Pubdate: Sat, 22 Sep 2007
Source: Bowling Green Daily News (KY)
Copyright: 2007 News Publishing LLC
Contact:  http://www.bgdailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1218
Author: Burton Speakman
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH-RELATED DANGERS FOCUS OF NURSES' SUMMIT

Nurses throughout Kentucky spent Friday learning about  the extent of 
the state's methamphetamine problem - and  what they can do to help 
themselves and others.

The Kentucky Nurses Association held its biannual  health care summit 
Friday at the Sloan Convention  Center in Bowling Green.

Meth was the topic of choice because it impacts not  only individuals 
and families, but also entire  communities, according to Susan Jones, 
president of the  association and a nursing professor at Western 
Kentucky  University.

"We want to provide information and to challenge people to do 
something about it," she said. "Everybody has a part in this."

This seminar allows nurses and groups throughout Kentucky to meet 
other groups that are working against meth, Jones said, and speakers 
were armed with a wide array of expertise in the field.

Meth is not a problem that is limited to one portion of Kentucky, 
said Van Ingram, branch manager for the compliance section of the 
Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy.

Nationally, 12 million people have tried meth and 1.5 million people 
are frequent users.

"It's amazing the dramatic affect this drug has on people," he said. 
"You can watch people deteriorate very quickly."

Meth started showing up in Kentucky in 1999, and by 2005 it was 
exploding, Ingram said. Since 2005, a law that limits the purchase of 
pseudoephedrine - the one chemical in meth that can't been 
substituted with another - has helped to curtail production.

Even with the reduction, however, more than 350 meth labs have been 
found in Kentucky - meaning, Ingram said, there are likely more than 
3,500 still undiscovered.

"There's still lots of work to be done," he said.

The state's upcoming meth check program, which will provide further 
information about people shopping for pseudoephedrine, will further 
help reduce labs, Ingram said.

"Oklahoma instituted a similar program and saw its number of labs 
drop by 93 percent," he said.

The next step will be to figure out how to stop people from 
purchasing pseudoephedrine online, Ingram said.

Major Mike Sapp from Kentucky State Police's Special Enforcement 
Troop showed the nurses pictures, explaining how to spot meth labs if 
they're doing a home visit.

Guard dogs, surveillance cameras and blocked windows are often 
telltale signs, he said, as is an unusual amount of glass containers. 
Smokers in homes with labs will typically go outside to smoke, he 
said, because of all the explosive chemicals used in the drug's production.

"The biggest indicator is a strong chemical smell," he said.

Most of the items used in meth production don't look unusual in a 
home, Sapp said - unless you know what to look for.

Cheyenne Albro, director of the Pennyrile Narcotic Task Force, warned 
the audience about the dangers of exposure to meth laboratories.

"We call them 'kitchens of death' or 'toxic time bombs,'" he said, 
"because that's what they are."

Some officers fighting cancer or other medical problems are being 
told by doctors that exposure to meth labs may have caused their 
conditions, he said.

"Without a doubt, meth is the most sinister drug I have ever 
encountered," he said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom