National Meth Awareness Day

Today is National Meth Awareness Day. It's no cause for celebration, though. The idea is to put a spotlight on the terrible meth epidemic we have in our country. Here's a link to some background information.

KIDS AND METH

Most of us have heard stories about the ravages of methamphetamines. The paranoia and violent behavior of users. The dangers of mixing the toxic, volatile chemicals needed to make meth. Not many people, however, are aware of the terrible toll meth is taking on children in this country.

DFS workers across the country are being swamped by the effects of this drug. A large number of their caseloads involve children living with parents or caregivers who are abusing and/or manufacturing meth.

Here’s a story about a group, just over the river from us here in St. Louis, that is trying to do something to help these kids.

The Metro East Coalition Against Methamphetamine, or MECAM, is a band of local organizations with an interest in fighting meth production and use. Members of the coalition have worked together to prepare care-package backpacks for children who are found living in meth homes.

"The backpacks are just a small gesture to help the kids in already traumatic situations," said Tarra Winters, a prevention resource developer for Prevent Child Abuse Illinois. "When kids are found in these homes, everything in the house is contaminated. Many times, when they are removed, they aren’t able to take things with them."Winters, whose organization is a member of MECAM, said the backpacks contain new sets of clothes, a teddy bear, snacks, juice and other items, depending on the child’s age.

There are not many of us out there that would deny how awful this problem is for kids. However, most of us also think it’s probably something that’s terrible for the children of these meth addicts but won’t affect us much.

Well recently I was talking with a community pediatrician about the meth problem. She was telling me a story about one of her patients, an 11 month old girl, whose mother is grappling with an addication to meth. And while you may think that’s a terrible situation for the baby, the worst part of it is what the mom does for a living. She's a day care provider.

The Potato Test

I learned about this fascinating little tidbit while presenting at a meeting of the Methamphetamine Action Coalition (MAC) in Jefferson County a few months ago. Meth production is a huge problem in Jefferson County. It’s a largely rural county and two major interstates (I-55 and I-44) meet there, making it an ideal location for meth production and distribution. The MAC is a group of local agencies that's trying to educate the public about the hazards of meth and lower the rates of meth use in Jefferson County.

One of the other presenters that day was from the Jefferson County Sherriff’s Department. He talked about the “Potato Test” method of detecting meth production in a home, apartment, car, etc.

Here’s how the test works:

1. Get a potato
2. Cut it in half
3. Wipe the inside of the potato on the wall or other solid surfaces
4. Wait a few minutes
5. If the potato turns blue, it indicates that meth contamination is present

When I heard this I thought that pretty much eliminated the need for DrugWipe for Meth Lab ID purposes (which was the whole reason I was invited to talk to this group in the first place!). But there is a caveat with the Potato Test.

There are two main techniques used to manufacture meth. One is the Nazi Method. This was developed in Germany during World War II and was given to Nazi troops as stimulants during the war (it was supposedly used by a few other countries as well). This method uses lithium and anhydrous ammonia to manufacture the meth. It is the method of manufacturing meth that produces the greatest odor.

The other method is the Red-P method. This method uses iodine and red phosphorus to make meth. This method produces the red stains on carpets and walls that are one of the key tell-tale signs of meth production.

The Potato Test will only work in identifying meth production involving the Red-P method. It's because of the iodine. Iodine gets absorbed into the walls during the Red-P production process. If a potato is rubbed against the wall, a reaction occurs with the iodine which turns the potato blue.

My understanding is that the Nazi and Red-P methods are both equally common, at least here in Missouri. By using the Potato Test, you run the risk of not detecting the presence of contamination from a meth lab about half the time.

So, as it turns out, we don’t have to worry about competition from potato farmers as we market DrugWipe as a way to identify meth production sites!

Shake and Bake

A lot of people I talk to assume that the signs that a home or apartment has been used in the production of meth are readily apparent. That’s not true.

Some of the signs of methamphetamine production are obvious:

• Strong smells (similar to cat urine, ammonia)
• Excessive trash that includes antifreeze containers, red stained coffee filters, and starter fluid cans
• Windows blacked out and reinforced doors
• Signs of trip wires, security cameras, or other booby traps that are set to alert the people making Meth that someone is approaching (meth users are HIGHLY paranoid)

There are a number of ways to manufacture meth that don’t leave behind these tell-tale signs. The most amazing, and scary, to me is the so-called Shake and Bake method.

Basically, all the ingredients needed to make Meth are dumped into a 2L soda bottle. Now keep in mind these are highly volatile, explosive materials being combined here! Once everything is dumped in the bottle the next step is to shake the bottle to mix all the ingredients, throw it, and RUN LIKE HELL! (It kind of sounds to me like holding a stick of dynamite in your hands and lighting the fuse. All in the name of getting high.) Within a few hours, chemistry works its wonder and you end up with the finished product.

That is, of course, as long as the whole thing doesn’t explode first.

ROAD TRIP

Last Wednesday I was in Jefferson City addressing a meeting of the Missouri Housing Industry Alliance. I’m slightly embarrassed to say that having lived in Missouri for over 10 years now, this was my first trip to our state capitol.

I was invited to introduce the group to DrugWipe technology and talk about the issues of drugs in real estate. It was a great group and the presentation evolved into a lively discussion about DrugWipe, drug use/production in homes and apartments, and liabilities (gotta love the lawyers!).

When I first learned of DrugWipe, one of the first applications I thought of was for real estate. My family has always owned investment properties and I can remember going to visit building with my dad when I was younger and seeing crack pipes littering the sidewalks and alleys outside some buildings. And now living in Missouri, the Meth Lab capital of the United States, I’m acutely aware of the problems that drugs can pose to home owners, landlords, and tenants.


GOT METH?

Most people don’t realize how toxic this stuff really is. The production of Meth creates a blizzard of toxic material that spreads into walls, carpeting, HVAC systems and more. The residue contaminates these surfaces for a long time and is very difficult to remove. Some buildings that have housed Meth labs are demolished because it would be too difficult and costly to clean up.

A story out of Texas really made the dangers of this stuff hit home with me. It’s about a DEA agent that was involved in raiding a meth lab. During the course of a day, his clothing got contaminated from being in the house that was raided. After work, he went home and played with his 6 week old child before changing his clothes and the child died from exposure to the toxic residue.

I’ve run into a lot of people over the past year who are quite concerned about Meth lab contamination. I remember talking to a police officer from Franklin County, Missouri that built a new home for his young family rather than buy an existing home because of fears over Meth contamination. I’ve talked to people in the medical profession who’ve had patients with “mystery illnesses” that turn out to be caused by exposure to Meth contamination in the home or apartment they recently moved into.

DrugWipe could be a great tool to help people quickly determine if that house or apartment they are looking at may be contaminated from a previous Meth lab. In fact, we’re talking to home inspectors about offering this service. They offer testing for things like radon and mold that people are concerned about – why not Meth?

The main reason why not is concern over liabilities. If you know there’s a problem then you have to do something about it. In St. Louis now there’s a line on the Seller’s Disclosure statement dealing with Meth labs. You have to check a box certifying that the production of methamphetamines has never occurred in the property. If a realtor or property owner is in the dark about whether meth production previously took place in a property or not, they don’t have to disclose anything. I can fully understand the “ignorance is bliss” argument. Not knowing provides a level of safety in some perverse way. Or does it?

Check out this recent story out of Utah. Remember the Osmonds? No, not the Osbornes, the other musical family, the Osmonds - Donny and Marie. Their family owns a real estate company in Utah. Recently a young couple bought a house through the Osmond’s real estate company. It turns out the house used to house a Meth Lab. The couple suffered a wide range of ailments due to the lingering contamination and has had to move out of the house. They also had to throw out all their clothes and many of their personal effects (a piano, an heirloom rug, etc.) because they were all contaminated from the Meth residue. They are now suing the Osmond’s real estate company for $200,000. They want to negate the contract and get their money back for the house and their personal property.

Do they deserve it? Should the realtor be held liable whether they knew about the Meth lab or not? Should realtors be required to do more homework on a property to uncover past problems like a Meth lab before listing it? Who else could be held liable? The Seller? A home inspector?

If this couple wins, the reverberations will echo throughout the real estate community. It will eliminate the “ignorance is bliss” argument because a realtor could now be sued for not knowing. It will be interesting to see how this case unfolds.

Meth is just one issue that those in real estate face when it comes to drugs. I’ll discuss some of the others in the coming days.