More than 16 percent of people in the Pikes Peak region used methamphetamine in 2007, according to the 2009 Quality of Life Indicators for the Pikes Peak Region report by Leadership Pikes Peak and Pikes Peak United Way.That makes meth second only to marijuana in terms of illegal drug use in the area.While the number of people using meth declined from 22.7 percent in 2005, the trend is no longer down, said Bob McDonald, sergeant with the metro vice and narcotics unit of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.Until 2005, El Paso County had a serious problem with local meth labs.”Back in 2002/2003, we were [busting] anywhere from 150 to 200 labs a year,” McDonald said.”They may not be cooking any more, but they’re still contaminated, which is a whole other problem.”The problem is that meth production involves a toxic brew of chemicals, such as acetone, toluene, alcohol, paint thinner, ethyl ether, sulfuric, muriatic and phosphoric acid, lye, hydrogen peroxide and red phosphorous.The vapors are released during the cooking process and “seep into floors and walls and can cause long-term health problems,” said Shawn Arbuckle in an article, “Buyer beware of toxic meth-lab homes,” posted at www.stateline.org.Arbuckle, an industrial hygiene program coordinator at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, has conducted several studies on the impact of meth labs, identifying health problems ranging from “headaches and blisters to damaged lungs, liver and kidneys.”Children are especially sensitive to chemical exposure, which can damage their developing brains, Arbuckle said.”Youngsters still crawling around on hands and knees put everything in their mouth, so they’re especially at risk of picking up methamphetamine residues,” he said.The article reports that Colorado is one of 12 states making it illegal to live in a house that’s still contaminated by meth production, and Colorado was the first state in the country to study meth lab toxicity and measure the cost of decontamination, which is $15,000 to $30,000 for a 2,000-square-foot home.In 2003, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released “Cleanup of Clandestine Methamphetamine Labs” a guide for cleaning up meth labs.The guide, revised in 2007, states that “if a surface has visible contamination or staining, complete removal and replacement of that surface section is recommended. This could include removal and replacement of wallboard, floor coverings and counters.”McDonald figures about 500 labs have been shut down in El Paso County to date, but another 1,500 were probably missed.”Anybody that lives in Colorado Springs has probably had a meth lab seized by us within a mile of their house. It doesn’t matter where you live,” he said, adding that there’s no absolute indicator that a house has been used to cook meth.”But there are some indicators to look for. The majority of [labs] we seized were ‘red phosphorous’ cooks, a method that uses a lot of iodine. So if you see iodine stains in the bathtub and all over the kitchen counters, that’s a good indicator.”The odor of a meth lab varies, McDonald said. “You can talk to 10 people about what they think a meth lab smells like, and they’ll give you 10 different answers,” he said.”Some people describe it as kind of a dirty-sock, ammonia-cat litter, sulfur kind of smell.”McDonald credits the 2005 law requiring drug stores to put products, such as Sudafed, that contain pseudoephedrine – a key ingredient in the manufacture of meth – behind the counter instead of on the shelf for the elimination of meth labs in the county.People can no longer go to a drug store and steal packs of Sudafed, he said.As soon as the labs in El Paso County were shut down, “the Mexicans took up that supply chain and they’ve perfected it,” McDonald said. “The majority of methamphetamine seized or bought in the Springs area is produced in Mexico.””We consider methamphetamine our biggest threat simply because it involves so many other crimes,” said Lt. Al Harmon of the Colorado Springs Police Department. Like McDonald, Harmon is assigned to the metro vice and narcotics unit.”It involves identity thefts and property crimes to make the money to buy the drugs, and it’s so addictive,” Harmon said.The Web site for the Colorado Meth Project notes that Colorado ranks eighth in the country for meth use, and meth-related crime is 56 percent higher than the national average.The 2007 Colorado Methamphetamine Task Force reported that meth users who enter treatment are most commonly white, between 25 to 34 years of age and began using at age 21, with 41 percent starting at 17 or under.”A lot of times, kids try stuff for the first time just on a dare,” McDonald said.”No matter how dangerous you tell them it is – how addictive, how much it’s going to hurt, it might kill you, you’re going to lose everything – it’s like telling a kid, don’t touch that iron because it’s hot. They’re going to touch that iron anyway because they’ve got to find out for themselves.”In 90 out of 100 people, McDonald said the first time they use meth; they can become physically dependent on it.According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the short-term health effects of using meth include increased respiration, rapid heart rate, irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure and hyperthermia.The NIDA’s Web site lists long term health effects: extreme weight loss, anxiety, confusion, insomnia, mood disturbances, violent behavior, paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations and delusions, such as feeling insects crawling under the skin, a condition so common it has a name: formication.And then there’s “meth mouth.”Meth causes the salivary glands to dry up, and without the production of saliva, a meth user’s teeth are exposed to acids that encourage cavities to form.According to the NDIA, early signs of meth use include euphoria, paranoia, decreased appetite, anxiety, shaking hands, nervousness, rapid eye movement, incessant talking, increased body temperature, dilated pupils and sweating not related to physical activity.Signs of continued meth use include weight loss, strong body odor, shadows under the eyes, dry or itchy skin, pale complexion, acne or acne-type sores, extreme moodiness, purposeless and repetitious behavior, such as picking at skin or pulling out hair, nose bleeds or nasal perforations, dermatitis around the mouth and lack of personal hygiene.In El Paso County, punishment for meth use depends on the judge, Harmon said, adding that the first time a user is caught; he or she could be channeled into a treatment program.”The court considers somebody habitual if they’ve been convicted of three felonies. It’s not unusual for us to see the same people over and over again,” he said.McDonald busted a man in a house near Austin Bluffs Parkway and Academy Boulevard. The same man in the same house had been busted for running a meth lab in 2003.
