Friday, March 2, 2007

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Region has most meth users in Va.

By ANGELA JONES
The Winchester Star

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WINCHESTER — The highest concentration of methamphetamine users in Virginia is in the Shenandoah Valley.

Also known as meth, crank, crystal, and speed, methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive central nervous system stimulant.

Reynold Hicks, representing CLEAN Inc., speaks to the audience at the Meth360 program held at Shenandoah University’s Health Professions Building on Thursday evening.
(Photo by Rick Foster)

To educate area residents about the effects of meth on the community, CLEAN Inc. and The Partnership for a Drug-Free America presented “Meth 360” on Thursday night at Shenandoah University’s Health Professions Building.

According to Sgt. Wallace K. “Wally” Stotlemyer III of the Northwest Virginia Regional Drug Task Force, the only chemical needed to produce meth is pseudoephedrine, or ephedrine, which is found in over-the-counter cold medications.

The drug is also called “poor man’s cocaine” because it is easy and cheap to make.

“If you can make a cake, you can make meth,” said CLEAN representative Reynold Hicks.

In a matter of 15 minutes, Stotlemyer said, he went to three stores in Winchester, purchased the necessary ingredients to produce meth, and spent just $64.

With the recent crackdown on over-the-counter cold medicine purchases, meth producers have now found a way to extract ephedrine from equine feed.

“No other drug is produced with the chemicals used to produce meth,” Stotlemyer said.

Most meth labs, he said, are discovered when they explode. Many are “rolling labs” set up inside a vehicle.

Diane Fisher of the Warren County Coalition said cleaning up a meth lab costs taxpayers thousands of dollars.

BE A PARENT, NOT A PAL

P — Provide your children with responses they can use if they’re offered drugs.

A — Actively listen to your child. Avoid interrupting. Give your undivided attention.

R — Reinforce your love; say the words “I love you” often.

E — Educate your child about the risks and consequences of drug and alcohol use.

N — Never underestimate your child’s vulnerability to drugs, even at a young age.

T — Teach the principles of “why,” not just “what,” to do or not to do.

Beyond the financial ramifications, children exposed to meth labs often develop permanent brain damage, she said.

The average meth user will live five to 15 years after he or she starts using, depending on the frequency of use, the purity of the meth, and the means by which it is consumed, Stotlemyer said.

On the street, the price of meth ranges from $100 to $185 per gram, depending on purity.

Stotlemyer said half a kilogram of meth with a street value of $24,000 was recently found in Frederick County.

Three meth-related cases are pending in Frederick County, he said, and many cases are scheduled in Shenandoah County.

Winchester has none on its court dockets — for now. “But it’s making its way up the Valley to us,” Stotlemyer said.

Meth is in the community, whether anyone chooses to acknowledge it, he said. “The users are here and they have been for a while.”

If he had been asked five years ago if meth would ever make its way to Winchester and Frederick County, his response would have been “no way,” Stotlemyer said.

But when he’s asked about meth now?

“I’d tell you I’m surprised we haven’t found any today.”

www.drugfree.org/meth