Lines of methamphetamine lay on a plate at an Amador County home raided by law enforcement officials. The drug causes a number of negative health effects in users and also negatively impacts the people around them. Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger Dispatch

Editor's note: This is the second of a three-part series examining the local impact of methamphetamine. Part two addresses the human impact - the toll the drug takes on the lives of individuals.

The addict

When it comes to the toll the rise in methamphetamine use is taking on the nation and its cities, the health effects can get especially ugly.

Rotting teeth, yellowed skin, drastic weight loss - these are some of the less serious consequences of long-term methamphetamine use.

Consider the term "meth mouth," which is used by the American Dental Association to describe the devastating effects on addicts' teeth and gums. The damage is caused by the combination of a number of drug-induced factors, including chronic dry mouth, extended periods of poor oral hygiene, frequent consumption of high calorie, carbonated beverages and tooth grinding and clenching. Some reports have also speculated that the acidic nature of the drug is a contributing factor.

Methamphetamine's toxic health effects on the human body have been well documented.

Dopamine-related neurons in the brain do not die after methamphetamine use, but their nerve endings are cut back, and regrowth appears to be limited, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Human brain imaging studies have shown alterations in the activity of the dopamine system associated with reduced motor speed and impaired verbal learning. Recent studies in chronic methamphetamine abusers have also revealed severe damage to areas of the brain associated with emotion and memory.

Studies have also shown that high doses of the drug can elevate body temperature to dangerous, sometimes lethal, levels as well as cause convulsions.

According to the California Department of Alcohol & Drug Programs, chronic meth use causes the body to essentially burn itself up. Use of methamphetamine can lead to heart failure, seizures, coma and death.

"Use causes permanent and irreversible damage," said District Attorney Todd Riebe. "The harm comes from what people cut this with. It's not in a concentrated form, it's cut with cleaners, all kinds of nasty stuff that's not good for your body."

Oftentimes, the medical costs associated with chronic meth use come to rest with the taxpayers.

According to Amador County Sheriff's Office Captain Ron Rockett, who is in charge of overseeing the operations at the county jail, medical services for inmates are provided by the California Forensic Medical Group, which has a contract with the jail. Outside surgical expenses, such as may be required for an inmate suffering the negative health effects of methamphetamine, are covered up to $15,000 per year. Once that amount is exceeded, county taxpayers end up paying even more.

Currently, 44.7 percent of the jail's housed inmates are listed as having drug charges and/or are drug offenders, he said.

"The majority of our current offenders were involved in the use of methamphetamine," Rockett said.

The jail's medical budget in 2005-06 was $324,498. The approved budget for 2006-07 is $400,252.

Yet despite the grotesque physical and psychological results, the drug can be a hard one to kick.

One Man's Story

John, who agreed to talk to the Ledger Dispatch on the condition that his identity not be revealed, first tried meth his senior year in high school.

"The first effect was 'this is awesome' - I had all kinds of energy, was sociable, outgoing, the life of party, more creative. I could stay up all night, all day, it made me everything I wanted to be," he said. "At least that was how I felt inside."

But the high quickly turned on him, and John went from having all the opportunities an affluent upbringing provides to ultimately living on the street and chasing his addiction.

"I could have done anything with my life," he said. "But I got to the point where all I wanted to do was do drugs."

John's hedonistic life alienated him from his family, causing him to lose his wife and his kids as a result of his drug abuse. The downward spiral continued, with John becoming suicidal and attempting to take his life four times, the last attempt leading to his incarceration and eventual recovery.

People Around the Addict

But it's not just the addict and his family who suffers.

"The financial impact of drugs is monumental," said Undersheriff Jim Wegner. "It touches so many aspects of society."

Wegner said the community often has to pay for the impacts, not just in the form of taxes, but in the increased cost for products and services from businesses and companies, which recoup losses from thefts, frauds and forgery by charging more.

Other negative impacts to the public result from the labs in which methamphetamine is manufactured. A brochure on clandestine drug labs from the Crime and Violence Prevention Center of the California Attorney General's Office described some of the dangers.

"Toxic chemicals, explosions, fires, booby traps, armed criminals - any of these can mean disaster for the people who inadvertently stumble onto the labs," it said. "Contact with the chemicals is extremely hazardous. Whether in their raw form or after they've been 'cooked' into finished drugs, touching these chemicals or just breathing their fumes can cause fainting, sickness or permanent injury."

The agencies impacted by methamphetamine abuse is a veritable laundry list that includes the criminal justice field, law enforcement agencies, the DA, probation, the public defender's office, the courts and corrections. Schools, social services, Child Protective Services, Adult Protective Services, Victim Witness and public health also feel the ripples, as well as assistance groups such as Operation Care, First 5 and the Domestic Violence Council.

According to Mathew Zanze, program manager at the Amador County Department of Social Services, the impact to social services is felt in a number of ways. There is the cost of placing children in foster care, payment for the social worker's time and substantial attorney fees.

Zanze said the number of meth-related cases has increased in past years. Currently, the court hears four to five new and ongoing meth-related CPS cases every week.

But perhaps the most devastating ramifications of methamphetamine abuse have to do with its impact on families.

According to Zanze, of the 31 children currently placed in out-of-home care, foster homes or homes of relatives, 14 were removed from parents who were using methamphetamine.

"Because of this drug, (they) were abusing or neglecting their children," he said. "It's a very destructive drug, it destroys families.

"The drug takes control over everything and the children are not a priority for the parents - being high is the priority," he added.

If a parent is using methamphetamine, money is spent on drugs that would otherwise be spent on food and clothing for the children. If the parent is arrested, the child is exposed to that as well.

Children have also been removed from homes with meth-addicted parents because the child had direct access to the drug or to paraphernalia such as needles. A few years ago, Zanze said a child less than 2 years old tested positive for methamphetamine.

He said the goal of CPS is to reunite children with their parents, but parents unable to kick the habit lose parental rights after 18 months.

Besides being consumed by their addiction, abusing meth can also bring out the destructive aspects of a person's character.

"One of the fallouts we see is that it plays a significant role in family violence," said Nina Machado, director of First 5 Amador. "Our program supports families with children age 0 to 5. One of the focus areas for our strategic plan has to do with family violence reduction."

First 5 Amador offers a safe exchange program and attorney voucher program in an effort to reduce such violence.

But if that violence isn't curbed, it can leave long lasting imprints. From his past experiences as a defense attorney, Riebe said he's seen the damage done to the children of meth addicts.

"Often kids who were acting up and getting in trouble had horrific home lives," he said, "One or both parents had an addiction to alcohol or drugs, usually the drug of choice was methamphetamine."

But meth's greatest crime may also be an immeasurable one.

"It comes out in juvenile court and family court," Riebe said. "We only get one snippet of people if they commit a crime. What we don't know is what happens at home, what happens at the schools of these kids."