BOISE - The fight to curb Idaho's meth problem stepped into uncharted territory Wednesday: The wombs of pregnant mothers.

A proposal that would make it a felony offense for a pregnant woman to take certain drugs passed a legislative committee despite the concerns of pediatricians who fear the get-tough measure could lead to more abortions and less pre-natal care.

But proponents of the effort to crack down on meth use in Idaho say the current system fails to address mothers who put their unborn children at high risk through their own illicit behavior.

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Even as our community raises the methamphetamine alarm, a great deal of confusion persists about drug use in general.

Young people in flight from uncomfortable emotions, or facing the challenges of adulthood--like serving in wars overseas, or joining a consumptive society which is apparently destroying the planet with gusto--seem to follow the motto, "Just Say Maybe," or "Why the Hell Not?" Whether kids are storming heaven or just plain bored, they still deserve some straight talk on drugs. The decision to take or not take is largely a spiritual one, causing us to reflect upon what it means to be human.

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Middle school students sometimes party with high school students in the Wood River Valley.

"Its not unusual to see middle school kids at high school parties. It's accepted. It's common," said Tom Bailey, Hailey Elementary School principal and former Wood River Middle School principal.

He is not alone in his observation. School officials say pre-teens are exposed to drugs and alcohol long before their high school days.

A number of school officials interviewed about teen drug use point to the social anomaly that welcomes pre-teens to teenage events.

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Policies Highlight Need For Treatment Facilities

In four minutes, Blaine County school officials know whether a student is using cocaine, opiates, marijuana or methamphetamine.

School officials administer drug tests at school, serving as one component of the Blaine County School District's hard line against student drug use. The district's "no tolerance" policy highlights the need for expanded treatment facilities for young people in the Wood River Valley.

"We are committed to rehabilitating kids, but the community doesn't have the services," said Mary Gervase, Blaine County School District assistant superintendent.

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Popular Drug Slowly Seeping Into Teenage Community

"Meth is almost like a body snatcher. It reaches out and grabs these kids almost overnight." - Dr. Jim Lewis, Blaine County School District superintendent

"This is a wonder drug for kids. They feel smart, strong and invisible, and then they crash." - Barge Levy, Silver Creek Alternative School director

Recognize Teen Meth Use

Indications your teen may be using methamphetamine include:

* Change in grades

* Change in attitude

* Change in attendance

* Sudden shifts in peer groups

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Officers Push For Community-Based Response

During a random house check last week, Blaine County Parole Officer Jodi Brown discovered that a 17-year-old former Wood River High School student was using methamphetamine. The student, who had been kicked out of school because of his alleged involvement with drugs, violated the terms of his probation.

Brown said the teenager allegedly bought the drugs on Lollipop Lane in Gannett, the small town south of Bellevue where Brown lives. A search of the youth's home produced a modified light bulb used for smoking a rock of methamphetamine.

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Hopeful that more federal money will still come in 2006 to help fight crime related to methamphetamine abuse, Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling's hopes were temporarily dashed last week as Congress adjourned for the holidays.

Scheduled as a rider on the USA Patriot Act renewal bill, legislation geared toward regulating the production of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine was killed when the U.S. Senate voted to extend the Patriot Act for six months. Methamphetamine legislation that was approved by the House of Representatives earlier in the month was stricken from the bill.

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When Jan Rosenquist, a St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center emergency room doctor, sees a patient who appears highly agitated with high blood pressure, who may not be responding to verbal stimuli, she consults medical information about the effects of methamphetamine on the body.

Taken orally, injected, inhaled or snorted, methamphetamine is a potent central nervous system stimulant, typically with more staying power than cocaine. And, it is cheaper.

Toxic household chemicals like battery acid and other compounds such as rat poison are used to reduce ephedrine, a common ingredient in cold medicine, to methamphetamine, but other acids, catalysts and ephedrine substitutes are also used.

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'It's A Growing Concern In The Wood River Valley'

It would be convenient to think of crystal methamphetamine use as just another moral panic, such as the one epitomized by the 1936 film "Reefer Madness"--a cult classic for young pot smokers widely recognized as a propaganda film documenting the "evils" of smoking marijuana.

A humorous footnote to an era of prohibition on pot, the film is no longer considered an accurate depiction of the social scourge marijuana was once pegged to be, although pot is still the first priority of the ongoing war on drugs.

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Surprisingly, Nancy Kneeland, who left the Wood River Valley when she was 18, said she is not too busy at the Hailey branch of The Walker Center for drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation.

"There is no waiting list," she said, surprised that there is a perception that the treatment facility on River Street in Hailey is overwhelmed with people suffering from methamphetamine addiction. It is in the realm of inpatient services in a residential program where needs are not met in the Wood River Valley.

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CAREY -- You don't have to be Spiderman, Superman, a firefighter or a policeman to be a hero. Sometimes all you need to be is a devoted person with tons of love, an unlimited amount of patience, a little discipline, and usually a large house.

At least that's what Carey residents Craig and Betty Adamson are discovering.

"We just want to try and do some good in the world," said Betty Adamson.

The "good" the Adamson's are doing is foster parenting.

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I just read an article by Brandon Stoker, "Shoot this idea up." I understand this is an opinion, but I have to say this opinion was really out there. I am an advocate of marijuana legalization. I have used it for a medical condition, as well as for recreational use.

The government can lie all they want, but it really does have serious medical applications, and it is not the "gateway drug." I am an educated 43-year-old, that has a family, a great job, and a history of government and local service. I am a responsible adult, and a tax paying American.

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Why do you believe all of the negative effects of drugs are somehow diminished with prohibition? For example, "a stoner who gets high and decides to take a spin for some munchies endangers everyone in his immediate vicinity."

Exactly how does prohibition help this situation? I can get stoned and drive cross-country anytime I want. I can endanger anybody anytime, but I don't.

The law has nothing to do with it. If I were unable to operate a motor vehicle while high, a police officer would notice me. They would arrest me for operating a vehicle under the influence. The influence of alcohol, LSD, or legal prescription painkillers, it makes no difference.

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No amount of interdiction, prosecution, incarceration, police, judges or jails will ever, ever make a difference in terms of human beings seeking, finding, and using chemicals to alter their consciousness. It's who we are.

Throughout our entire history there has been drug use and abuse. The only thing that a just society can do is choose whether to maximize the negative impact of drugs through misdirecting resources towards useless endeavors or to minimize their impact through funding education, safe injection sites, education, education, education.

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As a retired police officer, I found Mr. Stoker's defense of drug prohibition so sad. He refuses to recognize that prohibition causes 75 percent of felony crime decade after decade.

Drug use is a consensual act, whether it's whiskey or pot.

Murder, rape, etc is a non-consensual act and will always remain illegal.

As legal drugs kill at a 55:1 ratio over illegal drugs, he wants my profession to continue chasing pot smokers instead of focusing on drunk drivers who killed 17,000 innocent Americans last year.

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After reading the article in the latest Arbiter entitled, "Shoot this idea up" I was rather filled with disgust. I'll cut to the chase because mincing words is immature. First off, comparing Cannabis to Methamphetamines. I don't know how Mr. Stoker can draw a line between the two besides the fact they are both illegal.

Also drawing correlations between legalizing cannabis and legalizing things such as "rape, murder and grand theft" is completely preposterous. He claims that drugs are highly addictive, which they are. But cannabis is less addictive than cigarettes or alcohol. And strangely there is not a single recorded fatality associated with cannabis. Can the same claim be made for cigarettes or alcohol?

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I'm writing in reference to an article by Brandon Stoker, "Shoot this idea up," and appreciate your future response to my criticism. As I am running out the door to my theoretical physics final exam, I haven't got the time to point out all the fouls in this would-be-intellectually-stimulating piece of shit. However, I will say that for this guy to make a comparison between freeing up resources by the legalization of now illegal substances and the legalization of what can only be described as violent crimes of moral turpitude is disgusting and I'm surprised to know an editor regardless of their ideals would publish such a stain as the one in question. Please let me know why such baseless ideas would be allowed to see the light of day.

Chris Alameddin

Texas

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Brandon Stoker makes the common mistake of assuming that punitive drug laws actually reduce use. The drug war is in large part a war on marijuana, by far the most popular illicit drug. The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Study reports that lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the United States than any European country, yet America is one of the few Western countries that use's its criminal justice system to punish citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis.

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I read the Opinion Editorial in the Dec. 5th issue of The Arbiter entitled, "Shoot This Idea Up." I have read many such items, and love reading them. They are usually a mix of half, quarter, and non truths-twisted around, and put together with a lot of straw man arguments. For those who do not know, a straw man argument is one where you compare two non-similar things, and claim they are the same.

Mr. Stoker makes this error when he compares something done by one to oneself, such as smoke a joint, to something bad done to someone else, such as rape or assault. However, few writers, are able to encompass as many lies, damned lies and misinformation into one piece. It boggles the mind, I know not where to begin. Of course, it is much easier for gentle reader to look it up themselves. The information which puts forth the truth countering everything Mr. Stoker says is found at http://www.drugwarfacts.org/ and the distortions are summarized at www.drugwardistortions.org/. This whole opinion piece is redolent with the odor of livestock.

Bruce Symington

Medicine Hat, Alberta

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I'm writing about Brandon Stoker's not-so-thoughtful opinion "Shoot this idea up."

My question for Stoker: Why does he want recreational drugs to remain completely unregulated, untaxed and controlled by criminals? Only legal products of any kind can be regulated, controlled and taxed by any government.

Norm Stamper is the former Chief of Police of Seattle, Wash. and a member of LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition). Four years ago, LEAP didn't exist. Today they have more than 4,500 members who are current or former drug warriors (Law enforcement personnel, DEA agents, judges and prosecutors).

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