Know Methamphetamine Awareness Day

Drug Free Communities of Fond du Lac County is joining
organizations across the state to recognize Friday as Methamphetamine Awareness
Day. As the drug becomes more prevalent in Wisconsin – Know Meth Awareness Day allows
the community to work together to fight the growing epidemic. Fond du Lac
Police Chief Bill Lamb says acknowledging a meth problem is a big step towards
making a change. 

Lamb tells us “awareness is a
huge part of prevention, and prevention, of course, is our absolute best
response to any type of drug epidemic. It’s something we found ourselves having
to deal with during the – as the heroin and opioid crisis was growing. Some
pockets more so than others, but we’re seeing an increase in that meth
availability, so again prevention and understanding what it’s about is
particularly important.”

He also points out that the heroin and opioid epidemic is still very much a problem they continue to address. But he also says there are risks to consider with the use of any drugs. 

Lamb says “we’re not going to see the overdoses that we do with opioids and heroin, but long term, meth is every bit as deadly and dangerous as heroin is. And it’s critical for parents to have these conversations with their kids.”

Another danger of methamphetamine is related to the labs used to cook it up. The ingredients – including things that can be found in alkaline batteries – can be volatile in the process of manufacturing meth. And Lamb says while explosive meth labs are not seen quite as often, use
of the drug is still on the rise. 

He explains that “over the
course of the last couple years, we’re seeing people buying meth from dealers
as opposed to several years ago – most of the meth we were seeing was being
cooked up in this area. So we’re not seeing as many dangerous labs, we’re still
encountering them from time to time, so it’s important that people understand
what to watch for where they might have that kind of activity occurring in
their neighborhood.”

Reports show that from 2011-2016, meth availability in Wisconsin increased
250-percent. Lamb encourages people to talk to their children and family
members about the risks of meth use. Anyone looking to learn about Know
Meth Awareness Day or Drug Free Communities should click here for more information.