Marion County needs to develop protocols for helping drug-endangered children exposed to meth use.
Those of us who don't understand the appeal of methamphetamine manufacture and use need to realize that intentional users are not the only ones whose lives are put in danger by that lifestyle. As disturbing as meth's effect on those who purposefully use and abuse it, the potential threat to innocent children who live in these households should outrage us-and spur us to help them, if we can.
It's hard to gauge how widespread the meth culture is in Marion County, but, as our Page 1 story reports, the residual effect can be deadly long after the abusers have left the scene. The time it takes for the chemical threats to dissipate in a home environment is measured in "half-lifes," a chilling parallel to the way the deterioration of a radioactivity is measured.
