I don’t need to explain the effects that meth and other addicted substances have on gay men here and elsewhere. Meth has taken lives both literally and figuratively. It’s not a drug, it’s a poison. And that’s why it’s time to supplement the education campaign against meth with some help from law enforcement. District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, City Attorney Mike Aguirre, Sheriff Kolendar and Chief Lansdowne need to establish a task force to rid our community of meth.

The goal should be to get suppliers off the streets and to get users help. Obviously, the task force should include some of our openly gay and lesbian law enforcement officers and deputy district attorneys.

Local Drug Enforcement Administration officials report that the typical user of meth in San Diego is a gay white male, 18-35.

So meth suppliers can hardly call this effort homophobic. The chief prosecutor in the county of San Diego is a lesbian; the local City Attorney is a member of the San Diego Democratic Club (a gay political group), the task force will have gay and lesbian police, and there are openly gay and lesbian judges on the Superior Court bench.

This is hardly homophobic. In fact, San Diego is better suited for this type of effort than anywhere else in the country.

Here’s what the task force should do.

Charge meth dealers with homicide. Actor Carroll O’Connor (best known as Archie in “All in the Family”) demanded police arrest and charge his dead son’s drug-supplier with murder. They did.

Drug suppliers are clueless and live in denial. If someone dies as a result of ingesting substances they provide, the D.A. can indict them for murder. Murder doesn’t necessarily require a specific intent to kill someone; it’s enough that the behavior was reasonably certain to result in one’s death.

Considering meth is made from poison, it’s a safe bet that it’s going to cause damage to people. If meth is a contributing factor to one’s death, the D.A. can charge a supplier with murder. Juries often return verdicts for voluntary or involuntary manslaughter.

Arrest those who advertise meth sales and use on the Internet. Profiles on AOL, Adam4Adam and Gay.com often reveal that a person likes to “party” or likes “Tina.” And when they are online at 3:00 a.m., it’s a good chance they are “partying.”

Police can simply read publicly posted profiles on gay websites. They can find suppliers and users who are not bashful at all about their drug use.

The police officer can go to the trick’s place, wait for the supplier to bring out the meth, and then make the arrest. Is this entrapment? No.

Our local police operate a website featuring hot females (cops) ostensibly available for prostitution. SDPD can create “Gay&Party&Play.com.” It can feature hot male cops (disguised as twinks). Certainly finding meth dealers is a higher priority than finding men who seek prostitutes on the Internet.

Police can also subpoena from the Internet service providers the info about the user. Arguably, “advertising” that one is a meth user could be construed as “soliciting the sale or purchase of a controlled substance.”

And, of course, those who merely read the profiles could call them into the TIPS Hotline.

Arrest people for possession of meth who are under the influence. Individuals under the influence of meth can be arrested for being under the influence. And recent cases suggest that, upon a positive drug test, the person can be charged with possession of meth. To the extent “being under the influence” is punishable as a misdemeanor, the City Attorney’s Office could take these cases.

Undercover operations to track meth cartels. No doubt the most effective method for catching the meth kingpins is through undercover operations. Undercover cops gain the trust of meth users, meet their suppliers and then make arrests.

Historically, gay men didn’t have to worry about this. Homophobic police had no desire to go to gay bars, make gay friends and try to act like they were into men. That’s changed.

Having taught criminal law to police-in-training at Miramar College, newer cops are less likely to be homophobic. Gay and straight cops in their 20s are happy to don an A&F T-shirt and 7 jeans and make gay friends at a bar or elsewhere. They can convincingly play the role of someone’s “straight but curious” boyfriend or someone’s gay “but not sexual” boyfriend. Is this entrapment?

None of us like these draconian measures. But we also find it distasteful that our leaders and friends are having their lives ruined by meth.