'Crystal Darkness' a can't-miss program for families

I usually don't talk about such high-profile situations as methamphetamine use, but having dealt with this epidemic personally as a homeless advocate and being exposed to motel visits and seeing the effect that meth has upon the children I served, I am pleading with you to watch a TV special that will air Tuesday.

"Crystal Darkness" is a 30-minute documentary featuring interviews with meth addicts and their families. When you see that young girl speak, you realize the direct effect it has on children.

If you think it doesn't affect you, I guarantee it will cost each of us in taxes for the jail time of those convicted, children being taken into custody, rehab, etc. This problem is out of control, and it will take our entire community to fight it.

A communitywide anti-meth coalition, spearheaded by Secret Witness, says the program is meant to teach our community about the dangerous drug and reach out to our children in an effort to prevent its spread. It's about being aware of what is truly happening in our neighborhoods.

"Crystal Darkness" will air on nearly every local channel at 7:30 p.m.

The following excerpts from a press release published Dec. 3 by the Nevada Division of Investigation gives a sense of the size of the problem:

"Investigators from the Nevada Division of Investigation's Tri-Net Task Force, in cooperation with Nevada and Montana jurisdictions, joined forces on Wednesday, Dec. 6, to secure evidence of a methamphetamine manufacturing and distribution organization.

"The investigation suggests that since February, the multi-state drug ring suspects are allegedly responsible for the manufacture and distribution of up to 60 pounds of pure meth with a street value of over a million dollars.

"The meth produced by the suspects is labeled 'pure' by investigators, who believe the drug commands prices up to $1000 per ounce. Investigators believe that the organization was purchasing and receiving huge quantities of the necessary meth-manufacturing ingredient, 'pseudoephedrine' from [two stores in Dayton and in Carson City].

"Investigative leads led to the Great Falls, Montana, area where officers from the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, Great Falls, Montana, Police Department and the Cascade County Sheriff's Office joined the case. Their participation in the bust has resulted in the service of fifteen initial warrants of arrest in residents of Nevada and Montana. Located in the searches were three clandestine meth laboratories in Ulm, Montana; Great Falls, Montana; and Dayton, Nevada.

"Up to 45 people have been implicated in the investigation. It is anticipated that the dismantling of this organization will disrupt the availability of methamphetamine in Western Nevada and Great Falls, Montana."

• To have your information included, contact Kim Riggs at kimriggs@att.net.