Pubdate: Sun, 28 Dec 2008
Source: Vicksburg Post (MS)
Copyright: 2008, The Vicksburg Post
Contact:  http://www.vicksburgpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3076
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH IS A NIGHTMARE THAT WON'T GO AWAY

In common lore, cocaine in powder form is for celebrities and elites, 
in rock form it's for the inner-city poor while homemade crystal 
methamphetamine is the narcotic of choice for the pickup truck crowd.

Based on arrest patterns here during the year, there's more than a 
little truth to the lore.

Meth is insidious. There are no multinational meth cartels. There are 
only recipes - chemical processes, sometimes explosive, to refine the 
drug in almost any kitchen. Addiction is immediate, strong and 
destructive. Meth-heads will do anything to get the drug, which means 
most robberies and burglaries can be traced to this poison.

The week before Christmas, six Warren County residents were arrested 
on methamphetamine charges. Not too long before that, a meth lab was 
found in one of Vicksburg's oldest residential areas. Neighbors said 
they had absolutely no idea what was going on in the home of the 
young family next door. District Attorney Ricky Smith could have 
entire grand jury sessions devoted to nothing else.

There have been attempts to control or limit access to the 
ingredients needed for the meth recipe.

Indeed, after state law was changed and merchants started keeping 
records of who was buying what, Sheriff Martin Pace said there was an 
ebb in new meth cases. Supplies were being shipped in, mostly from 
Mexico, he said.

But lately there's been a resurgence in "home-cooking." For now, it 
appears Pace and other authorities are doing their dead-level best to 
find and arrest meth makers and dealers. Until people awaken to the 
pain and destruction they are causing, this effort will have to continue.

Meth is a nightmare that shows no intention of going away.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom