Children themselves can become addicted, sometimes as early age 8 or 9, according to Sue Orand, a chemical dependency counselor at the Montana Women's Prison in Billings. Gazette photo by Larry Mayer Pediatric neurologist Dr. Annette Grefe holds the hand puppet she uses when treating children who have health problems related to drug abuse by their parents. These are problems for our entire nation, yet we can see the trouble close to home. Nearly 500 children in Yellowstone County are in foster care at any given time. Parental drug use was a factor in more than 60 percent of the abuse and neglect cases that resulted in children being removed from their parents care since last summer, according to Chris Purcell of the Division of Family Services.
Drug abuse accounts for the vast majority of crimes in Yellowstone County.
Users burglarize, forge and steal to support their habits. People under the influence commit violent crimes. Other local shootings in recent years have been tied to feuds between drug dealers. Young girls go to work for dealers, often selling themselves for their next fix. This highly addictive powder is involved in more than 40 percent of child abuse and neglect cases in Yellowstone County.