Babies Among Meth Victims

Here is an article "In Our View: Children, Babies Among Meth Victims" found in the Joplin Globe. Adults can made the decision if they want to destroy their lives, but the babies.... oh the babies.... they have no choice what parents they are born to and the health, physical, psychological, mental and spiritual devastation they are handed. They are the TRUE victims. Kim

In our view: Children, babies among meth victims
12/22/05

An estimated 9.5 million Americans have used methamphetamine in some form or another — crank, crystal, speed or ice. For those who use this highly addictive drug, generally manufactured by non-chemists under questionable sanitary conditions in garages and basements, the attraction is potency, availability and low cost.The dark downside is that meth can create a dependency on first use in some people; it can lead to serious health problems for makers and users and it is extremely volatile, meaning that the fumes are toxic, flammable and explosive.A lesser publicized consequence of this concoction is what happens to children. If they are exposed for prolonged periods in home labs where the drug is being cooked, they could suffer respiratory problems, headaches, nausea, eye damage and decreased mental function. It has been suggested that prenatal exposure to meth could cause congenital birth defects and restrict infant development. There are risks, too, of premature birth or miscarriage. Police agencies treat meth labs as hazardous waste sites, donning special clothing and using breathing apparatus before trying to clean up chemical or toxic residue. We have not seen any numbers on how many children of meth mothers and operators of meth labs wind up with a health crisis. But their lives and futures might be jeopardized just by being around the manufacturing process, or by being exposed in the womb of a woman using this powerful, dangerous drug. So, the young and the innocent should be added to the list of potential victims of today’s meth rage. It is enough to make you cry ... and angry.