Pubdate: Mon, 05 Feb 2007
Source: Dunn County News, The (WI)
Copyright: 2007, Chippewa Valley Newspapers; a division of Lee Enterprises.
Contact:  http://www.dunnconnect.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3688
Author: LeAnn R. Ralph, Reporter
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

SMALL CROWD, MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT METH

A small crowd asked some big questions at the follow-up community 
forum on methamphetamine at Colfax High School Tuesday evening.

About 20 people attended an event that was the first of four 
companion sessions to the Dunn County Community Forum on 
methamphetamine held at Menomonie Middle School in November.

The second follow-up session is scheduled for Tuesday at Boyceville 
High School from 6 to 8 p.m.

The Colfax forum featured the Dunn With Meth video, followed by a 
panel discussion.

The panel was composed of Roxie Close of the Colfax School District, 
Russ Cragin from the Dunn County Sheriff's Department, Dr. Steven 
Rosas, a physician at the Red Cedar Medical Center who also is the 
staff physician for Arbor Place, Jennifer Coyne of Arbor Place, and 
Christine Murphy from Dunn County Health and Human Services.

Are teenagers operating methamphetamine labs?

The Dunn County Sheriff's Department has not found any meth labs 
operated by teenagers in Dunn County, but teenagers have been 
discovered operating meth labs in St. Croix County.

"What's most disturbing is we are seeing (meth use) in high school, 
middle school and grade school age children," Cragin said.

The manufacture and use of methamphetamine often is generational and 
runs in families, Coyne noted.

The anhydrous ammonia used on farm fields is one of the ingredients 
of meth. Has it been banned?

Anhydrous ammonia must be transported in containers approved by the 
federal Food and Drug Administration, Cragin said.

People operating meth labs will sometimes put anhydrous ammonia in 
thermos bottles or in the small liquid propane tanks used for a gas 
grill or a camper, he said.

"It's a bomb waiting to happen... the burns we see are incredible," 
Cragin said.

How are we addressing this as a school district?

The Colfax School District has not had to address methamphetamine use 
until only the last year or two, Close said.

"Kids sometimes need something really graphic to make an impression 
on them," Close said, referring to the presentation made by meth 
expert Tim Schultz at Menomonie Middle School last fall.

Included in Schultz's presentation are graphic pictures of meth 
users: rapid aging, rotten teeth and eroded gums, and burns suffered 
when meth labs have exploded.

The pictures elicited audible gasps from the audience at Menomonie 
Middle School, many of whom were middle and high school students.

"We have (Schultz) as a resource. I would like to have him come to 
Colfax as a speaker," Close said.

Close also noted that she addresses methamphetamine in her classes at 
the middle school and that the subject is covered in health classes 
at the high school.

"The scary thing about meth is the whole idea of not even once. You 
can use it once and become addicted. That scares me as a parent and 
as an educator," she said.

A girl at Chi-Hi in Chippewa Falls became addicted to meth but said 
she did not know it was meth when she started using it. How often is 
it sold as something else?

Methamphetamine typically is not sold as something else, Cragin said.

Cocaine is similar to methamphetamine although it is not as 
addictive, he noted.

Restrictions on the sale of pseudoephedrine have largely eliminated 
meth labs in Dunn County, but "cocaine is making a big comeback," Cragin said.

Can meth be mixed with marijuana?

Methamphetamine is either injected, ingested or put into glass pipes 
that are heated with a flame. Marijuana is a dried plant substance 
that is smoked like tobacco, Cragin said.

Meth users inhale the fumes from the glass pipes, but they don't burn 
it and inhale it directly. Mixing meth and marijuana would not be too 
likely, Coyne said.

On the other hand, meth can be mixed with heroin, Cragin pointed out. 
"We haven't seen that yet. Heroin comes from the East Coast, but it 
will be here eventually."

What are the costs to the county associated with meth?

Costs associated with meth include the cost of jail time, foster care 
for children and drug treatment, Murphy said.

But, she added, treatment for meth use "is not a week or a month. It 
takes a long time to kick this. It takes a long time where it might 
be safe to put children back in a home with their parents."

In the early days of treating meth addicts, it was believed that only 
about 6 percent recovered.

"We now know that's not true," Coyne said. "There's about a 50 
percent recovery, which is the same as other addictions."

How long does treatment take?

Methamphetamine can remain in the body for up to 120 days. In-patient 
residential treatment at Arbor Place is usually between two and four 
months, Coyne said.

When meth addicts were first being treated, the normal course of 
treatment was 30 days. But since meth can stay in the body for up to 
four months, those initial short treatments accounted for the low 
success rates, she noted.

"Personally, I'd like to see treatment last for two years," Coyne said.

Dr. Rosas added, "We see many different people at different stages. 
Length of treatment also will depend on the stage of the meth user."

What should you look for concerning symptoms of meth use?

In teenagers, look for changes in friendship groups and dropping 
grades at school. In general, look for neglect of personal hygiene, 
explosive behavior, more impulsive behavior, excessive talking, 
constant movement with the hands and extreme paranoia, Cragin said.

"Meth users think everyone is one of three people: a cop, a snitch or 
a member of the (Mexican) drug cartel. The paranoia is phenomenal," he said.

Early meth use could be confused with the normal ups and downs of 
adolescent behavior -- except that the behavior becomes much more 
explosive, Coyne said.

If my teenager uses meth once and then comes home, what might I see?

After a one-time use of meth, the person might be agitated, sweating, 
be shaky and have tremors. Additional symptoms might include a quiver 
in the voice, non-reactive pupils, excessive talking, excessive sleep 
and high blood pressure, Rosas said.

If your teenager comes home one day and is suddenly talking 
excessively to you when he or she generally does not do that, you 
might want to suspect meth use, Coyne noted.

Does meth use cause permanent damage to the body?

"Many of the symptoms of meth use are reversible. It is individual. 
It depends on the person. It is amazing how far back people can 
come," Rosas said.

He noted that the liver is much more forgiving than the brain and 
that brain damage associated with meth use is generally permanent.

How much does meth cost?

Cragin selected a plastic bag from a table display of methamphetamine 
and assorted paraphernalia associated with meth use. Inside the 
larger plastic bag was a tiny plastic bag about the size of a postage stamp.

"This is a gram. It is $200 worth of meth," he reported, explaining 
that a heavy meth user can spend around $400 a day to support the 
habit. "The residual crime to support a meth habit is astounding."

In addition to noticing physical changes in their children, parents 
might also notice money or other items missing from around the house. 
Neighbors might also report items stolen from their homes. Meth users 
end up stealing and selling a variety of things to support their 
habit, Cragin said.

For example, one meth dealer in the Twin Cities compiled a list of 
items he was looking for, such as snowmobiles, pickup trucks and 
four-wheelers. A group of meth users in Dunn County would steal those 
items and then trade them for methamphetamine.

Is there a connection between the use of Ritalin that's been 
prescribed and meth use? And what happens to someone who is taking 
prescription Ritalin and then uses meth?

"I have seen no connection with kids treated with Ritalin for ADD 
(attention deficit disorder) and meth use," Rosas said. "If a person 
is taking a prescription strength dose of Ritalin and combines it 
with meth, there won't be much of an additional effect."

Do people who use meth substitute that for other medications?

"Meth users neglect themselves all the way around and stop taking 
their medication," Rosas replied.

And, depending on the medication, many meth users will sell their 
medicine to get money to buy more meth, Cragin added.

Do you see much meth use at the university?

University students tend to use marijuana or Ritalin. The sheriff's 
department has not seen much meth use among university students, Cragin said.

"The university students say it is very easy to buy Ritalin. They 
take it to help them stay up all night so they can study for an 
exam," he said, observing that methamphetamine often is considered to 
be a drug used by rural white people.

What's the outcome for children who are taken out of meth homes?

"It's too early to have enough information," Murphy said, predicting, 
however, that children who have been taken out of meth homes will 
probably have similar reactions and problems later in life as 
children who are taken out of homes for other reasons.

"We probably saved their lives when we removed them from a meth 
house... kids are in extreme danger from the condition of the house," she said.

Parents who are high on meth have no recall about what they have done 
or not done while they were high, and that includes not knowing 
whether they have fed or taken care of their children, Cragin said.

What does meth smell like?

Meth smells like extremely strong cat urine. People using meth always 
carry that smell around with them, Cragin said.

Meth has a sickly sweet strong chemical smell when it is smoked, Coyne said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman