Pubdate: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 Source: Asheville Citizen-Times (NC) Copyright: 2005 Asheville Citizen-Times Contact: http://www.citizen-times.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/863 Author: Joy Franklin Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) CASUALTIES OF METH PLAGUE NOT ALL ADULTS In one picture, a bearded man sleeps on a couch. Nearby, a tiny figure huddles in a chair. The room is empty, but for a lamp between the couch and chair and what appears to be a rug in the foreground. To the side, almost out of the picture, is a window. Outside, the sun is shining, the sky is blue and the grass is green. In another picture, an angry green monster with sharp claws and menacing countenance fills the page, an overpowering, dominating presence. Three small, sad people stand beside and just behind the monster, shackled to its arm. The rest of the picture is a chaotic scribble of lines and colors. Large black letters label the monster "ADDICTION." Dr. Cynthia Brown, medical director of the Child Maltreatment Evaluation Program at Mission's Children's Clinic, included the pictures in her presentation Wednesday at a summit organized by Western Carolina University's Public Policy Institute titled "Winning the War on Methamphetamine." Children of methamphetamine addicts drew the pictures, which Brown bought back from a conference because they so poignantly illustrated the children's plight. The picture of the child on the chair seemed especially sad in light of a story Brown told following her talk. It is her job to interview and evaluate children found in homes in Western North Carolina where methamphetamine is being made or used. She interviewed one 6-year-old boy who was extremely proud of the fact that he could take care of his 3-year-old sister. He had learned to make several kinds of sandwiches to feed her and he could help her get dressed. He did this, he said, because his parents were "resting." Children of meth addicts are essentially orphans, said Brown, whose presentation was on the effects of methamphetamine on children. In 20 to 25 percent of the homes where meth is being "cooked," children are present. They face multiple environmental dangers aside from the trauma of having dysfunctional parents. Home life for children of meth-addicted parents is chaotic, Brown said. Parents activities are focused on obtaining the next high rather than on nurturing the child's growth and development. Children who suffer from this kind of serious neglect experience profound neurobehavioral deficits as a result. They often have smaller brains, lower IQs, poor social skills and attachments disorders. They fail to thrive and in really severe cases, they lack the ability to establish emotional attachments. But the circumstances can be worse than simple neglect. Meth use creates a highly sexualized environment, Brown said, where children are often exposed to sexual activity, including prostitution. Children of meth-addicted parents are three times more likely than other children to be physically or sexually abused and four times more likely to be neglected, she said. Homes where meth is being produced pose extreme environmental hazards for children. In addition to over-the-counter cold medicines that contain ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, other ingredients commonly used in the manufacture of meth include: red phosphorous, hydrochloric acid, drain cleaner, battery acid, lye, lantern fuel, and antifreeze. These ingredients are often left around the home in unmarked containers easily accessible to children. In her presentation, Brown included a photograph of child who had put lye in his mouth. She had a similar case, where the child's tongue and lips were badly burned. During the actual production of meth, children are exposed to tiny aerosolized meth particles that can deeply penetrate the lungs. No studies have yet been done to evaluate the long-term effects of such exposure. Brown cited a new study that showed that walking or crawling in an area where a meth has been made can re-suspend particles of the drug and other toxic chemicals as much as 24 hours later. Children who live in homes where meth is made also risk of harm from an explosion or fire. Many of those attending the conference - law enforcement officers, social workers, medical personnel and others on the front lines of the battle against meth - know first hand about the drug's ability to destroy lives. Brown's presentation was especially sobering though. Children are vulnerable, innocent victims. Their childhoods are being stolen and their futures compromised or destroyed by their caregiver's addictions. Brown concluded with a wish list for addressing the problem: prevention, effective mental health treatment for addicted parents and a child/family therapy component, effective clean up of home lab sites, and continued multidisciplinary efforts to address the problems of meth addiction and the impact on children. As various other speakers indicated, North Carolina is moving forward in a number of these areas, but one critical area that the General Assembly will be asked to help with in the upcoming session is funding for more foster parents, according to Karen McLeod, executive director of the North Carolina Association of County Directors of Social Services. In some counties, she said, there's been a doubling and even a tripling of the need for foster care as a result of removing children from homes where meth is present. Still, McLeod said, thanks to the aggressive way Attorney General Roy Cooper has tackled the problem, it seems unlikely that North Carolina will end up in the crisis situation some other states have confronted. For that, we can all be thankful. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman