Has anyone heard about this?
>Carlson: Meth poisoning of 3 babies raises concerns of more cases
>By JOHN CARLSON <mailto:[log in to unmask]: Carlson:
>Meth poisoning of 3 babies raises concerns of more cases>
>Register Columnist
>12/02/2001
>
>Estherville, Ia. - You think you're beyond shock, or even surprise, as this
>strange year nears its end.
>Then you hear a rural Iowa prosecutor tell the story of three children in
>postcard-pretty Estherville who have been poisoned by methamphetamine.
>The kids - babies actually - tested positive for the addictive,
>brain-shredding drug solely because they had the bad luck to spend time
>around their mommies, daddies and whatever creeps were invited into the
>house for meth parties.
>We're not talking three kids from one household. It's not just one set of
>loser parents.
>No, these are children from three separate, unrelated families, all removed
>from their homes by authorities in the same month in a town of 6,720
>people.
>All three are younger than 18 months.
>"It's very upsetting," said Rosalise Olson, an assistant Emmet County
>attorney, who worked to have the babies removed from their homes. "It makes
>you wonder how prevalent this sort of thing is, and as far as I know,
>nobody
>has any answers."
>So-called "crack babies," infants born to crack-addicted mothers, are
>well-documented. Even "meth babies" are being studied to determine how
>women's use of meth during pregnancy affects newborns.
>But children who are physically harmed by meth simply because they are
>around users is a fairly new issue.
>So how did these particular Emmet County children come to have the drug in
>their bodies?
>Olson said investigators are reasonably certain one child ingested it
>through breast milk. Another is believed to have been exposed to
>second-hand
>meth smoke. Authorities believe the third came into contact with the drug,
>possibly picking it up off a table.
>Before, neglect seemed to be the greatest danger to children of meth-using
>parents. Now, we find there is a risk of severe and possibly permanent
>physical harm just by being around users.
>"There's no way to know for sure, but I'm told those children could be
>damaged forever," Olson said.
>Dr. Rizwan Shah, a Des Moines doctor who is nationally prominent in the
>study of meth's effect on children, is familiar with the Emmet County
>cases.
>While she can't predict the long-term effects on those particular babies,
>there is evidence to show environmental exposure is potentially deadly.
>"The harm is more severe if a child is under six months," Shah said. "That
>is a time of active brain development. And because of the immaturity of the
>respiratory system, a child under six months may have difficulty breathing
>and could go into convulsions. They may cry continuously for three or more
>hours, because of the drug's effect on the brain."
>Children between the ages of 1 and 3 have been known to ingest the powdered
>form of meth as well as inhaling smoke. It can affect a child's brain,
>respiratory and digestive systems.
>"The child can be hyperactive along with tremors of the arms and feet,"
>Shah
>said. "There can be convulsions, panting and rapid breathing. The child's
>blood pressure can be very high, making a stroke possible."
>She said most symptoms don't last beyond six to eight hours. Blood
>pressure,
>however, can be elevated for up to 24 hours.
>Can it kill a kid?
>"Yes, certainly," Shah said. "The high blood pressure, the convulsions, the
>rapid breathing. A child could die."
>Breast milk from a meth user is particularly dangerous, the doctor said.
>The
>drug is concentrated in the milk, which is directly taken into the body of
>the infant.
>Such as one of the cases in Estherville.
>Not to single out Estherville. It's just one of dozens of Iowa communities,
>large and small, where some people kill time making and using meth.
>Jerry Nelson of the state's Division of Narcotics Enforcement had to think
>for a second when asked about the latest numbers on meth lab busts in Iowa.
>"Let's see," Nelson said. "Three last night. Two today. Planning on hitting
>five more. We're probably looking at 500 by the end of the year."
>That's not including all the abandoned or vacant sites that were
>dismantled.
>The 500 are just the ones where authorities have somebody to prosecute.
>Even with the millions of dollars dedicated to fighting the drug, nobody
>can
>say precisely how many undetected labs are out there, or how many meth
>users
>are among us.
>It's kind of like trying to guess how many rats are crawling through the
>sewers. But you can bet it's in the tens of thousands, and there is a loose
>profile of the typical Iowa meth user.
>"I'd say they tend to be young adults in their mid-20s to mid-30s," said
>Dale Woolery of the governor's Office on Drug Control Policy.
>That means the people most likely to use meth are the prime age to have
>young children around the house.
>How many children of the thousands of Iowa meth users are having their
>bodies torn apart because their parents use the drug?
>We could be talking about 10,000 kids. Or 20,000. Or more.
>"It's important that people understand this is happening to children,"
>Olson
>said.
>The users, many of whom probably haven't a clue the harm they're doing to
>their own kids, should know. Assuming it would matter to them. Olson is
>talking about relatives, friends and neighbors who know children are in a
>house where meth is used.
>"That's how we found out about the three kids in Emmet County," she said.
>"Somebody was concerned, made a phone call to the Child Abuse Hotline and
>there was an investigation. A judge convened a hearing, heard evidence and
>ordered the children be taken out of that situation."
>No criminal charges have been filed against any parents in connection with
>the three infants" exposure to the drug. Yet.
>"The babies are in foster homes," Olson said. "Thank goodness for that. But
>this is just three kids in one county."
>And Iowa's meth problem rolls along, with the children, as usual, paying
>the
>greatest price.
>
>
>Alexis Martin Neely
>Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
>355 South Grand Avenue
>Los Angeles, CA 90071
>office: 213-683-9220
>fax: 213-683-5120
>
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