A METH DEALER'S STORY

Mike's an addict from way back. He's been addicted to some drug or
another for decades, but he said none has ever done to him what meth
has. Mike's name has been changed to protect his identity, and from
an interview in the Walker County Jail on Monday, he said meth is a
drug no one should touch.

"I started meth a couple of years ago," the 30-something-year-old man
said. "I had always done marijuana." Marijuana is the drug of choice
for many, but expedience is key, according to Mike, and the timing
issue led him to meth.

"I was on probation for marijuana," he said. "Marijuana stays in your
system longer than meth. Meth gets out of your system in three days
and you can pass a piss test." While many addicts report a need to
"tweak" or disassemble anything within reach, Mike said the drug had
the opposite effect on him.

"A lot of people take things apart and don't put them back together,
but I build toys," he said. "It kept me awake. It motivated me. "It
was like drinking pots and pots of coffee," he added. "I wasn't
hungry. You just want to be doing something. I lost probably 50 or 60
pounds once I started using, because I wasn't eating."

After beginning use, an addict can enjoy the effect the drug has on
their system, while the drug is busy tearing apart various components
of their body. "I have dentures on the top," Mike said, pulling back
his lips, revealing the dentures and about four blackened teeth
lining his bottom jaw. "My muscles and joints cramp. My whole body hurts.

"It hurts your sexual drive. It's painful to have sex, so it's not
something you want to have," he said, looking down at his hands. "It
deteriorates your whole body."

While the pain he feels in his body is bad, Mike said it's nothing
compared to the pain in his heart.

"It's hurt my family," he said. "My girlfriend is out there. Her
electricity is off. She's not used to dealing (with me being gone).
She's used to me taking care of her."

Meth is more expensive than cocaine, according to Mike, but there's a
reason addicts are drawn to the drug.

"At $100 a gram for meth, when coke's $50, meth costs more, but it
lasts longer," he said. "With meth, you can be up for three or four
days. A gram of coke can be gone in a couple of hours.

"With meth, you'll see people up all night long. If you see someone
in the middle of the night mowing their lawn with a spotlight,
chances are, they're on meth," he said with a laugh. "A meth head can
always recognize a meth head."

Selling drugs in Walker County can be a lucrative business, Mike
said, and he would know. He's sold as well as used.

"There's people doing meth that you wouldn't even think were doing
it," he said. "The meth problem here is bad. It's worse than anything
else we have.

"I'd say $70,000 a week moves through here at least," he said. "It's
a big deal."

Getting meth into the system isn't hard, and addicts have gotten
creative about ingesting the drug.

"You can snort it. You can smoke it. You can shoot it. You can eat
it," Mike said. "You can put it in your coffee and drink it.

"My drug counselor told me smoking it was the quickest way to get it
to the brain - the quickest way to get a buzz," Mike said, adding
that his drug counselor probably didn't intend for him to use the
information to later get high. "I wish I'd never gotten involved,
that's for sure."

Mike said through years of marijuana and cocaine use and abuse, he
never had any of the problems he's having now.

"It's a bad drug. It's worldwide," he said. "I messed with the meth,
that's what took me down here. I don't think I'd be locked up here
right now if it wasn't for meth."