Pubdate: Tue, 10 Oct 2006
Source: Portsmouth Herald (NH)
Copyright: 2006 Seacoast Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1157

FIGHTING METH IS AN ISSUE FOR THE FRONT BURNER

The use of methamphetamine is spreading like a  California wildfire 
eastward across the United States,  but officials here in New 
Hampshire are working hard to  dig a trench to keep the flames of 
this epidemic at  bay.

Members of the state Department of Health and Human  Services, the 
federal Drug Enforcement Agency, the U.S.  Attorney's office, the 
state attorney general's staff,  members of state and local law 
enforcement, and  educators are teaming up with local businesses in 
hopes  of keeping this menacing drug problem from reaching the  epic 
proportions it has in other parts of the country.

We applaud their efforts and urge them to use whatever  means are 
necessary to halt the manufacture and use of  this highly toxic and 
dangerous substance.

The reason why an effort of this magnitude is so  necessary is 
because meth is a unique drug. It does not  have to be imported from 
some other region or country.  It can be manufactured virtually 
anywhere using  substances readily available in any community by 
anyone  with a craving for the kind of high this drug offers  and/or 
the money its sale can bring.

Just a couple of years ago, Portsmouth police found a  meth lab in 
the trunk of a vehicle pulled over during a  normal traffic stop. 
Another lab, this one in an  apartment, was subsequently discovered 
by Dover police  in that community.

The effects of this drug on its users are nothing short  of 
disastrous. Just take a look at some of the  before-and-after 
photographs associated with an article  that appeared in Herald 
Sunday (Visit  seacoastonline.com for the complete story.) for 
a  glimpse of the havoc meth can wreak on the bodies and  minds of 
the people who use it.

But That Is Only Half The Story.

The process of manufacturing, or "cooking," meth is, in  itself, a 
hazard. That is because the process creates  highly flammable 
materials; more than one building has  been leveled in this country 
because a meth lab  exploded on the site.

The manufacturing process also creates several pounds  of toxic 
materials for each pound of the drug produced,  and those toxic 
substances are often thrown out onto  the lawn or flushed down 
toilets, creating  environmental hazards.

And then there are the children of the meth makers.  They are exposed 
not only to the threat of explosion,  but the toxic fumes on a daily 
basis. They are the  innocent victims of this insidious drug.

Meth use and manufacture has overwhelmed law  enforcement, 
social-service workers, and the medical  establishment in the western 
states, perhaps because  they were not prepared.

Hopefully, the efforts of DHHS Commissioner John  Stephen, U.S. 
Attorney Tom Colantuono, New Hampshire  Attorney General Kelly Ayotte 
and others will better  prepare this state for the onslaught that we 
all know  is coming.

We certainly hope that is the case.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine