It taps police resources and drains social service hours.

It rips apart families.

It steals from businesses and friends, alike.

It can have deadly consequences, whether a slow death by rotting the insides of victim-addicts, or a bullet to their heads.

It - methamphetamine - is plaguing the Wabash Valley not unlike an epidemic disease that spreads rapidly and randomly among a given populace.

But the Valley, true to its nature, is fighting back.

Shedding its dubious title of methamphetamine lab capital of Indiana - a No. 1 ranking it had shouldered for the past two years - Vigo County came in No. 2 in statewide drug lab seizures for 2002, totaling 105 to Vanderburgh County's 133, according to Indiana State Police statistics.

Drug lab busts throughout the state totaled 988 in 2002 and have shown a steady increase - attributed to usage, geography and police crackdowns - the last several years. Lab seizures in Vigo County increased fourfold in a two-year span, from 1999 to 2001. Those numbers mirrored statewide lab busts, which more than quadrupled during that same time period.

Methamphetamine use along the banks of the Wabash River is prevalent and persistent - but no more so than efforts to combat its use, treat its users and educate the public on its consequences.

The Tribune-Star has spent months delving into the Valley's methamphetamine problem and has readied a report on its impact. METHod of Madness, a comprehensive series of stories slated to begin publication Jan. 19, examines the history the drug; its effects on users, families, business and society; treatment options; and awareness efforts.

One inmate, whose incarceration stemmed from meth charges, wrote to us from prison, "I think if they didn't catch me I would be dead by now. At the end, I was looking forward to dying. I wanted to die. Hell, I was a needle junkie. How much lower could I go?"

The question remains: How much lower can we sink into methamphetamine's quagmire before we collectively climb out?

METHod of Madness

Day 1: An overview of methamphetamine in the Wabash Valley, which will include the history of the drug here, the scope of its reach and candid interviews with users and dealers serving time behind bars.

Day 2: Impact of methamphetamine on law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Coverage will include step-by-step action by Drug Task Force and Special Response Team members during an actual meth lab bust.

Day 3: Methamphetamine's impact on health and the medical community, including a candid interview with a user.

Day 4: The business of meth, highlighting its effect on the workplace, the precursor market and businesses which are inadvertently part of the process.

Day 5: Meth's impact on children and families, part of which focuses on the story of one young mother who missed her daughter's first steps and was behind bars when the child had her first birthday.

Day 6: Treatment options for meth addicts and Drug Court, where towing the line can produce a positive outcome.

Day 7: Education and awareness, including neighbors who became so frustrated at the meth trade in their neighborhood that they formed a watch group.