Hope for an end to this epidemic

You've just received advice from a friend in regard to that ever-present weight problem.

Just take this. It will definitely help.

You'll experience increased attention, decreased fatigue, increased activity, decreased appetite, euphoria and rush.

After taking this for a while, you'll experience dependence, addiction psychosis, paranoia, hallucinations, mood disturbances, repetitive motor activity, weight loss and the chance of a stroke.

In larger doses, after a while, your teeth may fall out. You may experience a few red marks over your body. As you experience losing all that weight, your face suddenly looks incredibly different.

Sound good? Hopefully not.

Forget it.

These are just a few of the effects one may experience when taking methamphetamine, a drug that has swept across the country, including Clay County.

According to www.portlandonline.com these are a few of the chemicals that are commonly associated with meth labs:

Acetone, alcohol (isopropyl or rubbing) anhydrous ammonia and ammonium sulfate (fertilizer), battery acid (sulfuric acid), bleach, drain cleaner (sulfuric acid and caustic soda), Lithium batteries, matches (red phosphorous), and over-the-counter cold pills containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, among other items.

Hmm. That sounds like a great mixture of stuff to put in the body.

Rubbing alcohol, fertilizer, drain cleaner.

I can't wait.

Seriously, this is pathetic.

Anyone can go online and find out how to make this drug. Lots of people use it, which has been proven here in Clay County.

It's truly a sad state of affairs.

Indiana State Police reported more than 1,200 busted meth labs in 2003. During that year, there were 108 labs discovered in Vigo County, the most in the state.

While that number has gone down gradually, it's still a severe problem.

Honestly, it's just disgusting to think that someone would risk putting these chemicals in their body.

It doesn't make sense.

For example, do you remember those green stickers that your parents placed on all those cleaning materials when you were a child?

I do. And I'm pretty sure my parents placed one on the bleach bottle.

And yet, this is a chemical that can be used in the making of this incredibly dangerous drug.

Drain cleaner? Just look at the name. It's supposed to go down the drain, not down the mouth.

I love those faces of meth websites. Those pictures tell the entire story.

Those websites detail the pitfall of meth use. Some show updates of addicts after only six months while others are years.

One particular showed a man five months later after being arrested the first time. The second mug shot showed five months of constant meth use. The man in the mug shot didn't look like the same man as his face had several red marks, splotches all over it.

Real attractive. Real attractive indeed.

This drug and its usage has gotten completely out of control.

Kudos to law enforcement as they continue to battle the ignorance that is meth.

They deserve the credit.

In a perfect world, people that use this drug would be caught immediately. The drug would be taken off the street and people wouldn't constantly be arrested for using it.

Sadly, that probably will never happen.

But we can hope, can't we?