METHAMPHETAMINES: WAR ON DRUGS HITS HOME

When news of arrests for people using and producing methamphetamines
started appearing in headlines in the rural South a few years ago, most
people dismissed it as just another addition to a long list of illegal drugs.

But, today, nothing could be further from the truth. Methamphetamines have
become a problem of epidemic proportions that crosses all social, economic
and ethnic boundaries. The drug is taxing law enforcement, the justice
system and social services -- almost to the breaking point.

Meth is highly addictive, easy to produce with readily available chemicals
and carries horrific health consequences. Those familiar with this growing
problem say they are seeing not just individual lives ruined, but entire
families, from teen children to grandparents, addicted.

Over the next few days, The Daily Home will take a look at every angle of
the problem, from the addicts to the court system and the efforts under way
to stem the tide of meth abuse in Alabama.