5400 Federal Plaza
Suite 1500
Hammond, IN 46320
219.937.5500
Whether it's methamphetamine or any other illegal drug, children's involvement in the drug environment is inevitable. Most drug abusers do not see life clearly due to drugs causing them to have an altered state of mind. Drug abusers care about one thing and one thing only, how to get their next high. For this reason, more and more of the drug is required, causing the user to think about nothing else other than taking the drug. Drugs become a way of life for the individual, causing him or her to lose grips on whatever normal life they may have had before the drug abuse started. Drug abusers will lie, cheat, steal, threaten, beat, endanger, and kill their own family members just so they can continue to feel the euphoria brought on by the illegal narcotic.
Unfortunately, children are most at risk in illegal drug environments, especially methamphetamine labs. Chemical contamination caused from substances such as: red devil lye (drain cleaner), anhydrous ammonia, iodine, muriatic acid, paint thinner, acetone, red phosphorus, lithium, etc. can cause death or serious illnesses in a full grown adult. A child who is still in the developmental stages of their life cycle is especially at risk. All of the chemicals listed above can and will emit toxic fumes into the environment when the drug is made. If the chemicals are mixed incorrectly, they could explode causing debris and corrosive chemicals to go through the air, starting fires and presenting other hazards to young children.
Children in meth labs are not only subject to toxic chemicals and vapors but also other dangers caused by individuals only interested in getting high and protecting their investment. Children may be exposed to pornographic images or open sexual activity between the drug abusers. The children themselves may be forced to perform sexual acts with the adults. They may also be forced to help the drug abusers make the drug. Children of these drug homes can be exposed to a filthy environment that is infested with insects or animals that carry disease or cause infections. The children could be exposed to HIV and other deadly diseases due to the user leaving needles lying around or sexually abusing the child. Children have been known to sleep in beds without sheets on filthy mattresses in homes without air conditioning, heat or running water. Toilets, bathtubs and sinks may be backed up or unusable due to the user disposing of meth waste by-products that are corrosive, toxic and flammable in the plumbing. In meth labs, there are guns, booby traps, attack dogs and other items hazardous to a child's health. Refrigerators used for storing baby bottles and food will store toxic chemicals used for producing the drug or store the drug itself.
Parents addicted to meth endure physical, psychological and emotional trauma that will be inflicted on their children. After time a child will accept the trauma and conditions they live in as a norm. Without proper intervention and counseling, the children could assume the role of their parents because they see it as a way of life.
Click below to read an Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) June 2003 Bulletin directly related to the above topic.
PDF document (File Size 369kb)
(Note: PDF files require the FREE Acrobat Reader.) 
Below is a list of useful websites related to victims of crime and drug endangered children.
Indiana Criminal Justice Institute Meth Awareness
Riverside County Drug Endangered Children Program
Arizona Drug Endangered Children Program
