Pubdate: Tue, 27 Aug 2002
Source: Norfolk Daily News (NE)
Copyright: 2002 Norfolk Daily News
Contact:  http://www.norfolkdailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/627
Author: Chris Amundson

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.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart