Pubdate: Thu, 30 Jun 2005
Source: Brattleboro Reformer (VT)
Copyright: 2005 Brattleboro Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.reformer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/59
Author: Andrew Ragouzeos, Reformer Staff
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH HAZARDS OUTLINED AT CONFERENCE

BRATTLEBORO -- It'll get you high, and make you feel good.

Then it'll take you down and can make you feel so bad that for the
next year, you'll be unable to feel pleasure.

The stimulant methamphetamine, or meth, is causing users to suffer
long-term neurological damage at a level exceeding all other illegal
drugs, according to health officials.

Unlike cocaine or milder forms of speed that cause a release of
dopamine (the body chemical responsible for good feelings) to linger
for a prolonged period in the brain, meth prompts dopamine to be
"released and released and to keep on being released, depleting the
body's dopamine levels," Vermont Police Academy Coordinator Cynthia
Tayler-Patch explained during a meth awareness conference on Wednesday.

"After chronic use, it can take up to six months to a year for levels
to replenish," she said.

The conference, held at the Quality Inn and attended by 50 local law
enforcement and social service workers, is part of the Department of
Health's ongoing campaign to educate Vermonters in hopes that the
state can avoid becoming another frontline in what's become a national
meth epidemic.

In 2004, there were 525 methamphetamine labs seized by law enforcement
in California, 1,018 in Missouri, 393 in Kentucky, and one in Vermont,
according to the National Clandestine Laboratory database.

But experts warn that the eastward migration of the drug is ripe to
hit Vermont in the not-too-distant future. One reason Vermont is a
likely target is its rural makeup, according to Detective Michael
Smith of the Vermont Drug Task Force.

Because the drug is concocted in clandestine laboratories that emit a
strong chemical smell, secluded and private locations inside shacks,
trucks or trailers in the woods are desired locations, Smith said.

"You don't even need electricity or running water to make it," he
said. "And all the ingredients are legal in Vermont."

Children ages 12-14 who live in rural areas are 104 percent more
likely to take meth than their urban counterparts, the Drug
Enforcement Agency reports.

Along with the severe depression the drug can induce, other long-term
effects include hallucinations, violent behavior, and insomnia.

Often users will experience what is called "formication," when the
user hallucinates that bugs are crawling on his/her skin. To get rid
of the bugs the user will pick at their skin to such an extent that
sores open up and lead to heavy and widespread scarring, Taylor-Patch
said.

The drug's presence in a community can be equally damaging, as many
users are forced to steal to support their habits, and the labs
themselves can be highly explosive.

Meth, which is produced in tablet, powder and crystal form, can be
made with several methods, all of which require mixing pseudoephedrine
- -- the active ingredient in many cold medications -- with a host of
other legal, yet highly toxic chemicals such as acetone, propane and
ammonia.

Production releases poisonous gasses into the air, and for every one
pound of meth produced there are six pounds of toxic waste created.
Dumping that waste into waterways, forests and farmland is also a
common problem in areas where meth is prevalent.

Meth can spread throughout a community quickly because it is easily
made in large quantities, Smith said. One pound of the drug can be
divided into 90,000 doses.

It's also cheap. One gram of meth has a street value of around $200,
but that gram can be cut into 200 doses.

"We're not trying to scare people. We just want to be prepared," Smith
said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin