore."

Meth addicts also are known to be quicker to give up custody of their
children, said child welfare experts at the Tulsa Justice Center.

"Crack users usually try to work something out. But meth users, the drugs
are more important than their kids," said Tulsa Police Detective Danielle
Bishop, who works at the center.

Laura Tabor is a former meth cook and addict who is now serving time at
Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in Oklahoma City. She knows the craziness
well.

"Because of my drug addiction I lost my kids," she said. "I gave up and I'm
ashamed to say that."

Addicts also have been known to give their children methamphetamine to keep
them on the same erratic schedule. Some swear they're better parents
because the meth makes them so.

One Tulsa mother used meth and smoked crack cocaine during her pregnancy.
When she went into labor, she shot up again to ease the pain. Getting
caught doesn't necessarily stop them from using, either.

Tulsa Assistant District Attorney Kevin Morrison said he sees meth addicts
come to court "tweaking" all the time. When he sees their hands and feet
tapping away, he orders a drug test on the spot.

"I'm thinking, 'My gosh, if this is your best behavior, what is your worst
behavior like?'"

Both experts and addicts say meth latches onto a psyche quicker than any
other drug and the grip is nearly impossible to beat.

"Meth is extremely addictive and a very powerful drug, and a lot of times
folks will do an awful lot to obtain it," said Oklahoma City police Maj.
Johnny Kuhlman, who heads the department's "Life or Meth" program.

"This guy is giving his daughter methamphetamine while she is pregnant with
his grandbaby. I'm to the point where nothing shocks me anymore."Jim
Acquisto, a Daviess County, Ky. detective.