METHAMPHETAMINES

Use Your Brains

Re: "Ingredients for meth easy to get," March 17 news story. I can't
believe that you would print a recipe for the making of meth. What
were you thinking - or were you not thinking? Did it not occur to you
that a young child on the verge of trying drugs might consider this
as an endorsement of drug use? Do you ever consider what power your
paper possesses for the concept of good or evil? I wish you would
please think about that in the future.

JAMES W. ADAMS

Grand Junction

Protect The Brain

Re: "Meth menace," March 17 news stories. I found this story very
informative and hope that The Post will continue educating the public
on the dangerous effects of drugs. Beyond the obvious dangers of
small-time, inexperienced drug makers creating a dangerous cocktail
of a wide array of unknown and unpredictable chemicals using improper
laboratory techniques that can only add to the danger of the intended
drugs, we should also be aware that the drugs themselves have
unpredictable and deleterious long-term effects on brain. The brain -
the most complex and fine-tuned machine that we know of, comprises an
amazing mix of chemicals, cells and signals balanced in homeostatic
equilibrium. Considering the pop-a-pill-to-solve-your-problems
mentality that is so prevalent in our society, we are doing similar
harm to our children when we stuff them with drugs such as Prozac and
Ritalin to quash their natural curiosity and risk - destroying a
large portion of their intellect by preventing their brains from
developing properly. Drug abuse goes far beyond crude meth labs - and
requires our national attention.

MICHAEL PRAVICA

Las Vegas, N.M.