everyone please read

<LABEL id=pBlogSubject_493417998>Meth, it's time we realized how deadly it is</LABEL>

   I have taken a week to go through my thoughts on this before I blogged about it.  For those of you who live in my area, you already know the story. For those friends across the nation, listen up.
   Last weekend, in my hometown, we had a tragedy. A 20 month old baby died from drinking "Liquid Fire", a brand of drain cleaner which was being used to make meth, from a coffee cup. Just imagine the pain this poor baby was in as his insides were being eaten away by acid. I personally cannot think of a away more horrific way to die. All because he was thirsty & trusted (as innocent children do) that it was ok to drink what was left in a cup on a table. Now I won't even go into the whole story here, how the mother was only 14, the father 19 etc, because you can easliy find it all over the internet. wkym.com   wlextv.com wcoutlook.com etc. There are too many underlying details, which raise way to many emotions for me to go into it here. No, this is about the one thing which was behind EVERY single thing that went wrong here. Complacentcy.
   You see, where I come from, there has been a lot of it throughout the years. Many years ago, people made moonshine in the hills. Well, they were just making money, not hurting anyone. Then, alot of folks started growing marijuana. People were just trying to have a better Christmas and put back some money for the winter. Mind your own business, pot never killed anyone, it's no big deal. Then people started dealing in pills. Still no big deal, they're only hurting themselves, as long as it's not my family being destroyed, I'll just look the other way... Now meth has crept up on us. And as many of you who have traveled the highways through places such as Montana, I had seen the billboards with the pictures of  people with "meth mouth" and such. I had thought, "wow, they must have a real problem here". Yeah, we had some arrested in the area where I live, and a meth lab busted now and then, but it wasn't a serious problem. I mean, nobody talked much about it. There wasn't billboards everywhere. My kids never talked about there being educational seminars at school about it. Yes, there were some doing it, but it wasn't a big deal.
   Then, the house next door to MY house was busted for a lab. Then I started doing research into how this stuff is made. I started realizing how deadly this crap can be. So I started educating my kids about it. Yes, they had heard about it at school, but not educated about it. I explained to them what drain cleaner is (sulfuric acid) & acetone (basically paint thinner). I ask them would anyone ever light it on fire and inhale the fumes? I got a resounding no. No one would be that stupid. Yet, even after the meth is "cooked" there is still the acidic residue & toxins left, so that is exactly what you are smoking. That is why meth heads have "meth mouth". But it isn't put in that context when people talk about it. Most people who try it have no idea what it really is. Until they are addicted and have to start making it in order to support their habit. Then, they learn to become a chemist from another messed up, uneducated junkie, in a make shift lab, often in the back off a vehicle. There is a reason why a haz mat team show up to destroy the lab. These chemicals can be very volitile. With meth heads making this stuff, with little kids running around the house, I had been saying it would only be a matter of time before one exploded and seriously hurt or killed a kid to get peoples attention. Or perhaps a child being poisoned from the fumes and becoming ill. I never dreamed of something as horrific as what happened last weekend.
   After talking to some other kids in other towns,  I did find out that some schools actually do bring in speakers & make an attempt to educate. But not enough is being done. We have to quit turning our heads and saying it's no big deal. We have to get our heads out of the sand and stopping thinking "it's not in my backyard". We have to step up and educate ourselves in order to educate our children. Everyone who reads this has a computer. Research it. Realize it is in your neighborhood. It's in every neighborhood. Law enforcement are trying to keep up, but the meth heads are spreading and cops can only go after them if they have some evidence. The best way to fight it is to let everyone, specifically our kids, know what this stuff really is before it gets offered to them.
   I am working with others to try to get some speakers and put together a night of fun for the teens in my town. We have offered to play and hope that someother bands will as well. We hope that by exposing the kids to reality of meth, then they will never touch it. If anyone knows someone who has been an addict, who has a story, and wants to help to keep others from suffering the same, send me an email.

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