Pubdate: Sun, 11 Dec 2005
Source: Indianapolis Star (IN)
Copyright: 2005 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc.
Contact: http://www.indystar.com/help/contact/letters.html
Website: http://www.starnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/210
Author: Katherine A. Billman
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH EPIDEMIC IS COMMUNITY SCOURGE

"It's been a nightmare." That is how an addict described his experience with
methamphetamine in our student documentary, "Putnam County's Newest
Nightmare: The Methamphetamine Epidemic." It had ruined 16 years of his and
his family's lives.

Meth is expensive, dangerous and extremely addictive. Before starting
the documentary on meth in rural Indiana, I knew nothing about the
drug or its impact on the community surrounding my home at DePauw
University. But it did not take long to find the people affected by
the drug:   The former standout high school athlete from a prominent
family turned meth addict, cook, dealer and frequent inmate at the
county jail.   The county sheriff who is a meth expert -- not by
choice, but because meth is now his department's biggest problem.

The probation officer who does not have the resources to help those
convicted on meth charges.

The addict who was cooking meth, passed out and was awakened by
police officers while he slept next to a burning propane flame.   The
county prosecutor who knows that no matter how many people he
convicts, meth will continue to rage in this quiet area.   The meth
cook who found six new ways to make the drug during his short stay in
jail surrounded by inmates also convicted on meth-related charges.
Each individual had been affected by meth in a different way, but they
all took part in our documentary to testify to the fact that the
rampant methamphetamine epidemic is a scourge to our community. I also
did not have to go far to find the sources of the problem. All the
ingredients needed to make meth can be found within a 10-minute drive
from the Putnam County Courthouse. On an afternoon drive on rural
county roads, we found roadside workers who had stumbled upon a
discarded meth lab. A late-night ride along with sheriff's deputies
patrolling the highway produced a meth bust after the car was stopped
for a minor traffic violation. With a little digging, my fellow
documentary producers and I uncovered this world that most of us did
not know existed. It is a world where meth cooks buy their ingredients
at the local Wal-Mart and could be cooking it in a makeshift lab at
the house next door. In this world, roadside trash could actually be
materials from a discarded meth lab -- trash so dangerous that only a
hazardous materials team is allowed to clean it up. It is a world
where a single hit is one too many for this highly addictive drug. It
is a world where promising lives have been wasted, families torn apart
and community members baffled about how to stop the epidemic. It is a
real-life nightmare for those affected by the drug and for those who
deal with its consequences every day. Making the documentary opened my
eyes to this nightmare that is right in front of us.
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