The U.S. Department of Justice has declared Thursday, Nov. 30, National Meth Awareness Day, an opportunity to collectively address a threat of increasing concern to Northern Virginia communities: abuse of the highly addictive drug methamphetamine.

Surveying the devastation meth has brought to regions of the West and Midwest, Northern Virginia is comparatively fortunate. The area has yet to feel the full force of meth, a drug that breeds crime and violence, saps law enforcement and health care resources, and is associated with heartbreaking child abuse and neglect.

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