Jim Runkle - Lock Haven Express
MILL HALL - In January 2009, just about a year after his election as Clinton County district attorney, Michael Salisbury offered a state of the union address suggesting unlike in other parts of the state, the extremely dangerous drug methamphetamine didn't have a commanding presence in Clinton County.
Things are changing.
Illegal drug use in all its forms remains a troubling, frayed end in the social fabric of rural life - but these days, there appears to be a dangerous new trend toward methamphetamine.
Sparked in part by the recent arrests and investigations into the manufacture of crystal methamphetamine in Lock Haven and Jersey Shore, local officials gathered Tuesday at Central Mountain High School to underline those dangers and offer important information to the public.
The event, sponsored by Advocates for a Drug Free Tomorrow, featured keynote speaker Phil Cusano, who's been on the forefront of the meth wars in Bradford County in recent years.
The panelists included local soldiers in the war against drug abuse, including Lock Haven Police Det. Charles Shoemaker, Pine Creek Township Police Chief David Winkleman, Salisbury, Clinton County Judge Craig Miller and White Deer Run Inc. Regional Director Jeb Bird, along with several Advocates in attendance.
Cusano, director of Bradford/Sullivan Drug and Alcohol Single County Authority since 1999, offered graphic before-and-after photographs of meth users depicting the rapid degradation of body and mind, and tolled the damage that occurred in that region before the public took a stand against the spread of meth labs.
From all the panelists, there was one central theme - You can make a difference.
Rural forested areas offer an attraction for individuals who can "cook" methamphetamine because of their secluded nature, Miller said.
Miller also pointed out hundreds of bear hunters and thousands of deer hunters are set to take to the woods in coming weeks. He urged those sportsmen to keep an eye out for indications of illegal activity, and to call 911 if they spot an illegal operation.
Salisbury said cooking operations in Clinton County and nearby have been sporadic thus far - and that's as it should be.
"I'm angry," Salisbury said. "You should be outraged that somebody from out of the area ... Florida ... comes to Clinton County and brings that junk here. We are being invaded by people who have no respect for Clinton County, for the law or for you."
Salisbury said prosecution of methamphetamine activity has become "the highest priority" of his office and the local Drug Task Force.
For possession, defendants can anticipate jail time. For delivery, they can expect "a lot of time in a state correctional facility." And for manufacture, "the world will come down on your head," Salisbury said. "There will be no compromise on this. When we prosecute for this drug, the gloves are off.
"We can't stop this without you," he added. "In the past couple of arrests, I can't tell you how many people came up to me afterward and said they suspected something was going on ... The time to call is when you suspect something."
Cusano said long-term meth users scar their own bodies, believing they have bugs on their arms, face or other body parts. Addicts can be explosively violent. They frequently loose their teeth due to the acidic nature of the drug, and because meth is an extreme appetite suppressant, weight loss, illness and infection are common.
First responders like police, firefighters and paramedics are particularly at risk, Cusano said, because chemicals used to produce meth are caustic, explosive and extremely hazardous.
As Shoemaker said, the recent arrests and the lengthy prison sentences that followed have sent a strong message to drug manufacturers who might consider Clinton County an ideal location for their efforts. He also echoed Salisbury's sentiments about the public's assistance.
"We heard a meth lab was operating somewhere in Clinton County, but we couldn't get anything on it ... until one concerned mother called us up," he said. "It was that one mother who broke the case for us and led to the raid on the lab in Lock Haven, and that arrest led us to another operation in Jersey Shore."
Shoemaker noted the task force he leads has seen many transitions from its creation in 1987, when investigators dealt primarily with marijuana and LSD. In the middle 1990s, activities shifted to cocaine, and from 2001 to 2003, the community was devastated by a major spike in heroin abuse, he said.
"This is the new trend," he said, "We may have nipped this in the bud in our community with these arrests. We were lucky. We heard the rumblings but were unable to locate the lab. On June 6, a mother called us with her concerns, and on June 6, we made arrests ... Not because of law enforcement, but because of a concerned parent."
Shoemaker said he suspects there are one, perhaps two potential lab operations of a small nature in Clinton County today, and "we hope to have a resolution to those shortly."
"There are one or two active cooks out there," Winkleman said, "and we are trying to push these people out of business. If you suspect something, please come forward."
Salisbury noted beginning next year, a dedicated phone line at the D.A.'s office will accept anonymous calls from citizens who want to help stop drug abuse in Clinton County.
Bird said treatment of addicts is problematic because the drug is extremely addictive and has incredibly harsh impacts on the mind and body. Even after short-term use, he said, users show symptoms comparable to dementia and have difficulty with basic living skills.
In the short term, anti-depressants have been successful, but in most cases, treatment arrives via the state corrections system, since the courts and Legislature take a harsh view of methamphetamine abuse and have set stiff penalties, Bird said. Ironically, he said, that's perhaps the best outcome, because the state system has more rehabilitative opportunities for inmates than the hard-pressed county prisons.
Jennifer Reeder, co-chair of the Advocates for a Drug Free Tomorrow and assistant director of West Branch Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission, said the Advocates were established as a community coalition in April 2003 when heroin and other opiates presented a threat to area residents. Those efforts have proven successful in a variety of ways.The damage crystal meth has left in its wake in communities similar to Clinton County, however, makes heroin pale by comparison, so the group decided to take a proactive approach in sponsoring the panel discussion, she said
