The story was actually about the fact that most of these people are insured, which is creating a huge burden on healthcare costs for the rest of us, and is actually causing some burn units to close.

What about people who are burned when being caught in house fires, or even fighting them. Can you imagine living in an area which no longer had a burn unit to help people who were burned while doing something legal?

The burns from methamphetamine are usually caused by explosions while making it. The method is called “shake-and-bake.” The raw ingredients are put into a 2 liter soda bottle and shaken. But the mixture is very unstable and if not done absolutely correctly can explode.

The explosions can cause permanent disfigurement, blindness, and death.

The damage is also reflected in the cost for each burn patient – an average of $130,000 each, 60 percent higher than other burn patients. Burn experts estimate the cost to the taxpayer at 10s to 100s of millions of dollars. They can’t get a closer estimate because someone burned by meth often lies about what happened.

Another problem with this method of making meth is that, unlike big labs, someone making it is hard to find. Big labs required quite a bit of equipment and the chemicals could be smelled all over the neighborhood.

But they are making their presence known in hospitals. From 1999 to 2009, there were 83 meth related injuries in Indiana. Thanks to shake-and-bake ‘labs’, there have been 70 injuries in the last two years. A big change.

One of the doctors in a burn center in Iowa said that many of the meth lab burn patients won’t be able to return to a normal life. They’ll need rehab and occupational therapy to cope with their disfigured body.

There are a lot of people who have a pretty casual attitude towards drugs – especially when it comes to something apparently not too dangerous, like smoking marijuana. But drugs lead to more drugs, and when they lead to something like meth, you’re really taking your life in your hands in a number of ways.

If someone you care about is into drugs of any kind, the only way to really keep them safe is to get them through a good drug rehab program so they will get off drugs, and not want to take them again.

Today in Pasadena, California, a similar warning was issued by Day One, a non-profit advocacy group. “A community group held a town hall style meeting Thursday night to warn parents about the new meth and the increasing use of the drug among teens, particularly teen girls,” reported the Pasadena Star News. The new drug is strawberry quick and DEA spokesman Sarah Pullen said it has just started appearing in Los Angeles.

Christy Zamani, executive director of Day One, warned parents about the low cost, $2 a hit, and the bright colors. Both will attract younger children. Teenage girls sometimes take meth for weight loss, for example, not knowing how devastating it can be.

Ms. Zamani also said they were seeing a surge in use among young Latino and Asian girls. Two young women, one 18 years old and the other 20, told their stories about meth. Meth is highly addictive and is difficult to stop taking. Drug rehab for meth can take a long time.

Parents should be on the look out for flavored meth – it may help their kids stay out of a drug rehab program.