SPEED'S CHEAP HIGHS:

Public Can Help to Curb New Flow of Dangerous Drug

Just a short ride from Richmond lie the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and the
Interstate 81 corridor. This natural serenity is plagued by a constant battle
with a particular illegal drug, and it is heading toward Central Virginia.

Speed, ice, chalk, crank, fire, glass, crystal, and meth are popular street
names for the illegal drug methamphetamine. This drug - once popular only with
outlaw motorcycle gangs and poor rural white youth - is raising its image among
urban and suburban youth across the cultural spectrum. The drug is becoming
popular in areas such as Chester, Hopewell, Goochland, and Louisa. It is also
making a mark in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield. Meth use and availability
are growing because it is inexpensive and a potent high.

Methamphetamine is a central nervous system stimulant and a neurotoxin that is
highly addictive. A meth user will have dilated pupils, which are unresponsive
to stimulus by light. The user will exhibit symptoms of temporary
hyperactivity, euphoria, a sense of increased energy, and body tremors or
shakes. A person will ingest meth usually in one of four ways: Snort it, smoke
it in a pipe like crack, inject it intravenously like a heroin user, or take it
orally like a pill. The health dangers from methamphetamine use include:
increases in heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and rapid breathing.
This causes the body's systems to overload and can lead to heart attack or
respiratory failure.

Damage to the Brain

Meth users exhibit violent behavior that leads to serious physical injury to
the user or innocent victims. Methamphetamine is a neurotoxin, meaning that it
causes damage to the brain. High doses or repeated recreational use has been
associated with increased nervousness, irritability, paranoia, and other
serious mental disorders. A meth user who is not using the drug or is in
withdrawal from the drug can experience severe depression. Chronic use produces
a psychosis similar to schizophrenia and is characterized by paranoia, picking
at the skin, self-absorption, and auditory/visual hallucinations. It also leads
to violent and erratic actions.

Methamphetamine varies in appearance depending on the method of ingestion the
user prefers. Typically, it is a white bitter-tasting powder that easily
dissolves. Another common form of the drug is crystal meth, or "ice," named for
its appearance - clear, large chunky crystals resembling rock candy. Crystal
meth is smoked in a manner similar to crack cocaine, and about 10 to 15 "hits"
can be obtained from a single gram of the substance. Crystal meth can also be
"cooked" into a liquid solution like heroin and then injected into the veins of
the user. On the street $10 or $15 will buy several doses of meth for the user.

Produced in Illegal Labs

The reason this drug is relatively inexpensive and readily available in the
United States is that it is produced right in our backyard. Meth is
manufactured in clandestine labs in every state in this country. Some of the
labs are sophisticated, but most are "bucket-to-bucket" or "bathtub" operations
set up by small-time criminals. These "cookers," as they are called, have
either learned their trade from others or from information gained from the
Internet. They mix several different precursor chemicals and drugs through a
process of chemical reactions to produce meth.

These labs pose an extreme fire/explosion hazard because of the volatile
chemicals and limited use of proper safety procedures by the "cookers" during
the manufacturing process. The waste from these labs is an environmental
hazard, and special contractors are used to assist law enforcement in the
clean-up of any lab site. Usually these labs will be in rural or isolated areas
to avoid detection. The methamphetamine manufacturing process emits a heavy
chemical odor that can be detected by neighbors.

In the past few years the DEA has been investigating methamphetamine being
produced in "super labs" in Mexico. These labs are controlled by Mexican drug
lords, who then use illegal aliens to smuggle the product into the United
States for sale. The DEA and several other federal law-enforcement agencies
also are focusing on international methamphetamine traffickers with ties to
Arab criminal organizations in Canada that move money for international
terrorist organizations.

It is important for the public to take an active role in a unified attempt to
stop meth from establishing a strong presence in our region. Everyone can help
by paying attention to the symptoms of methamphetamine use and intervening in
the lives of loved ones and friends who use this drug. People also can report
suspicious chemical odors in their neighborhoods to law enforcement. When meth
is being "cooked," the fumes produce a distinct odor of "sweet" chemicals or of
burning medicine. The odor is pungent and will linger if the "cooking" process
is being vented into the air of a neighborhood.

Suspicious Purchases

Business establishments that sell precursor chemicals such as ephedrine,
pseudo-ephedrine, methanol, iodine, phosphorous, ether, and acetone that are
utilized to manufacture meth can advise law enforcement of suspicious orders or
unusual purchases of these materials. These chemicals are regulated, and the
people who operate chemical supply businesses know what is normal and what is
not when someone is purchasing these substances.

Law enforcement must continue to educate the public about the dangers of meth
use and production. A combined effort of citizens, business people, and law
enforcement can prevent this region from experiencing a "speed" epidemic.