Students view hazards of meth - Prosecutor hoping to prevent youths from becoming addicted.

By Ben Ingram
press Staff Writer
bingram@johnsoncitypress.com

The effects of methamphetamine use were put on display for Daniel Boone High School’s senior class Wednesday in the hope of educating students on the dangers of the drug before any of them find out firsthand.
District Attorney General Joe Crumley said Daniel Boone was one of the 11 high schools in the area where he will present the “Meth Destroys” video in the coming year.

“If I can help at least one student by showing this video and answering a few questions, then it was worth it,” Crumley said, noting that methamphetamine cases are down this year.

Crumley told seniors that they were at a crossroads, some being 17 and others having already turned 18, and that they would all soon have to deal with adult decisions and adult consequences.

“This is a decision in which if you get involved in what you see on this video, you’ll have wrecked your life,” he said. “Methamphetamine use is a very serious, real problem.

“When the methamphetamine problem first came to light, a 26-year-old police officer in Middle Tennessee was disabled when she unknowingly walked into a meth lab and rubbed her hand across the carpet. The particles she breathed in destroyed half her lungs,” Crumley said.

The “Meth Destroys” presentation taught students that methamphetamine use and production is the worst problem facing law enforcement in the state.

Other parts of the presentation detailed the various consequences of methamphetamine use, including the paranoia people face when they become addicted to meth. Of the people depicted, Tennessean David Parnell became so paranoid of his wife and kids that he turned a gun on himself. His disfigured face served as notice of the uncontrollable aspects of methamphetamine addiction.

One of the more revealing parts of the presentation, an interview detailing the consumption and sale of urine by meth-addicted prisoners, had most in attendance wide-eyed as well as a bit disturbed.

Andrea Guinn, student body president, thought that the presentation couldn’t have gotten the point across any better had they actually been at the scene of the crime.

“I think any type of visual aid reaches the audience better than just a person talking about it,” Guinn said. “I believe this presentation definitely reached the audience.”

One of the aspects that particularly caught her attention was the 10-year-lifespan category addicts fall into.

“That really caught me off guard,” Guinn said. “The 10-year lifespan as well as the scabs that addicts make on their arms.”

Methamphetamine users often believe they contract “meth bugs,” when actually they have hallucinations of bugs crawling on and under their skin and will scratch themselves until they bleed.

“It’s extremely important these students know that meth is something you just can’t experiment with,” Crumley said. “By teaching them about meth and its effects, I hope to discourage them from ever trying this destructive drug.”