Pubdate: Sat, 01 May 2004 Source: Joplin Globe, The (MO) Copyright: 2004 The Joplin Globe Contact: http://www.joplinglobe.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/859 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) EDUCATING AGAINST METH Educating Missouri's young people on the dangers of methamphetamine may prove the best plan of attack against manufacturers of the insidious drug. Sadly, though, education can be a slow process. And so the fight against meth makers goes on in the law enforcement trenches every day. Just how serious is the problem? No fewer than 2,860 meth labs were seized in this state last year and during the first two months of 2004. The numbers suggest that law enforcement agencies are doing an excellent job hunting down and putting these basement, garage, backroom chemists out of business. But there is an ominous way of reading the numbers, too. How large or small a percentage of the total number of meth labs operating were those 2,860 closed? Our suspicion is that for every one raided by authorities, two or three remain operating or preparing to start up. That is not meant as an indictment of the effectiveness of the agencies, but rather evidence of the profitability and ease of manufacturing meth and the street demand for it. Obviously, meth is a critical problem for Missouri that isn't going away. While the battle by law enforcement and the courts against this insidious concoction continues to rage, Missouri's best hope for success may rest with educating young people. The message that we hope they will hear and heed is that meth can kill or ruin their lives. State quarters Kansas high school students last week were asked their preferences of designs for the state's quarters being issued next year. The request reportedly came as something of a surprise to some schools. But the vote won't take much time out of a school day and will give the young people an opportunity to decide which of the four designs sparks their imaginations. It would be an interesting exercise if high school history, political science and art classes in every state were asked to come up with their own quarter designs. Would they attach the same importance to events or symbols as those, say, 30 years of age or older? Do they see the same bold, ambitious, pioneering spirit today that many of us did decades ago? What do they see in the future? Their perceptions are important. After all, the future belongs to them. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh