Meth Group Meets Today
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Gary [email protected]
That's right, we had meth bust stories in the first two editions of the 2011 Times-Union.
How's that for a dubious distinction? Happy New Year, eh.
I am not sure what it's going to take to get the message across to legislators, but it's a message that can't be lost on them.
Meth is not an enforcement problem. The cops are doing their job. They are busting these labs at an alarming rate.
The problem is, as they are busting one lab, others are cooking right along. Cooking meth is not a lengthy process and the cops can't be everywhere at once. The end result is that no matter how hard the cops try, they can't bust all the labs.
Our county - our community - is one of the nation's leaders in meth labs.
That's why this morning at 10:30 a.m. there is a group of people meeting in downtown Warsaw at the Munson Building (across Lake Street from Enterprise Car Rental.) These people want to make a difference. They want to eliminate the meth scourge from our community.
The group is called "I AM" - Indiana Against Meth.
I spoke with Annie Zartman, of Warsaw, a founding member of the group. She has a 21-year-old son who is incarcerated because of meth.
"We are trying to get the word out that our community has a real problem with methamphetamine," she said. "The more people involved, the better we are in trying to solve the problem."
Zartman said everyone is welcome to attend. The group formerly was called MAMA or "Mothers Against Meth Addiction." But Zartman and other members of the group felt that was too gender specific and excluded fathers, brothers or anyone else who might want to become involved.
She stressed that anyone is welcome. You don't have to have an addict in your family. You don't even have to know somebody who uses meth. All you have to do is care about your community, Zartman said.
She believes that making pseudoephedrine HCI, the key ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine, must be made available by prescription only. Without PSE, meth cookers are out of business. She also believes that tracking PSE purchases, which currently is being done by the Indiana State Police's computerized Indiana Methamphetamine Investigation System, isn't working.
The facts seem to bear out her concerns. The system has been in place since August, yet the number of meth labs is on the rise. Meth lab busts this year in Indiana could top 1,500.
So Zartman said I AM members have been busy contacting legislators and urging them to vote yes on a bill before them that would make PSE prescription only.
Aside from that, the group hopes to provide outreach to the community.
"We want to provide help to people who have children or a loved one who is addicted to meth so that they don't feel the stigma - that they were a horrible parent - and all the judgment that goes with it. We just want to get away from that," Zartman said.
Her hope is that when people are released from jail or prison or a treatment program, the community will accept them so they can become productive again.
"The level of destruction meth causes is outrageous. Our son gave up everything. He had the opportunity to take over our business. We set him up for a successful life. ... He couldn't break free from the addiction and he is not what people would label as a drug addict. That's the thing with meth. It doesn't matter what social circle you are in. I have devoted myself to do whatever I can to get this resolved."
Zartman's daughter, Emily, also feels pretty strongly about the meth problem.
She wrote a letter to the editor to the Times-Union a while back. Her message seemed pretty mature for a 16-year-old. In part, she wrote:
"My brother comes from a loving and supportive family; my parents have always wanted the best for their children. They have taught us many life lessons and instilled good values. My brother loves his family deeply and respects us so much. When he is struggling with his addiction, he won't even come around us. It hurts us when he drops out of our lives, however; he does that so we don't have to see him during his bad times. I hope he can get the right kind of help for his addiction, so we can go back to the way it used to be."
Emily says her brother will get out of prison in August. He likely will move away to avoid falling back with the same crowd that got him arrested twice before.
"When he got out the first time," Emily said, "he had everything. An apartment. A car. A good job making good money. Everything was set up for him and he threw it all away."
His second arrest landed him in state prison in Westville.
These are real people with real problems living right here in our community. And this is just one family. There are literally hundreds more like them among us.
See here's the thing, people. This could be anybody's family. Don't think you're immune. Don't think it can't happen to you, or your relative, or your neighbor.
There are stories about meth addicts who carried 4.0 grade-point averages. There are stories of meth addicts who tossed aside six-figure jobs.
It's a horribly addictive and dangerous drug. Ask the cops. They will tell you it's the worst drug they've ever had to deal with.
It needs to be stopped.
Making PSE a prescription drug only makes sense.
No PSE - no meth labs. It's that simple.
States that have taken the step to make PSE prescription only have seen their numbers of meth labs dwindle from the hundreds to near zero.
There is a bill before the Indiana legislature right now that would do just that. Lean on our lawmakers. Make them understand the gravity of our problem.
The downsides of making PSE prescription only?
People with runny noses might have to choose a different decongestant and drug companies will make less money.
Seem like small prices to pay, don't they?[[In-content Ad]]
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That's right, we had meth bust stories in the first two editions of the 2011 Times-Union.
How's that for a dubious distinction? Happy New Year, eh.
I am not sure what it's going to take to get the message across to legislators, but it's a message that can't be lost on them.
Meth is not an enforcement problem. The cops are doing their job. They are busting these labs at an alarming rate.
The problem is, as they are busting one lab, others are cooking right along. Cooking meth is not a lengthy process and the cops can't be everywhere at once. The end result is that no matter how hard the cops try, they can't bust all the labs.
Our county - our community - is one of the nation's leaders in meth labs.
That's why this morning at 10:30 a.m. there is a group of people meeting in downtown Warsaw at the Munson Building (across Lake Street from Enterprise Car Rental.) These people want to make a difference. They want to eliminate the meth scourge from our community.
The group is called "I AM" - Indiana Against Meth.
I spoke with Annie Zartman, of Warsaw, a founding member of the group. She has a 21-year-old son who is incarcerated because of meth.
"We are trying to get the word out that our community has a real problem with methamphetamine," she said. "The more people involved, the better we are in trying to solve the problem."
Zartman said everyone is welcome to attend. The group formerly was called MAMA or "Mothers Against Meth Addiction." But Zartman and other members of the group felt that was too gender specific and excluded fathers, brothers or anyone else who might want to become involved.
She stressed that anyone is welcome. You don't have to have an addict in your family. You don't even have to know somebody who uses meth. All you have to do is care about your community, Zartman said.
She believes that making pseudoephedrine HCI, the key ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine, must be made available by prescription only. Without PSE, meth cookers are out of business. She also believes that tracking PSE purchases, which currently is being done by the Indiana State Police's computerized Indiana Methamphetamine Investigation System, isn't working.
The facts seem to bear out her concerns. The system has been in place since August, yet the number of meth labs is on the rise. Meth lab busts this year in Indiana could top 1,500.
So Zartman said I AM members have been busy contacting legislators and urging them to vote yes on a bill before them that would make PSE prescription only.
Aside from that, the group hopes to provide outreach to the community.
"We want to provide help to people who have children or a loved one who is addicted to meth so that they don't feel the stigma - that they were a horrible parent - and all the judgment that goes with it. We just want to get away from that," Zartman said.
Her hope is that when people are released from jail or prison or a treatment program, the community will accept them so they can become productive again.
"The level of destruction meth causes is outrageous. Our son gave up everything. He had the opportunity to take over our business. We set him up for a successful life. ... He couldn't break free from the addiction and he is not what people would label as a drug addict. That's the thing with meth. It doesn't matter what social circle you are in. I have devoted myself to do whatever I can to get this resolved."
Zartman's daughter, Emily, also feels pretty strongly about the meth problem.
She wrote a letter to the editor to the Times-Union a while back. Her message seemed pretty mature for a 16-year-old. In part, she wrote:
"My brother comes from a loving and supportive family; my parents have always wanted the best for their children. They have taught us many life lessons and instilled good values. My brother loves his family deeply and respects us so much. When he is struggling with his addiction, he won't even come around us. It hurts us when he drops out of our lives, however; he does that so we don't have to see him during his bad times. I hope he can get the right kind of help for his addiction, so we can go back to the way it used to be."
Emily says her brother will get out of prison in August. He likely will move away to avoid falling back with the same crowd that got him arrested twice before.
"When he got out the first time," Emily said, "he had everything. An apartment. A car. A good job making good money. Everything was set up for him and he threw it all away."
His second arrest landed him in state prison in Westville.
These are real people with real problems living right here in our community. And this is just one family. There are literally hundreds more like them among us.
See here's the thing, people. This could be anybody's family. Don't think you're immune. Don't think it can't happen to you, or your relative, or your neighbor.
There are stories about meth addicts who carried 4.0 grade-point averages. There are stories of meth addicts who tossed aside six-figure jobs.
It's a horribly addictive and dangerous drug. Ask the cops. They will tell you it's the worst drug they've ever had to deal with.
It needs to be stopped.
Making PSE a prescription drug only makes sense.
No PSE - no meth labs. It's that simple.
States that have taken the step to make PSE prescription only have seen their numbers of meth labs dwindle from the hundreds to near zero.
There is a bill before the Indiana legislature right now that would do just that. Lean on our lawmakers. Make them understand the gravity of our problem.
The downsides of making PSE prescription only?
People with runny noses might have to choose a different decongestant and drug companies will make less money.
Seem like small prices to pay, don't they?[[In-content Ad]]
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