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CNN Live Today

The Meth Epidemic

Aired July 06, 2005 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at what's happening right now in the news. Cindy has been downgraded a short while ago to a tropical depression. The storm rolled ashore in Louisiana this morning, and then quickly slipped into Mississippi and Alabama. It's soaking the Deep South with as much as 10 inches of rain in places, flooding roads. Cindy's path takes it up the eastern seaboard.
President Bush arrived at the G-8 Summit site in Scotland this hour. He'll have dinner with Queen Elizabeth tonight. Two days of summit business get started tomorrow morning. Earlier in Denmark, the president found himself defending his Iraq policies and pledging to take his time on a Supreme Court nominee.

The military says it's wrapping up Operation Sword in western Iraq. The crackdown targets insurgents in the western city of Pitt (ph). The U.S. says, even though the operation is over, American troops will remain in that city indefinitely.

And the man who ran on the presidential ticket with Ross Perot in 1992 has died. Admiral James Stockdale drew laughter for his two- liner, "who am I? Why am I here?" during a debate. Stockdale was awarded the Medal of Honor for his service in Vietnam, where he was held as a POW for over seven years.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: On to another topic now. There's a new survey of sheriffs across the country. It finds that meth is now the top drug problem facing the majority of counties. I'm going to talk with a guest in just a moment about that survey. First, though, some meth facts for you. You can cook it up with simple household ingredients like cold medicine and drain cleaner for instance. It said that the drug causes an instant rush that may last all day, but it's highly addictive, and it can cause psychotic episodes, irregular heartbeat or stroke.

Authorities report more than 3,400 meth-related drug offenses in 2001, more than 12 million Americans admit that they have tried meth. A million considered themselves regular users, and some 7,500 meth labs were seized in the U.S. in 2002.

The meth epidemic is not just a big city crisis. It has infected rural America with unexpected consequences.

CNN correspondent Randi Kaye gives us a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's colorless; it's odorless and in very small amounts, it can give you a headache, make you sick or kill you.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It nearly killed Darien South. January, 2003, South, a volunteer fireman, responded to a routine call in Watauga County, North Carolina.

DARIEN SOUTH, FORMER FIREFIGHTER: I told my wife I didn't feel like getting up for anything more than a structure fire. I just wanted to get a good night's sleep. And 10 minutes later we got dispatched to a structure fire.

KAYE: South and his fellow firefighters had no idea this mobile home was also a meth lab, a place where addicts mix deadly chemicals with over the counter cold medicine to make methamphetamine. The cooking process is very volatile.

SOUTH: We followed every guideline, every state regulation that there was that we were to follow. And it was just like a snake jumped out and bit us.

KAYE: Six months earlier, the (INAUDIBLE) fire department had been trained how to identify dangerous meth lab fires. That night, South says there were no obvious signs meth was involved. Once the flames were out, South took off his breathing mask. A hot spot in the floor then caught his eye. He opened the crawl space and in an instant, a burst of hydrochloric acid gas burned through him.

What did it do to you that first time when you opened that...

SOUTH: It burned and it took my breath. I couldn't breathe. It was just like it shut my lungs down for a brief few seconds.

KAYE: But then you reopened it?

SOUTH: I went out and got my breath back and for some reason, I went back and opened it again.

KAYE: And then what?

SOUTH: The second time was almost fatal.

KAYE: What did your chest feel like?

SOUTH: Like it was on fire.

KAYE: South went into respiratory failure. His oxygen level plummeted. The ache in his head so severe he thought it would split open. Then, South started coughing up blood.

RENEE SOUTH, DARIEN'S WIFE: As the wife of a firefighter, that's your worst fear of having somebody show up at your door at 2:00 in the morning and that's exactly what happened.

KAYE: South spent six days in the hospital. SOUTH: It burnt all around my mouth, into my nostrils. I had blisters all over my face. It burnt through my nasal (INAUDIBLE) down through my windpipe, my esophagus. It stunned my epiglottis to where I couldn't eat. I'd choke if I tried to eat.

KAYE: South lost 50 percent of his lung capacity. His vision remains blurred, sinuses severely scorecard.

What kind of reputation has Watauga County earned when it comes to meth?

SHERIFF MARK SHOOK, WATAUGA CO, NC: We've been called ground zero. We've been called the county that never sleeps.

KAYE: That nickname comes from meth's speed-like qualities. A meth high can last for days. Users don't sleep. They don't eat either.

The Blue Ridge Mountains surrounding Watauga County are a popular destination for skiers. But in recent years, these same mountains have become a popular destination for meth users. They provide good cover for people cooking meth and because they're so remote, the strong fumes go unnoticed. In Watauga County, 34 meth labs were discovered last year and in the last two years, 27 emergency personnel were injured in meth lab fires.

JOHN MARTYNY, JEWISH MEDICAL RESEARCH CTR: A very, very short exposure can cause significant problems.

KAYE: Dr. John Martyny studies the effects of meth-related chemicals on first responders. He says half of law enforcement officers report respiratory problems after raiding a meth lab full of toxins.

MARTYNY: The levels were high enough that they would be considered by government agencies to be immediately dangerous to life and health. They're that high.

KAYE: South's experience taught every fireman running into a burning house in Watauga County to wear a breathing mask and not to remove that mask too quickly. Now, every fire here is treated like a meth lab fire. South can still play ball with his son, but his stamina isn't close to what it was. He takes medication and carries an inhaler.

RENEE SOUTH: I would wake up and hear him wheezing or gasping for air and I would always reach over and (INAUDIBLE) make sure that he was OK because I never knew if he was going to start stop breathing or what.

KAYE: This past January, two years after the fire, Darien South was finally strong enough to start work again, a desk job at the district attorney's office. On his way to and from his job at the courthouse, he drives by the scene of the fire and thanks God for keeping him alive that night. SOUTH: I give him the credit. He's the reason I'm still living. I guess I've got a purpose left. He's got something left for me to do.

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Watauga County, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Let's find out more about this problem and what needs to be done. Larry Naake is the executive director of the National Association of Counties, and he joins me from Washington this morning talking about his group's survey on the meth crisis.

Good morning.

LARRY NAAKE, NATL. ASSOC. OF COUNTIES: Good morning to you.

KAGAN: So you're saying for many communities across America, meth is a bigger problem than pot?

NAAKE: Absolutely. We conducted a survey after hearing from our country officials around the country that this is a growing epidemic in counties not only in the West, but in the Midwest, the South and the Southeast.

We conducted a survey. It shows show that 58 percent of the counties said that was a more significant problem, the meth problem was a more significant problem than cocaine, or marijuana or heroin.

KAGAN: And it's not just the drugs and people doing the drugs, but the crimes that are associated with the people who do the drugs.

NAAKE: Exactly. We also found that 87 percent of the 500 counties responding to this survey said that their meth-related arrests have increased significantly over the last three years, and continue to increase.

KAGAN: So this is an administration that is dedicated to fighting the war on drugs, but is there a disconnect, do you think, between what federal officials want to offer and the battle lines of local communities that are having to fight a different type of battle?

NAAKE: Well, I think what we found from our county officials who are on the frontlines out there is that methamphetamine is a much more serious problem than marijuana is, and we're not saying to the administration that you don't need to pay attention to the marijuana problem, but we want to raise the level of understanding of the issue and the epidemic proportions of this methamphetamine issue so that the administration and the Congress will pay greater attention to this issue that is on the frontlines in our counties and in our communities all over the country.

KAGAN: Well, this might get their attention, how kids are innocent victims of adults using this drug.

NAAKE: Absolutely. What we're seeing is that there are significant increases in what are called out of home placements, either putting children in foster homes or in children's homes because of the use of meth in their families. For instance, in California, 71 percent of county said they've seen significant increases. In Colorado 70 percent said they had seen significant increases. And nationwide about 40 percent of the responding counties have indicated significant increases in out-of-home placements.

KAGAN: And so what needs to be done, bottom line?

NAAKE: Well, we need to do a number of things. The first thing we need to do is raise the awareness and the focus of the administration and the Congress here in Washington, D.C.

Second, we need some comprehensive federal legislation that will attack this problem in a comprehensive way that looks at the legal aspects, it looks at the medical aspects, looks at the environmental aspects, which you've shown in your program, and looks at the social aspects.

We also need to restore $804 million in funding for the Justice Assistance Grant Program, which was cut out of the administration's budget as they sent it up to the Hill. We need to restore that funding because it's used for drug task forces all over the country. So these are a number of the things that we think we need to do.

KAGAN: There's a lot of work to be done. We wish you well.

NAAKE: Thank you.

KAGAN: Barry Naake, thank you.

Want to go back to a developing story, this one taking place in Auchterarder, Scotland.

This is the area just outside of Gleneagles, where the G8 summit is set to take place. A number of protesters, and our Matthew Chance is there covering it -- Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Daryn.

In the past few moments, (INAUDIBLE) just outside the Gleneagles Hotel where the G-8 summit is taking place. And this has just officially turned violent, because riot police have come out with batons, and shields and dogs, and they're chasing through the fields these protesters who have made their way away from their route toward the Gleneagles Hotel.

(INAUDIBLE). You can see them wearing helmets and their visions down, their batons drawn, pushing back the crowds that have penetrated those (INAUDIBLE) earlier on. And pushing them back into the fields to try to put some distance between those protesters and the steel barricades that has been placed around the perimeter of the Gleneagles Resort, where the G-8 summit is being held. Protesters attempting to penetrate that, trying to get their voices hear, they say, to get their agendas of solving global poverty, solving global warming and issues like that on the agenda of the G-8 (INAUDIBLE) something that's already a fact anyway -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Matthew, the area where these protesters are, before it even turns violent, is it an area that the leaders will ever even see them, or are they being kept out of sight?

CHANCE: I think they'll be out of sight from here. We're still at least a mile away from the gates of Gleneagles itself, and we'll be able to see what's happening outside as they switch on their television sets of course. If they look out the windows (INAUDIBLE), they won't be able to see. The scene (INAUDIBLE) right now, because police in Gleneagles, the hotel that was chosen for the location of this summit, it's because it is very remote in the Scottish (INAUDIBLE). A big security cordon has been placed at least a mile away from the gates of Gleneagles, and that's (INAUDIBLE) we're witnessing this confrontation now between protesters and the police.

KAGAN: Matthew Chance for Auchterarder, Scotland, the area where the protesters are on the eve of the G-8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.

Back in the yellow, but can Lance Armstrong stay ahead of the pack in the Tour De France? We'll talk about that and see how he's doing today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's check out the Tour De France today. A fierce fight in the sixth stage is finally over. Australian Robbie McEwen has just won stage five. American rider Lance Armstrong still leads the race and retains the race leader's yellow jersey.

My next guest has studied Lance, the Tour De France and the world of competitive cycling. Basically if it has wheels and spokes, Dave Shields is the guy to talk to. He is the author of "The Race: A Novel of Grit, Tactics and Tour De France," and he joins me from Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dave great to have you here.

DAVE SHIELDS, AUTHOR, "THE RACE": It's great to be back, Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's talk about Lance and this yellow jersey. So he gets it yesterday, could have worn it today, but chose not to. Why not?

SHIELDS: Well, he actually ended up wearing it today. He wasn't going to wear it in the beginning, but then they told him that he had to, so he put it on. He didn't want to wear it out of respect for Dave Zabriskie, who turned in an unbelievable performance on the first day of the race, was in the yellow jersey, and then yesterday had a devastating crash. I talked to Dave's mom yesterday, and he is just heartbroken.

KAGAN: Was he able to ride today?

SHIELDS: David did ride today. Despite a lot of injuries, it turned out he didn't have any broken bones. That's a very exciting thing for American cycling. That kid, he is the real deal.

KAGAN: I want to talk about today. I feel a little kind of funny doing this, because I know some people into Tour De France. They tape it, or they're going to watch it later tonight when it comes on at 8:00. So for those people who aren't, let's talk about what happened today. What did you watch for today with stage five.

SHIELDS: Today was another sprint stage. That's how the race begins, with a lot of these stages that are really more designed to just tire the legs out, get the adrenaline going and sort the crowd out. So it doesn't result in a lot of differences in the finish. It was a big sprint finish. It was another hard stage, put miles in the legs.

KAGAN: What are you seeing from Lance Armstrong so far that you like?

SHIELDS: Well, he was unbelievable on the prologue. It actually wasn't a prologue this year, it was a full-blown time trial stage. But to put one minute into all of his rivals -- the only other guy on the same planet as him was Dave Zabriskie. Those two guys were just miles above everybody else.

KAGAN: And besides his age and all the pressure of going for a seventh consecutive win, anything to be concerned about? Besides those two little things?

SHIELDS: I would just say that there's -- he's had an incredible string of good luck. Now, good luck as the result of preparation, but you saw yesterday, Dave was very prepared. He went down. So that hasn't happened to Lance too much. He's recovered from what he's had. So anything can happen, but he sure looks good. He looks incredibly strong. His spirits look good. His motivation looks very high.

KAGAN: OK, we'll be watching. And we'll certainly have you back over the next two and half weeks.

SHIELDS: OK, good to look forward to it.

KAGAN: Dave Shields, thank you for your expertise.

We're going to talk health just ahead. The truth about vitamin E and heart disease in women. Details on an important new health study. It's coming up in our "Daily Dose" segment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Turns out an aspirin a day or every other day may not keep cancer away. Senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the details in our "Daily Dose" of health news.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Several smaller studies in the past looking specifically at the association between low-dose aspirin, vitamin E, and the possible reduction of things like heart disease and possible specific types of cancers, as well. Again, smaller studies in the past showing there might be some reduction in these sorts of things. So researchers decided to put it to a larger test.

In one of the largest tests to date, 40,000 healthy women followed over 10 years. They were given on separate days either vitamin E, low-dose aspirin and simply a placebo. Specifically, low- dose aspirin means 100 milligrams of aspirin and 600 international units of vitamin E. Those are the specifics.

Here's what they found. Specifically, again, when it comes to reducing the risk of cancer, they found the vitamin E nor the low-dose aspirin, neither one of them seemed to reduce the cancer risk. Looking specifically at cancers like breast, colon and lung cancer. Also, when it came to preventing heart disease, again, no good news there, either. The vitamin E and low-the dose aspirin did not appear to prevent heart attacks. Again, this is in healthy women between the ages of 45 and 65.

Now, there is good news in all of this. When they looked specifically at some of the study, they found that the women were getting some benefit from taking low-dose aspirin in terms of the reduction of stroke risk. Again, stroke risk may be benefited from low-dose aspirin. And they found that women who are 65 and older appeared to get benefit from both strokes and heart attacks by taking the low-dose aspirin.

Really, the bottom line when it comes to this is if you're taking vitamin E and/or aspirin to try and reduce your risk of cancer or heart attack and you're a healthy woman, it's probably not going to provide you much benefit. So there are other options you should possibly try.

A lot of people ask specifically about men. Now, the vitamin E trial on men has not been concluded yet. But here's something interesting. The low-dose aspirin does appear to have some benefit in terms of reducing the risk of heart attacks in men, but not strokes. So in women, you get benefit in terms of strokes, but not heart attacks. In men, heart attacks, but not strokes.

Best advice for women out there who are paying attention is probably the same advice you've heard over and over again. It really does work. Stick to a healthy diet, exercise as much as you can. Don't smoke. That's probably the single most important piece of advice I can give you today. And get screened. Get screened early. These are the time-proven techniques to try and reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer. Good luck.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that's going to do it for us. I'm Daryn Kagan. International news is up next. Stay tuned for "YOUR WORLD TODAY." Jim Clancy and Zain Verjee will be with you after a quick break, and I'll see you tomorrow morning. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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