CASUALTIES OF METH PLAGUE NOT ALL ADULTS

In one picture, a bearded man sleeps on a couch.

Nearby, a tiny figure huddles in a chair.

The room is empty, but for a lamp between the couch and chair and
what appears to be a rug in the foreground. To the side, almost out
of the picture, is a window.

Outside, the sun is shining, the sky is blue and the grass is green.

In another picture, an angry green monster with sharp claws and
menacing countenance fills the page, an overpowering, dominating presence.

Three small, sad people stand beside and just behind the monster,
shackled to its arm. The rest of the picture is a chaotic scribble of
lines and colors. Large black letters label the monster "ADDICTION."
Dr. Cynthia Brown, medical director of the Child Maltreatment
Evaluation Program at Mission's Children's Clinic, included the
pictures in her presentation Wednesday at a summit organized by
Western Carolina University's Public Policy Institute titled "Winning
the War on Methamphetamine." Children of methamphetamine addicts drew
the pictures, which Brown bought back from a conference because they
so poignantly illustrated the children's plight. The picture of the
child on the chair seemed especially sad in light of a story Brown
told following her talk. It is her job to interview and evaluate
children found in homes in Western North Carolina where
methamphetamine is being made or used. She interviewed one 6-year-old
boy who was extremely proud of the fact that he could take care of
his 3-year-old sister.

He had learned to make several kinds of sandwiches to feed her and he
could help her get dressed.

He did this, he said, because his parents were "resting." Children of
meth addicts are essentially orphans, said Brown, whose presentation
was on the effects of methamphetamine on children. In 20 to 25
percent of the homes where meth is being "cooked," children are
present. They face multiple environmental dangers aside from the
trauma of having dysfunctional parents.

Home life for children of meth-addicted parents is chaotic, Brown
said. Parents activities are focused on obtaining the next high
rather than on nurturing the child's growth and development. Children
who suffer from this kind of serious neglect experience profound
neurobehavioral deficits as a result. They often have smaller brains,
lower IQs, poor social skills and attachments disorders.

They fail to thrive and in really severe cases, they lack the ability
to establish emotional attachments. But the circumstances can be
worse than simple neglect.

Meth use creates a highly sexualized environment, Brown said, where
children are often exposed to sexual activity, including prostitution.

Children of meth-addicted parents are three times more likely than
other children to be physically or sexually abused and four times
more likely to be neglected, she said.

Homes where meth is being produced pose extreme environmental hazards
for children. In addition to over-the-counter cold medicines that
contain ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, other ingredients commonly used
in the manufacture of meth include: red phosphorous, hydrochloric
acid, drain cleaner, battery acid, lye, lantern fuel, and antifreeze.
These ingredients are often left around the home in unmarked
containers easily accessible to children. In her presentation, Brown
included a photograph of child who had put lye in his mouth.

She had a similar case, where the child's tongue and lips were badly burned.

During the actual production of meth, children are exposed to tiny
aerosolized meth particles that can deeply penetrate the lungs.

No studies have yet been done to evaluate the long-term effects of
such exposure.

Brown cited a new study that showed that walking or crawling in an
area where a meth has been made can re-suspend particles of the drug
and other toxic chemicals as much as 24 hours later.

Children who live in homes where meth is made also risk of harm from
an explosion or fire. Many of those attending the conference - law
enforcement officers, social workers, medical personnel and others on
the front lines of the battle against meth - know first hand about
the drug's ability to destroy lives. Brown's presentation was
especially sobering though.

Children are vulnerable, innocent victims.

Their childhoods are being stolen and their futures compromised or
destroyed by their caregiver's addictions. Brown concluded with a
wish list for addressing the problem: prevention, effective mental
health treatment for addicted parents and a child/family therapy
component, effective clean up of home lab sites, and continued
multidisciplinary efforts to address the problems of meth addiction
and the impact on children.

As various other speakers indicated, North Carolina is moving forward
in a number of these areas, but one critical area that the General
Assembly will be asked to help with in the upcoming session is
funding for more foster parents, according to Karen McLeod, executive
director of the North Carolina Association of County Directors of
Social Services. In some counties, she said, there's been a doubling
and even a tripling of the need for foster care as a result of
removing children from homes where meth is present. Still, McLeod
said, thanks to the aggressive way Attorney General Roy Cooper has
tackled the problem, it seems unlikely that North Carolina will end
up in the crisis situation some other states have confronted. For
that, we can all be thankful.