Meth's Victims: It's not just the users
It's hard enough to be a kid these days. Even harder is the life of a child exposed to methamphetamine production in their early years.
It is estimated that children are present during 30-35 percent of methamphetamine laboratory seizures. While the long-term health effects are not yet clear, exposure to the chemicals used to produce methamphetamine causes immediate damage to their respiratory and circulatory systems; chemical burns; ingestions, absorption, or injection of drugs or chemicals. Children's bodies absorb these chemicals at a faster rate than adults because of their higher metabolism and rapid growth cycle.
Because of children's natural curiosity and physiology, they are especially vulnerable to the dangers of the meth lifestyle: exposure to second-hand smoke, possibly being pricked by a needle or absorbing the drug and toxins through skin. "The age-related behaviors of young children (such as frequent hand-to-mouth contact and physical contact with their environment) increase the likelihood that they will inhale, absorb or ingest toxic chemicals, drugs or contaminated food," a Justice Department report stated. The babies exposed to methamphetamine exhibit tight muscles, adversity to touch and extreme fatigue, according to Dr. Rizwan Shah at Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa. Sometimes they have trouble eating because they don't have enough coordination to learn to suck and swallow milk or formula. When children get older, they often demonstrate hyperactivity and difficulty with speech and language. A large amount of methamphetamine used during pregnancy has caused babies to die in the womb from massive strokes or heart attacks.
In addition to the appalling physical effects, there are psychological effects of growing up in a methamphetamine lab. According to research by California State University, methamphetamine interrupts relationships and encourages violence more than cocaine does. The environments themselves are frequently so dangerous that simply allowing a child to live there constitutes child endangerment. Substance abuse also affects the caregiver's ability to parent, placing the child at additional risk for abuse and neglect. It has been shown that a large portion (80 - 90%) of caretakers involved in the child welfare system for child abuse issues have substance abuse as one of the major personal issues that they face. Substance abuse is believed to cause or exacerbate 7 out of 10 cases of child abuse and neglect. In fact, children whose parents abuse drugs and alcohol are three times more likely to be abused and four times more likely to be neglected exposure to drug lifestyle; neglect or inconsistent parenting interferes with children's cognitive, emotional, and social development.
Children found during lab seizures have had to watch their parents being taken away by authorities. They have often been forced to participate in the drug use activities of their parents or caregivers - one case study indicates a child reporting passing the drug from person to person during their parents' parties. One clandestine lab was discovered when a four-year-old drew pictures of his parent's production equipment while at day care. Older children (as young as six years old) are often deprived of their own childhood by having to care for younger siblings in the home, as well as care for their parents while they are using the drug.
Fortunately, the heinousness of involving children in such activities has not escaped the attention of law enforcement authorities. In March 1998, the Fourth District Court of Appeals ruled that manufacturing methamphetamine is an inherently dangerous felony for the purpose of second-degree felony-murder rule. This case sparked legislation that added prison enhancements for the presence of children at methamphetamine labs. As of January 1998, defendants found guilty of manufacturing methamphetamine in the presence of children under 16 face a 2-year prison enhancement. The methamphetamine producer can expect an additional 5-year penalty enhancement when a child is injured as a result of the methamphetamine production process.
In 2004, Oklahoma made pseudoephedrine a Schedule 5 drug, allowing it to be sold only by pharmacists and requiring the purchaser to sign a log of receipt. In a year, the number of meth labs dropped by some 80 percent, according to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Control. Several other states have adopted similar legislation, and many retail companies have voluntarily restricted access to pseudoephedrine.
But what about the current and future welfare of the children? The manufacture and use of methamphetamine presents a plateful of social, child welfare, environmental, criminal justice, and economic challenges, all begging to be addressed at the same time. Children return time and again to their unsafe, unstable homes because of lack of available intervention resources. Lack of communication and sometimes-unclear jurisdictional parameters existed among law enforcement, social services, and health care providers have added to the problem.
In San Diego County, the district attorney's office used the successful Jurisdictions Unified for Drug/Gang Enforcement (JUDGE) program as an umbrella organization and model to launch the Drug Endangered Children (DEC) program in January 1998. This program, replicated in thirteen states, addresses a multidisciplinary approach. DEC models social workers and health care providers joining with police officers in helping children involved in methamphetamine arrests. Officers complete forms that describe and document the conditions and hazards present in the home or at the lab site. The forms also direct officers to interview children and collect evidence for endangerment prosecution. Moreover, the deputy district attorney assigned to the team can assist police officers in their investigations and prosecute these cases, including child endangerment charges if warranted. The program allows officers and social workers to use their collective experience to work together on a joint mission - removing children from dangerous environments.
DEC state-based task forces were developed with the support of the National DEC and the funding of several federal agencies in October of 2003. DEC's partners are as follows: U.S. Department of Justice, The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The following are goals of the National DEC:
The National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children advocates intervention on behalf of these children and urges communities to build collaborative, effective teams to provide coordinated services and support for these child victims. These teams include first responders, child protective services, law enforcement, medical and mental health professionals, prosecutors and county attorneys, child advocates, substance abuse treatment providers, and other community leaders, as well as the general public. Upon removal from a dangerous environment, drug endangered children need the immediate attention of child welfare services and assessment by medical and mental health professionals. If parents have endangered children, their actions may necessitate prosecution, termination of parental rights or court supervision of family reunification. DEC teams seek the long-term goal of providing safe, supportive and drug-free environments which permit children to prosper.
For more information on drug-endangered children or how to start a DEC team in your state, visit http://www.nationaldec.org