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| 11 May 2000 - The San Diego Union-Tribune The silent victims of the meth problem By Dianne Jacob and Robert Amador Politicians are seldom prone to speechlessness. Yet, Rep. Brian Bilbray and his colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee fell silent. The congressional panel had come to San Diego in search of strategies to stop the rapid-fire spread of methamphetamine as the drug rages its way across our nation. While the panel members were impressed by our county's innovative abatement efforts, there was one small issue they didn't expect to encounter. Picture an 8-month-old crawling over a plastic bag fired with deadly "crystal." Or, the explosive chemicals from a crude and toxic meth lab bubbling next to the bed of a 6-year-old girl. How about a container of battery acid on a filthy kitchen counter next to a baby bottle? Or, a small boy playing with toys on a chemical-stained carpet. The visiting leaders had overlooked the smallest victims of the deadly meth lifestyle. Like many of us, they had failed to make the tragic connection. Meth addicts, dealers and cookers are often parents, too, and their children, who should be growing up in caring homes, are instead unwitting casualties of their volatile kitchens of death. The Meth Strike Force estimates that, at any given moment, more than half of the meth labs in San Diego County are home to our most innocent residents. In the last two years, the San Diego County District Attorney's Drug Endangered Children (DEC) team has rescued 210 children from meth-threatened environments, an average of two every week. This week, the Legislature will discuss funding for DEC programs throughout the state at a time when the number of drug-related toxic "clean-ups" in California is at an all-time high. If the funding is to reflect the severity of the problem, the Legislature must take a long look at San Diego County and the many little lives rescued from the deadly meth culture. Home meth labs and the lethal chemicals they process have been discovered in East County bathtubs, North County closets and downtown garages, usually after they catch fire or explode. Because the physical effects of the drug are just as nasty as the places where it's cooked, meth creates a double-whammy of danger for the children of users. Developing bodies and delicate skin are no match for substances like red phosphorous or hydrochloric acid. Meth-exposed children suffer chemical burns, respiratory problems and lung and tissue damage. They experience developmental delay and even brain toxicity. Just living alongside the chemicals, meth-exposed children sometimes test positive for the deadly stimulant. While their young bodies struggle to withstand exposure to the hazardous chemicals, they are automatic victims of neglect, criminally overlooked by parents too enslaved by addiction to care for them. Imagine a father so strung out on crystal that he sleeps for days, and forgets to feed or bathe his children for a week. Or a mother who keeps her loaded 9-mm handgun hidden in her children's laundry basket. She uses the weapon to protect the illegal meth-cooking operation she runs in the family's garage. We need only to remember little Ginny Rojas to put a human face on this growing problem. In 1996, the 6-year-old National City girl was scalded to death by her aunt and uncle who were high on a three-day meth binge. Jenny's death has been called the worst case of child abuse in our county's history, and methamphetamine played a prominent role in it. The county's DEC team has since found a way to rescue children like Jenny by removing them from the hell of their parents' illegal activities. With unprecedented cooperation between law enforcement, prosecution, children's services and health care, the program monitors the health of the kids, places them into safe environments, and requires that parents undergo intense treatment if the family is ever to be reunited. As meth, odds are statistically overwhelming that drug-endangered children will grow up to perpetuate the lifestyle of their parents. Justice Department statistics show that neglected or abused children are 50 percent more likely to be arrested as juveniles 40 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime as adults, and 33 percent more likely to become substance abusers. As meth lab seizures now make front-page page news in unlikely places like Kentucky, Oklahoma and Utah, community leaders are struggling to respond to a situation that San Diego has just begun to conquer. The DEC program has become one of the most talked-about ways to counter addiction and fight crime. Our county DEC team has earned its every accolade – witness the 210 children rescued to date. The actual number of`children still at-risk isn't known since many labs are abandoned before they're discovered by law enforcement. With nearly 2,000 lab clean-ups in our state last year, there are likely thousands of children now struggling to survive in toxic homes. Heightened community awareness will help to seek them out. Increased funding for DEC will help give them a voice. Here are the warning signs of a meth environment:
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