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"We simply cannot allow the community to develop a tolerance for meth like we have tolerated alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and in some cases, even cocaine," said meth educator Bob Nickisch of Sturgis' Action for the Betterment of our Community.
In an effort to educate the community about meth and its effects on individuals and the community as a whole, several organizations throughout the Northern Hills region offer a variety of meth education seminars. Some of these organizations include Northern Hills Alcohol and Drug Services, Sturgis Action for the Betterment of the Community (ABC), Northern Hills Realtors Against Meth, Meth Awareness and Prevention Project of Rapid City (MAPP), and the Division of Criminal Investigation in Rapid City. While the content for each of these organizations' presentations can vary depending on the audience and their specific concerns, the message is always the same - learn to recognize the signs for meth, and act on any suspicions of drug use.
"This drug is not isolated to the poor," said Dale McCabe, of the Rapid City Division of Criminal Investigation. "It doesn't have any socio-economic barriers. That's why we try to educate people to know what you're seeing and if you happen to see something you can recognize a red flag for possible meth use."
McCabe said that the DCI education seminars are geared specifically toward adults, as law enforcement officials show pictures that illustrate the effects of meth use on the body, and tell audiences the physical and environmental signs to watch for in the community.
"About two years ago we started thinking a lot of people in our community had no idea this was taking place," he said. "What happened is if they don't know what they're looking at they can't make the call to us and say 'hey, we've got a problem next door. Can you check it out?' Sometimes that's all we need is a phone call and then point us in the right direction and we do the rest. That's how we get a lot of our search warrants, just by a concerned neighbor calling and saying, 'I see something fishy going on here, what do you think?'"
Some possible signs of meth use, he said can include a person who is unable to sit still and is restless on a regular basis; small, red sores on the skin, specifically the hands and face; bad, rotting teeth; sudden weight loss; and a person who frequently looks disheveled, unclean or worn out. However, McCabe cautioned that one of these symptoms alone may not be a sign of meth use, but several of them together, he said, could indicate a problem.
One of the major indicators of meth use, officials say, is a condition that has become known as "meth mouth." Nickisch, said this condition is one which can be easily recognized by dentists and health care professionals, as the harsh chemicals used in meth work to eat away the enamel of the teeth causing a rapid onset of tooth decay that is abnormal.
"The teeth rot out and your gums turn black," Nickisch said of the condition. "Dentists can recognize that (as a drug problem.) But they need to know what they're looking at and they need to understand it."
Other signs that can present themselves in a health care setting include injuries from accidents or fights, violence, heart palpitations, and high blood pressure. A meth psychosis, Nickisch said, also closely resembles that of a schizophrenic.
"It is extremely hard to tell the difference," he said.
In addition to the physical symptoms that result from meth use, McCabe said some signs of a meth home include broken blinds and/or blacked out windows; heavy security outside such as a dog or motion lighting; a strange odor emanating from the house; and people in and out of the house at all hours of the day and night. Once again, he cautioned that one of these signs may not indicate drug use, but several together might signify a problem.
"These people will not neighbor with you," Nickisch said of possible signs of a meth home. "You will never be invited into their house and they aren't going to come to yours. So it's a neighbor that lives like that and who may have repetitive, short-term visits during the course of the early to late evening."
Once residents become educated about the meth problem, Nickisch said the next major step toward combating the problem in the Northern Hills is reporting any possible signs of meth use to authorities. The number one enemy to meth prevention, he said, is denial that there is a problem in the community.
"Make sure your neighbors and everybody else knows that you know about meth and you don't tolerate meth and you don't want it around your kids, so by God, they better not," Nickisch said. "(Tell people) you don't want meth in your neighborhood and you don't even want it around your neighborhood."
While parents are becoming educated about meth use in their communities, McCabe said they should also talk to their children about the drug and keep a close watch on their activities. "There should be no reason why a parent should not be going into a kids' room," he said of ways parents can find warning signals of possible meth use in their children.
"Obviously you've got to keep some kind of respect for their privacy, but you've got to be able to look around and see things. A lot of parents just don't do it and they overlook signs at the early stages and before long it is too late."
In addition to education, residents can also take action to combat meth in a variety of other ways. According to Kate Kelley, of Northern Hills Court Appointed Special Advocates, some activities can include encouraging meth education in the school system; writing state and national legislators to promote tougher penalties for meth users and manufacturers; and writing legislators to support treatment programs that are geared specifically for meth use.
