Meth:
-When a person starts using meth, it seems like an answer to their prayers; they lose weight easily (because they don't care about eating) and can stay awake, sometimes for weeks at a time. Sometimes students will get involved in meth just trying to stay up to study.
-Meth started in St. Croix County in 1996 and really took off in 1999.
-In 2005, 60% of inmates in the county jail were addicted to meth.
-It was once thought that it was impossible to get off of meth, but they have found that while heroine and other drugs have about a 30 period of withdrawl, meth takes about 6-9 months.
-Teeth rot when using meth. It is thought that the cause is from drinking a lot of soda. They are not hungry, but crave sugar and are thirsty.
-Fumes affect the children the way the drug affects adults, thusly endagering any child in a meth home.
-Fumes can very easily explode, they are extremely flammable.
-Meth costs about $140-$160 an ounce, which doesn't last very long.
-NOTHING else matters when on meth...just getting the next high. Not school, not parents, not friends, not family.
-The first hit is an extreme euphoria, which can last up to 8 hours. They NEVER get the same high again and end up using more frequently or using more of the drug each time just trying to get back to that originaly high.
-Meth is almost always addicting from the very first hit.
-When they start coming down from their high, they can experience paranioa, violence, and withdrawl. Dennis told a story about a couple of kids that thought the cops had their house surrounded, but when Dad looked outside, nobody was there. The kids had guns. Dad called the police and they were able to take the kids out without any problems.
-If addicts stay on the drug, they can lose their friends, family, and their future (school, jobs, etc). It is very hard for a former addict to get a job and it is even harder to get into college.
-Meth houses smell like really bad cat urine.
-People on meth get sores on their face because it feels like their are bugs crawling underneath their skin, so they pick and scratch their skin to get the "bugs" out. Experts think that this feeling is caused by the smoke leaving their pores, which creates irritation. People may also pull the hair out of their head for the same reason.
-People on meth will often keep the shades pulled or keep the windows covered.
-The forms of meth are: liquid, powder, rock substance, inject, snort, smoke, and eat. Kids are usually offered powder that they can smoke in a pipe.
-Some forms of paraphanalia for smoking: 2 PVC joints with a screen, lightbulb with the top cracked out using a torch or lighter, pen (heat the pen and breath in fumes), aluminum foil (for meth and herione)...
-Crystal meth is the most potent, so it is much more expensive.
-St. Croix, Polk, Pierce Counties are not seeing as much. Most of the meth now is being brought in by Mexican gangs from the Twin Cities that are transporting it from Mexico and California.
-Every pound of meth produced or attempted leaves behind about 6 pounds of toxic waste.
-Signs of a meth lab include: frequent visitors all times of day and night, activity at house is at strange hours, occupants appear unemployed but always have plenty of cash, occupants are secretive and/or unfriendly, watch cars suspiciously as they pass by, display paranoid or odd behavior, have expensive security or lots of signs/fences/bushes/shrubs/trees, go outside to smoke cigarettes, chemical odors are coming from house or garage, have a lot of garbage (which I will list next), house materials are stained from filtering red phosphorus or other chemicals, sets garbage to be collected in another neighbor's collection area, evidence of chemical or waste dumping (burn pits, dead spots in yard, etc).
-A few examples of chemicals that are used in producing meth: cold tablets, methanol (Iso-Heet), propane, salt, dry ice, sulfuric acid (Liquid Plumber), kitty litter, ether (starting fluid), solvents, alcohol, iodine, toluene (brake cleaner), red phosphorus (matches, road flares), lithium (batteries), trechloroethane (gun scrubber), MSM (cutting agent), Sodium Metal, Muriatic Acid, Anhydrous Ammonia (farm fertilizer), Sodium Hydroxide (lye), acetone, drierite.
-Equipment used: pyrex or corning dishes, jugs or bottles, paper towels, coffee filters, thermometer, cheesecloth, funnels, blenders, rubber tubing/gloves, pails or buckets, gas cans, tape or clamps, internet documents or notes, strainers, aluminum foil, propane cylinders, "How to make meth" books, hotplates, plastic storage containers or ice chests, measuring cups, scales, towels or bed sheets, labratory beakers or glassware, mop pail.

Prescription Drug Parties
-Becoming more prevalent
-Kids are taking prescription drugs out of mom, dad, grandparent, etc cabinets and taking them to a party. They throw them all, no matter what they are, into a big bowl and take whatever. Extremely dangerous!

Heroine
-This is coming back
-New form called "Black Tar", which is smoked with marijuana.

Cocaine
-Still prevalent

Marijuana
-VERY prevalent
-Gateway drug

Alcohol
-This is the single biggest drug problem in the county. Out of 15-20 traffic fatalities in the county each year, about 1/3 are alcohol related.

Ecstacy:
-Can literally melt your brain if you overdose. Dennis told a story where someone took ecstacy and didn't think it was working, so took another a half an hour later. His body temp rose to 108 degrees.
-Decreases inhibitions and increases senses.
-Causes people to clench their teeth or grind their teeth. People on ecstacy will often want to suck or chew. Will often see people on ecstacy sucking on suckers, pacifier suckers, etc.

Huffing
-Prevalent especially in middle school kids. Propellant gets into the blood and blocks the blood cells from getting oxygen, thusly cutting off oxygen to the brain.
-EVERY TIME a person huffs, BRAIN CELLS are KILLED!
-Huffing can kill the very first time
-Causes people to pass out.