METH DRUG OF CHOICE FOR SOME YOUTHS

Drugs and guns are a deadly combination. Police often find guns at meth busts. That's because meth users often become paranoid.

METH AND KIDS

FACTS:

* Children can become a meth user, regardless of academic achievement, family background, etc.

* Adults should realize meth users exhibit behavior similar to normal adolescent behavior. However, the behavior of meth users tends to have more violent or aggressive tendencies.

* Erratic or agitated behavior, especially a marked difference before and after noon, may indicate meth use.

* Visible signs include increased alertness, excitation, euphoria, sensitivity to light, dilated pupils. Hallucinations and extreme paranoia are possible among heavy users.

* Physical signs include increased pulse rate and blood pressure, insomnia, loss of appetite. Possible rapid increase in body temperature, convulsions.

* Signs of withdrawal include apathy, irritability, long periods of sleep, depression, disorientation.

Depression. Weight gain. Social acceptance. Sports injuries.

Those frequently are among problems associated with adolescence.

Many children accept the symptoms as a part of life and turn to friends and social activities to help them through the rough times. Others rebel, relying on momentary pleasures gained from cigarettes, alcohol, sex or crime to make them feel better about themselves and their situations.

Still others look in another direction to help them through their uncertainty -- a direction that can turn dangerous to them and the people around them.

Methamphetamine, also called crank or ice, isn't just popular among adult drug users. Meth is becoming the drug of choice of some youngsters because of its ability to lift them out of their doldrums and deliver the longer, happier high they've been looking for.

Missouri last year ranked second only to California in the number of meth labs seized. Law enforcement in Missouri is engaged in an all-out war against the manufacturing, trafficking and use of methamphetamine.

Meth's major attraction is the euphoria and wakefulness its users achieve. Extreme happiness is always a commodity, and the ability to stay awake for hours and days at a time can be attractive to students studying for tests or attending all-night parties, drug counselors said.

The potent stimulant also suppresses appetite, which allows young female users to reach weight-loss goals. It also masks pain from sports injuries and other physical ailments, a benefit for young athletes.

But meth too can cause pain when it eventually damages the body. And users must get more of it to attain the same effects over a period of time.

"You can't pick what kind of student would do it," said Cape Girardeau police Cpl. Kevin Orr. "It's just one of those drugs that's the going thing right now."

Law enforcement and counseling officials said alcohol, marijuana and "huffing" inhalants are still the most popular drugs used by teen-agers. However, several national studies found meth use has more than doubled among teens between 1990 and 1996.

"Everything falls back to alcohol and pot," said Rodney Fisher, clinical supervisor of Comprehensive Substance Treatment and Rehabilitation, called C-STAR, in Kennett. "It's not generally a primary drug of choice, but we have seen a larger increase in kids that use it."

Fisher said C-STAR, which provides adolescent drug treatment throughout Missouri, has assisted some 300 drug users in the past year. Of that number, about 40 percent, or 110, of the youths listed meth as a "drug of abuse." About 40 of the reported cases listed meth as a primary drug.

There are many indicators that substance abuse might be present. Physical cues such as pupil dilation, dizziness, tooth grinding, impaired speech, itchy or dry skin, loss of appetite, slow-to-heal sores, tremors, hypothermia and convulsions may indicate meth use.

Behavioral cues such as extreme euphoria, aggressiveness, uncoordination, nervousness, incessant talking and confusion also might indicate meth use.

Orr said he and other police officers have been busy in recent months sharing information with local educators, school nurses and parents. It is difficult to identify a casual meth user, because the drug's effects can mimic the erratic behavior sometimes seen in teen-agers.

"It can be tough because a meth user -- especially a casual user -- can act just like a non-using student," he said. "All teens are pretty wired; meth users are just a lot more wired and have more erratic behavior."

"Daniel," a 22-year-old recovering meth user, said it was easy to hide his meth use as a 17-year-old Cape Girardeau Central High School student because he was from an upper-middle-class family with a strong religious background. Daniel isn't his real name; he asked that his named not be published.

"I wasn't the first person you'd pick to have been a partier, so it was pretty easy to convince my parents that I was not out to do something wrong," he said. "Because I didn't seem to be on some kind of a downward spiral, it wasn't hard to hide at all."

Social-services agencies work closely with law enforcement in the battle against meth because most often detection of child endangerment is made through hot-line calls or police reports.

"If we get a call, our staff will call police first before we make any contact with the home directly," said Anna Stone of the Missouri Department of Family Services. "I think clearly the very issues around the high volatility of the meth lab is a very large concern for all of us who are involved in this kind of profession."

Stone said neglect and physical abuse often are factors when a child lives in a home where meth use or production is evident. Positive drug tests in newborn babies also might indicate the presence of meth.

Children are immediately removed from the home because of the dangers associated with meth use and production, she said. The juvenile courts then determine custody of the children until the case is settled.

"What we're looking for is rectifying what the problem is, if that's possible to do," said Stone. "Our primary concern is the children's well being."

For now, officials said the only thing people can do is continue to inform youngsters, parents and educators about the seriousness of meth use and hope teens make intelligent decisions.

"My job is to make the arrest and get the person into a criminal justice center as an offender, but everything can't be geared to just arrests," Stone said. "It's going to take a lot of education and rehabilitation to make any impact on this thing."

Front Page Graphic Info

Meth and Kids

Tamara's story

FACTS:

* Children can become a meth user, regardless of academic achievement, family background, etc.

* Adults should realize meth users exhibit behavior similar to normal adolescent behavior. However, the behavior of meth users tends to have more violent or aggressive tendencies.

* Erratic or agitated behavior, especially a marked difference before and after noon, may indicate meth use.

* Visible signs include increased alertness, excitation, euphoria, sensitivity to light, dilated pupils. Hallucinations and extreme paranoia are possible among heavy users.

* Physical signs include increased pulse rate and blood pressure, insomnia, loss of appetite. Possible rapid increase in body temperature, convulsions.

* Signs of withdrawal include apathy, irritability, long periods of sleep, depression, disorientation.