WORKSHOP TO TALK METH, DANGER IT POSES TO KIDS

The Grand, Routt, Jackson and Moffat County Narcotics Enforcement Team is
holding an all-day workshop Monday to help educate the community on
methamphetamine production and the danger it poses for children.

In the past eight years, GRAMNET has conducted 40 meth-lab investigations
in the four counties it covers. Most recently, GRAMNET uncovered a meth lab
in Craig in January.

"The alarming part was there wasn't a lot of product there, but it was a
very high grade," GRAMNET Director Dwight Murphy said.

This year, the Legislature passed a law allowing prosecutors to charge
those manufacturing drugs in the presence of children, or where children
have been, with child abuse.

To go along with the new legislation, GRAMNET is conducting an educational
campaign, including Monday's workshop at Centennial Hall. GRAMNET and the
Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force are sponsoring the event.

"The idea is not just another state law to put people in jail, but
educating about the law and focusing on what the signs for a lab are and
what the symptoms will be in that environment," Murphy said.

During the morning session of the workshop, Lt. Lori Mariartz of the Denver
North Metro Task Force will discuss meth labs, the medical aspects of meth
and how the labs can endanger children.

The afternoon session will look at a statewide solution to keep children
from meth exposure. A public forum begins at 3 p.m.

Eight representatives will discuss the problems surrounding drug-endangered
children. A-mong the agencies participating are the 14th Judicial District
Attorney's Office, Colorado State Probation Office, the DEA, Anchor Way
Baptist Church, Mental Health Center, Routt County Sheriff's Office,
GRAMNET and Advocates Against Battering and Abuse.

Because 99 percent of the ingredients for meth can be purchased at a
department store, it is often manufactured in homes and around children.

Murphy said the fumes and chemical byproducts of meth affect children's
health. There also is a danger of fires and explosions from mixing the
volatile chemicals.

Officials also will talk about signs of meth use such as damaged skin and
rapidly decaying teeth.

Murphy sent out more than 400 letters to businesses inviting them to the
workshop. He sent invitations to child-care providers, social services
agencies, medical personnel and public health departments.