Pubdate: Sun, 19 Jun 2005
Source: Times, The (Shreveport, LA)
/506180336&SearchID=73211823708027
Copyright: 2005 The Times
Contact:  http://www.shreveporttimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1019
Author: Larry Bivins and Pamela Brogan

METHAMPHETAMINE: TAKING LIVES

Powerfully addictive drug damages families, jobs and ability to function
normally

WASHINGTON -- Whether it's smoked, snorted, swallowed or injected,
methamphetamine is more addictive and more damaging to the brain than
cocaine, heroin and most other illegal drugs.

It also is unusually efficient at ruining lives, ensnaring entire families
and turning parents and children into addicts fixated only on their next
euphoric high.

"If the adults use it, the kids are going to be around it and get roped in,"
said Dr. William Haning, director of the Addiction Psychiatry Residency
Program for the University of Hawaii's medical school. "As crazy as this
sounds, the parent won't necessarily see this as a bad thing."

Many recovering methamphetamine addicts say they were hooked after using the
drug just once. They say meth took over their lives, destroying their
ability to work and to function as parents

"If you want to lose everything in your life, just try meth," said Paula
Cook of Muskogee, Okla., whose addiction cost her a job as a police
dispatcher and custody of three of her six children.

It takes meth addicts between 12 and 24 months to fight back from their
habit, longer than it takes cocaine or heroin addicts to recover.

And recent studies show meth does more damage to the brain than other drugs.
A 2004 study by UCLA researchers, for example, showed meth causes "severe
gray-matter deficits" in the brain -- comparable to the damage apparent in
the early stages of dementia.

"It erases all your feelings and rational judgments because it is so
addictive," said Cook, 41. "It is not a recreational drug but a progressive
disease."

Meth addiction is facilitated by a misconception -- it's safe to use because
amphetamines have legitimate medical uses as weight-loss aids or to treat
sleep disorders or attention deficit disorder in children.

"People claim that it helps them work better," Haning said. "It's sometimes
easier for the family to legitimize usage."

But he and other experts warn there's nothing safe about meth. The drug
causes large increases in the brain's production of mood-enhancing dopamine,
in some cases permanently damaging dopamine cells.

"It is one of the most toxic drugs to the brain, ranking high with gasoline
inhalants," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug
Abuse in Washington. "It lasts in your brain much longer than cocaine."

Bonnie Roller, 42, of Sparta, Mo., said when she began using and making meth
at home, she was determined to keep her teenage son away from it. But her
addiction quickly destroyed any control she had over her own life and his.
Her son also ended up hooked.

Both were arrested in 2001, Roller said, as they tried to buy ingredients to
manufacture more meth.

"Meth will eat up your mind," said Roller, now recovering from her
addiction. "I wanted to be a good mother. It breaks my heart that I wasn't."

Such stories have become increasingly common as the meth epidemic continues
to sweep from west to east across the country.

Jody Gentry, 36, of Reed Springs, Mo., became so dependent on meth in 2000
he abandoned his wife and moved into her car. That allowed him to spend all
his time looking for remote places in the woods to set up his portable lab,
cook meth and get high.

"All I cared about was me and my habit," said Gentry, now recovering from
his addiction. "Once I tried it, I was hooked and thought about it every
day."

Sidebar

Jody and Lori Gentry of Reeds Spring, Mo., wrestled with meth addiction in
2000 when Jody became so dependent he abandoned Lori and their sons, Clay
(left) and Kyle, and moved into his wife's car. That allowed him to spend
all his time looking for remote places in the woods to set up his portable
lab. While Jody was in jail, Lori bulldozed their home and built a new house
so they could have a fresh start when he got out. (GNS) Methamphetamine
quick facts Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that affects the
central nervous system. It comes in two forms -- powder, known as crystal
meth, and solid, called ice or glass. Meth can be injected, smoked, snorted
or taken orally. The drug is easily produced in clandestine laboratories
using over-the-counter medicines and chemicals. Meth use can cause anxiety,
psychotic and violent behavior, paranoia and brain damage. Meth production
poses an environmental hazard because of some of the chemicals used to make
it, including anhydrous ammonia and iodine. Illegal meth labs produce five
to seven pounds of toxic waste for every pound of meth. As of 2003, 12.3
million people in the United States had tried meth. Police officers who have
been involved in shutting down meth labs often experience respiratory and
eye irritations, headaches, dizziness, nausea and shortness of breath.
Forty-four states have introduced or enacted legislation to address problems
associated with meth. Sources: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of National Drug
Control Policy. State bill pending Senate Bill 24, rewritten Thursday and
approved by the House, would restrict sale of products, including
over-the-counter cold medications, used to make methamphetamine. A House
panel heard testimony that crystal meth labs are being driven out of
Oklahoma and setting up shop in Louisiana. The bill still bans the sale of
more than three packs or nine grams of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or
phenylpropanolamine in a single transaction.

On the Web 

National Institute on Drug Abuse: www.nida.nih.gov.
National Drug Intelligence Center: www.usdoj.gov/ndic.
UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs: www.uclaisap.org
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