If you saw employees from Youth and Shelter Services wearing crazy hats today, there's a reason. If you see students walking into Colo-Nesco or Roland-Story elementary schools with clothes on that don't match, there's a reason. And at Ames High School today, there's a reason you could hear members of the Students Against Destructive Decisions reading disparaging facts about people who use drugs over the intercom. CELEBRATING NATIONAL RED RIBBON WEEK, STUDENTS AND YOUTH ADVOCATES across Story County are encouraging others to be drug-free through various and unique methods. [continues 170 words]
This is the third of three installments from Cathy and Gary, a married couple from Boone who are recovering meth addicts. Today, they tell how their lives have changed since their arrest. Cathy is 48 and Gary is 44. Together they are raising two girls, ages 16 and 18. They said their employers requested their last names not be published. Besides being arrested, what made you quit meth? Cathy: I was getting sick of my life. It was nothing but a vicious cycle. We had nothing to show for it. [continues 898 words]
Better long-term treatments needed for meth addicts Methamphetamine addiction crosses all social and economic barriers. To cook it requires only elementary-level chemistry. To buy it requires a handful of money. The Central Iowa Drug Task Force say meth is the most prevalent drug in Story County. Officers have encountered users as young as 12 and as old as 64. According to the 2002 Iowa Youth Survey, 21 high school students in Story County admitted to using meth at least once. [continues 809 words]
The Central Iowa Drug Task Force, based in Story County, says meth is the drug of choice for area drug users, and agents come into contact with the highly addictive drug on a daily basis. The meth problem here is no worse than it is anywhere else, but the community often doesn't realize how bad it is. So why doesn't the Ames Police Department or some narcotics officer march into Michelle Hopkins' trailer park and arrest her? Profiled in Saturday's Tribune, she's an admitted methamphetamine addict. She admitted to using at least within the last two weeks. An arrest might even help put her on the path to recovery and a better life. [continues 947 words]
Woman Has Been Addicted for Nearly 20 Years Since August, Michelle Hopkins says her self-worth is as low as it's ever been. But she hasn't hit bottom. Yet. That scares her the most. And it's not just one thing that brings her down, although everything in her life seems to hang on her nearly two-decade-long addiction to methamphetamine. Hopkins is closing in on her 40th birthday. She's never held a steady job. There were two stints in prison on theft charges. Last March, she was told she'd die from cervical cancer. [continues 1140 words]
Associate Juvenile Judge Victor G. Lathrop says methamphetamine or other drugs are involved in about half of his cases in Story County. Lathrop has been on the bench since 1985. The frequency of meth surfacing in his courtroom has increased in recent years. "When a parent is involved in meth or other drugs, that seems to override the parental interests," he said. "They are usually not able to supervise their child. The use of the drug controls their life to the point where the children are not getting adequate supervision." [continues 163 words]
Editor's note: This is the second of three installments of an interview with Cathy and Gary, a married couple from Boone who are recovering meth addicts. Today, they talk about their arrest and its effect. Cathy is 48 and Gary is 44. Together they are raising two girls, ages 16 and 18. They have asked that their last name not be used at the request of their employers. When did you get caught by police for using meth? Cathy: Sept. 26, 2000, the cops walked in. I understand some things, but sometimes I don't. The cops were kind of crude. I know we are doing illegal things, but they didn't need to be crude to my daughter. They told her I was going away for 25 years. She was hysterical. They had no right to do that. I know I was wrong. They had her scared to death. [continues 483 words]
