Pubdate: Sat, 04 Aug 2012
Source: Salem News (MA)
Copyright: 2012 Eagle Tribune Publishing Company
Contact: http://www.salemnews.com/contactus/local_story_015132129.html
Website: http://www.salemnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3466
Author: Alan Burke

DA: METH RARE BUT DANGEROUS

SALEM -- Late Sunday night, smoke and fumes from a crystal meth lab 
set up in a room at the Route 1 Holiday Inn in Peabody brought out 
the police and fire departments.

It also brought out fears that this may have been a harbinger, early 
evidence of a long feared invasion by a shockingly dangerous drug.

Thus far crystal meth doesn't appear to have taken hold in a 
significant way here on the North Shore. But there's a sad reason 
why, according to District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett. "It's because 
heroin is so cheap."

Even so, Blodgett is readying for a significant swing among drug 
users to methamphetamine in crystal form. He began warning about this 
drug over five years ago when "New England was the last region (in 
the country) it hadn't hit."

Currently, Blodgett predicts, "I'm holding my breath because I know 
it's going to be coming here. ... I'm not seeing a lot of it now, but 
when it comes it's going to come hard and fast."

Crystal meth can be homemade and that was the source of the toxic 
smoke that drew authorities to the Holiday Inn. The Peabody man who 
police believe rented the room is still being sought. No one else has 
been connected to the scene.

Blodgett draws a grim picture of the impact of crystal meth, which he 
said will cost communities in terms of their environment, broken 
families, neglected children and wasted lives.

"The destruction crystal meth does to your brain is just horrific," 
says Blodgett.

For one thing it's powerfully addictive. Victims soon decide "the 
only reason for living is to get crystal meth," he says.

Personalities change under the influence of the drug. "Paranoia goes 
through the roof." Children and families can be left unattended or 
even attacked. The drug also ravages the body. "Their teeth rot," 
says Blodgett, "because it sucks all the calcium out of your body."

Users have been known to compulsively scratch themselves to the point 
of drawing blood. Someone on a high, said to be "tweaking," can 
exhibit bizarre behavior, even turning violently on loved ones.

Crystal meth is smoked, snorted, injected, even swallowed. Homemade 
labs give a clue as to why the drug is dangerous. The ingredients 
users are taking in, says Blodgett, include crystals from drain 
cleaner. Byproducts of the manufacture, he adds, are often so toxic 
that teams in protective clothing must be called in to clean up.

Whole buildings have been razed because they've been used to process 
the drug. Worse yet, the dangerous chemicals are sometimes flushed 
into the sewers.

In addition to the homemade stuff, the district attorney notes that a 
more expensive version of the drug arrives on trucks from Mexico. 
It's known as Mexican ice.

Blodgett has taken several steps, in conjunction with the state 
police and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, to deal with 
the threat of crystal meth. Intelligence, knowing what's going on in 
the community, is a key. Additionally, measures have been taken to 
ensure that various law enforcement agencies work smoothly together.

"We get as much information out to people as we can so they'll make 
good decisions," Blodgett continued. And he urges cooperation with 
authorities when it comes to signs of drug use -- signs like large 
purchases of over-the-counter medicines used in making 
methamphetamine. "If people see something unusual they've really got 
to report it."

Finally, despite the low price of heroin, Blodgett is able to report 
some good news in the fight against drug abuse. The deadly spread in 
the use of opiates appears to have subsided since 2004 when Peabody 
in particular was rocked by stories of addiction and death brought as 
abuse of the prescription drug Oxycontin led to heroin.

"I'm not going to be satisfied," says Blodgett. "But I do think it's improved."

As for explaining people who ignore all the warnings and continue to 
experiment with deadly drugs, Blodgett was at a loss. "As to why some 
people do it I just can't answer."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom