The cover of the San Angelo LIVE! July cover exposes for many the growing meth problem in San Angelo, Texas (LIVE! graphic/Joe Hyde)

Of course, the youth use it because they are looking for thrills. But young professionals may use it hoping to boost their performance at work by remaining alert (and awake) longer. Women, particularly younger women, will use it to lose weight. “It is across the spectrum in San Angelo,” Sanchez said, referring to the demographics of those afflicted with meth addiction. “It’s not one of those drugs ‘those people’ use,” Sanchez said. While crack cocaine was generally associated with the poor urban blacks, and powdered cocaine was associated with rich yuppie whites, meth addiction crosses all social, economic, cultural, and racial lines, according to Sanchez.

“There is a difference between abuse and addiction,’ Sanchez continued. An abuser may indulge occasionally during a hard night of partying. An addict is psychologically and, in many cases, physiologically hooked. What makes meth so powerful, and why it has become such an alarming problem not only nationally, but locally as well, is that the drug has a stronger opening “rush,” and that hooks the psychological side. And it isn’t long before the body itself craves it physically too.

Today about 13 million (or about 1 in 25) Americans have tried meth. Of that, it has claimed an estimated 1.5 million addicts, according to a federal government study. Meth labs have been uncovered in every state in the union with Missouri, surprisingly, at the top of the list. There were over 8,000 lab busts in that state between 2002 and 2004.

Unlike heroin and cocaine, which obtained a foothold in big cities and then spread to the less populated rural areas, meth first infected America in smaller agricultural communities just like San Angelo. Today, it is everywhere.

A recipe to "cook" meth looks more like a common shopping list that includes items like drain cleaner, common cold tablets and brake fluid. (contributed photo)

If it could be called good news, the meth problem in San Angelo appears to be no worse (in most categories), than anywhere else in Texas, with arrests and related crime stats that equal the state average.

The bad news is that Texas ranks in the top 5 states in every meth-related category from lab-busts and arrest, to meth-related burglaries and homicides.

“The problem is increasing, but although some people say we can’t win this war, I believe we can control it to the extent where we are on top of the problem,” said District Attorney Steve Lupton of the State of Texas 51st District Court here in Tom Green County.

According to Lupton, about 30-40 percent of all district court cases are drug related, 80 percent of those involve meth.

“It’s our biggest problem, with burglaries, robberies and lots of other crime being directly linked to meth,” said Lt. William Fiveash of the Sheriff’s Office.

More addictive than heroin and cheaper than cocaine, crystal meth has been called by drug enforcement officials, the "Super-demon of drugs." (contributed photo)

Community Resources Director at the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC), Deidre McCoy, told LIVE! that as many as 90 percent of the children they represent are meth related referrals. The CAC of Tom Green County saw an 80 percent increase in child referrals, up from 277 cases in 2005, to 431 cases in 2006.

“It’s reached new levels,” said McCoy. “Children are being removed from their homes faster than we can recruit and train volunteers to help them. They’re just left dangling… it’s just horrible.”

At the ADACCV, where those addicted to drugs have reached the absolute dead end, meth outpaces all other types of drugs, including alcohol, cocaine, and heroin. In 2006, meth accounted for 40 percent of all patient admissions there.

An evolving drug cult

The drug is as easy to make as alcohol, making the problem no less difficult to battle than the making of moonshine was during prohibition. So many smaller labs have been discovered across the northern half of Texas since 2000, that the area has become known the state's “meth belt.”

San Angelo law enforcement has been affective in battling the once abundant "Mom and Pop" labs (above), which has unfortunately given rise to the new and improved "Superlabs," across the border in Mexico. (contributed photo)

A former San Angelo Police Chief told LIVE! that because of the potential to make millions of dollars dealing meth, even in smaller communities like ours, more organized crime elements have added meth to their product line, producing the drug in large quantities across the border in Mexico.

“We achieved a certain amount of success with the smaller ‘Nazi’ meth labs,’” said the ex-top cop.

The “Nazi meth lab” was named in reference to a simpler form of the drug that was given to German soldiers during World War ll to provide greater stamina and combat battle fatigue.

Hitler himself was given daily injections by his personal physician. It is believed by many that methamphetamine addiction was responsible for his severe paranoia and sometimes uncontrollable twitching, a trademark of chronic meth users.

Meth is not a drug that can just be experimented. Once tried, the user becomes hooked to some degree, even if only used one time.

By design it's a serene atmosphere at the Children's Advocacy Center (CAC). Last year the non-profit organization dealt with 431 cases (an 80% increase from 2005), of families in turmoil, due to the devastating collateral affect of meth.  "The problem has reached new levels," lamented CAC director, Deidre McCoy. (LIVE! Photo/Mark Kneubuhl)

Meth addicts are flowing into our already overcrowded prisons. It is causing breakdowns in our under-funded recovery centers and suffocating our foster care system with a new and plentiful generation of “meth babies.”

The state agency, Child Protective Services (CPS), which mirrors some of the work of the Children’s Advocacy Center, is a harsh example of the overload in new cases.

“In the 12 years I’ve been with this department I have never seen it so bad,” said Program Director, Georgia Brown. “When I first started we had one or two new cases a month and I didn’t even know what meth was. Now we get up to 40 new cases a month and 90 percent of them are meth related.”

“Our case workers are stretched thin, having to manage a minimum of 70 cases each…. It’s getting out of control,” Brown added.

Speaking of children, the “kiddie meal” of meth is also now in San Angelo. It’s a concoction, preferred by younger addicts, called “strawberry meth.” This is made by mixing of power meth with the popular candy, Strawberry Pop Rocks.

Meth never ruins only one life. It’s allure and addictive potency leaves the user powerless. Then lying, stealing, prostitution and violence are common methods of getting the next hit. It induces paranoia that often turns the addict against loved ones trying to help.

While the San Angelo Police Department, the Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Justice Department may be on the front lines battling the primary offenders, meth is ruining the lives of everyone that comes near it. Children are the “collateral damage”.

Brown told LIVE! about the occasional case that falls through the cracks. “We exhaust all resources to get meth kids housed and looked after by a good relative. We’ve had to have kids stay here with our staff staying up all night and buying their food with our own money. I’m in awe of our caseworkers… they are very selfless and dedicated,” said Brown.

"When I first started we had one or two new cases a month and I didn’t even know what meth was.  Now we get up to 40 new cases a month and 90% of them are meth related," said Gloria Brown, the program director for Child Protective Services. Ms. Brown is standing in a room that is sadly, all-too familiar to some, where meth-moms are allowed to visit their children. (LIVE! Photo/Mark Kneubuhl)

The meth experts—those who really know what it’s all about—are as young as 12-years-old and up through high school. They are the “meth savvy” according to Brown.

“For our newer case workers, their ‘meth education’ comes from the kids,” she said.

The allure of meth to women, particularly young mothers, is alarming. The ADACCV treated 68 male meth addicts, and 97 females. The reason is that meth gives women with low self-esteem a rush to feel good, and meth foments rapid weight loss. And weight loss is tell-tale sign of the meth user. The catch is that you loose everything else along with the pounds.

Another only half-right perception is the belief that meth is exclusively a problem with the youth. Recent San Angelo drugs statistics revealed that 58% of narcotic arrests were children and young adults, ages 14-26. Another forty percent of those assets were adults ages 27 and up.

On the frontlines

”We realized some time ago that arresting all the users was a loosing battle. We’re concentrating now on trafficking and distribution. We’re going after the head of the snake,” said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Randy Swick.

“Not long ago we were busting dozens of labs. Now we uncover only three or four a year and only one so far this year. It’s sad to say (sad because they had some success in fighting smaller labs), that the super labs in Mexico have put the smaller ones out of business,” added the Lieutenant.

Super labs can put out several pounds of meth per day, while mom and pop cooks in the bathroom,” as Swick calls them, “produce at best, a couple ounces a day.”

As an ally of the Sheriff’s Office in the war against meth, the San Angelo Police Department echoes the frustrations of this scourge. “Now the Mexican Cartel is involved so we have to change strategies to watching our borders”, said Police Chief Tim Vasquez.

One of the most hotly debated national issues today is border security, but generally it is discussed in regard to the problem of illegal immigration. “I’m all for increased border security,” said the chief. “If for nothing else, to stem the tide of illegal drugs, which has reached epidemic proportions, here and throughout the state.”

In battling the problem, Vasquez stressed the importance of community involvement. Along those lines a drug task force has been formed. Its members include a representative of the SAPD, Sheriff’s Office, the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council and Right Choices for Youth, a non-profit organization that also preaches abstinence.

“In all my years in law enforcement I’ve never seen a greater threat to our community than methamphetamine. It robs our community of its health, prosperity, quality of life and, most importantly, our future,” said Vasquez.

Besides the drug’s obvious social and economic impact, front-line soldiers are fully aware of the dangers too. Murder is commonly related to the meth trade and now with the Mexican cartel involved, authorities are concerned that violence may be stepped up a notch.

“We run from the cameras,” said Swick, when asked if LIVE! could take his photo. Understandably so!

Prognosis

Even for some of the more optimistic law enforcement officials, the outlook in terms of winning the battle against meth is dismal. And in regard to having some semblance of control over the problem, there is an understandable lack of collective certainty.

Others reflect an even more gloomy forecast because of how addictive the drug is. “Once you’re in you don’t get out,” said the director of Right Choices for Youth, Crystal O’Conner.

Preventing, or discouraging, experimentation with drugs as a whole community is what Eric Sanchez suggests. “The people most affected by meth are those who are already using other drugs,” Sanchez said. “The courts and law enforcement has had the drug task force for two years,” Sanchez said, and he applauds the effort. They are referring more and more drug cases to treatment, and if possible, intervention, instead of wholesale incarceration, according to Sanchez. Early detection and then prevention will work, but it requires trip wires that can only be deployed with an entire community’s involvement

“A single community can make a difference,” Sanchez said. “We can have a low tolerance for drugs.” If there is a perception that drug use is rampant in the community, there is a better chance more people will partake. One way the community can change that is through local businesses.

“We know through research that 70 percent of all people who recreationally use drugs are also employees,” he said. Sanchez said that if all regional businesses required random drug testing, for example, more meth users can be discovered in the abuse stage, which is easier to treat, before it progresses into the addiction stage.

Michael Pfeifer, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo, sounded a clarion call to the region to combat meth in February 2007 by writing a guest editorial for the local paper. He called for a unified direction from all corners: Parents, schools, local governments, non-profit organizations, and churches, to create a drug free society.

Out of the bishop’s plea, San Angelo community leaders have met several times to organize. Out of the series of meetings, a new organization called Concho Valley C.A.R.E.S. has formed. The group intends to organize community resources and aim them more sharply at slowing the drug epidemic. Anyone wanting to join them is welcome. You may contact Eric Sanchez (325) 224-3481 or the Catholic Diocese at (325) 651-7500.

If you have a problem coping with meth addiction, help is available from the ADACCV. Contact the drug and alcohol abuse hotline at 1-800-880-9641.

Joe Hyde contributed to this article