NEST
THE OVERWHELMING NEED
Perhaps no single problem affects Hunt County more than Methamphetamine abuse. Methamphetamine is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol. It is taken orally, intranasally (snorting the powder), by needle injection, or by smoking.
According to the National Institute on Drug Addiction, meth prompts the release of the brain chemical “norepinephrine”. This chemical is naturally triggered by a stressful event to raise heart rate and energy. Meth also drastically increases the release and blocks the re-uptake of the brain chemical (or neurotransmitter) dopamine, leading to high levels of the chemical in the brain. Dopamine in turn is involved in reward, motivation, the experience of pleasure, and motor function.
Methamphetamine’s ability to release dopamine rapidly in reward regions of the brain produces an intense euphoria. In other words, it simply makes people intensely happy. After such a “release” of chemicals in the brain, those chemicals may be temporarily depleted. The meth user then often feels equally intense unhappiness.
Once characterized as a “drug for the poor”, Methamphetamine has now permeated every segment of our population. . Although there are still local “cooks”, we believe that most of the methamphetamine used in Hunt County comes from so called “superlabs”, typically in Mexico. A great deal of our “local” meth, comes through the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex area. There are a few levels of distribution, but Methamphetamine users typically become Methamphetamine dealers at some point, usually to support their habit.
Methamphetamine addiction is accompanied by literal changes in the brain. Some of these changes often persist long after methamphetamine use is stopped. This creates an overwhelming craving for the drug that causes users to do whatever it takes to obtain that “feeling” again. They may steal from their family and abandon their children. They may commit burglaries or thefts simply to trade the stolen merchandise to a dealer or “middle-man” to obtain more drugs.
According to the NIDA, methamphetamine abuse has many negative health consequences, including extreme weight loss, severe dental problems (”meth mouth”), anxiety, confusion, insomnia, mood disturbances, and violent behavior. Chronic methamphetamine abusers can also display a number of psychotic features, including paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and delusions (for example, the sensation of insects crawling under the skin).
The intoxicating effects of methamphetamine, regardless of how it is taken, can alter judgment and inhibition and can lead people to engage in unsafe behaviors, including risky sexual behavior. Again according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, here is a comparison to make the picture even clearer. Sexual Intercourse generally doubles the brain’s dopamine release, and cocaine roughly triples it. Meth, on the other hand, triggers a dopamine release that is about twelve times the normal level.
There is also a high cost of Methamphetamine abuse for the community. I hesitate to words like “epidemic” or “rampant”, but Methamphetamine use is very prevalent in Hunt County, and even more so in South Hunt County. It is at the core of most of the burglaries that are committed. The vast majority of individuals are not stealing to eat or pay their rent; they are most often stealing to feed an insatiable desire for the “rush” that the drugs bring. That “rush” is fleeting and increasingly harder to attain…so the cycle continues.
WHAT HAVE WE DONE SO FAR
While some may believe otherwise, the Sheriff’s Office fight with Illegal Gambling Establishments was and is also about drugs. I have literally interviewed people who were introduced to Methamphetamine use as a result of “hanging out” at the “gamerooms”. While not every establishment was a haven for criminals, the lure of easy money and illegal activity attracted an “interesting” crowd to say the least.
We have attempted to educate ourselves by interviewing countless drug users and assembling information about the “meth world” in Hunt County. We have attempted to educate others as well. The Hunt County Sheriff’s Office in partnership with Dr. LaVelle Hendricks, Student Affairs Coordinator and Assistant Professor at Texas A&M Commerce, have begun chemical dependency courses targeting inmates who are drug users. To date, approximately 50 individuals have taken advantage of this opportunity or are presently enrolled in this six week course.
It is now time for a targeted effort.
WHAT WE PLAN TO DO NOW
A simple look at the math will make it obvious to the wise why it is difficult to combat the burglaries that occur in the rural areas of our County. If you divide the number of Deputies into 4 shifts, and then divide that number by the 882 square miles, you will begin to see the “big picture”. By comparison, the city of Greenville Police Department has several more Police Officers than the Sheriff’s Office has Deputies, and they cover only 34 square miles. When you “do the math” again, the bottom line equals way more in taxes than you or I could ever pay. So what can we do?
Although we may not have all the manpower we’d like to successfully attack the symptom (burglaries), we have plenty of manpower to focus on the cause (Methamphetamine use).
For the next several weeks the Sheriff’s Office will do just that. We will focus an inordinate amount of our efforts in the locations and on the individuals believed to be a part of the “meth world”. We are then planning to reach out to other law enforcement agencies for help as we aggressively move in to these neighborhoods.
We are reaching out to you for help as well.
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
If there is an area, residence or individual you believe is actively participating in the drug trade, we’d like to know about it. You can log on to www.friendsofthesheriff.com and click on the link with the NEST graphic. You can then return a form. You need not leave any identifying information. We’ll take it from there. Then keep your eyes open, you may even have a chance to witness this effort in action in a couple of weeks and continuing to the end of the month.
Information cards will be distributed in several County schools, and will be available from any Hunt County Deputy. Persons providing any information will remain anonymous. If you have any information on the use and sales of Methamphetamine in Hunt County, we want to hear from you.
Talk to your kids. Do the research, learn everything you can learn. Join a local crime watch group and the Friends Of The Sheriff. Be vigilant and be informed.
So far as we can tell, this is an unprecedented effort here in Hunt County. However, no one at the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office is laboring under any false belief that we can eradicate this problem entirely. But we must do “something”, and we may do that “something” over and over again. Please join us as we channel the energy of the struggle against illegal gambling in the direction of those who would sell drugs to our children, then break in our homes and steal our belongings. And just what does NEST stand for? Well that, we just can’t tell you.
