First responders learn about meth (South Carolina)

http://www.indexjournal.com/news/20060207a_n.html

DEA agent explains drug's dangers during McCormick seminar

McCORMICK - When Cornerstone Prevention Specialist Allen Easler was hiking through the woods in North Carolina, the only dangerous things he probably expected to encounter were some spots of poison ivy or maybe a poisonous snake.
Not Sudafed, coffee filters and aluminum foil.
Easler said when he saw the household items left idly in the woods, he just thought of them as litter, and hiked on.
But when he told the park ranger what he had seen, the ranger quickly jumped to attention and told Easler he had probably seen what was left of a meth lab.
On Monday, Demand Reduction Coordinator for the Drug Enforcement Agency Shannon Argetsinger told a crowd of about 60 McCormick residents and first responders about how popular meth labs have become because they can be made from common household products with recipes easily found on the Internet.
Easler pointed out that the products, such as Sudafed and battery lithium can all be purchased in a trip to Wal-Mart.
Argetsinger emphasized that many meth cooks work in teams, but the teamwork affects the environment and users, and the aggressive behavior meth causes affects the children and families in domestic situations.
"It's a sad, sad set of circumstances," Argetsinger said after showing the crowd a video about a couple who abused their niece for three days until she died while they were using and cooking meth.
After seeing stories of children left in house fires because their addicted parents forgot to retrieve them, many faces of audience members were stained with tears.
Argetsinger showed the effects that long-term meth use can have on a person's teeth, and one McCormick dentist said her office has seen many similar cases recently.
The number of labs in South Carolina reported to the DEA has risen in recent years. Argetsinger said that, in 2001, 10 labs were reported, compared to 245 labs reported in 2005.
Statistics show that about 98 percent of people who try meth become addicted to its high, which can last up to 24 hours, and it takes 6 to 8 months for someone to go through rehab for meth.
"This is not one of those get-them-in-for-30-days-and-they're-out type treatments," he said.
For information on how to detect and report meth labs, visit SCMethWatch.com.