In North Carolina, for instance, a teacher noticed that two sisters came to school every day with headaches, colds, and coughs. Police had discovered that the young girls slept right next to a space where their mother and her boyfriend cooked methamphetamine.

Throughout the East Coast in the past few years, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has seen an increase in the number of young children who suffer from methamphetamine contamination.

Authorities said the health risks faced by the children are just as dangerous as those who actually use the drug.

The National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colo., which specializes in respiratory illnesses, conducted research that found that poisonous chemicals released in the methamphetamine-cooking process can spread throughout the entire building.

"The study showed that the chemicals are everywhere in the house and that children living in houses with meth labs might as well be taking the drug directly," said Michele Leonhart, the acting deputy administrator of the DEA, which helped finance the research.

In 2002, 3,300 children were found in the 8,000 illegal methamphetamine laboratories seized nationwide.

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