Methamphetamine use rising, authorities say

Many associate drugs with big cities, not with the small towns and farms of the Midwest. \nBut methamphetamine abuse is a growing problem in many suburban and rural areas, law enforcement officials say. According to the 2000 annual report of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, an unprecedented 9.4 million Americans experimented with the drug in 1999.\nThe report states 2.64 metric tons of methamphetamine were seized by federal agents in 1999, compared with 0.007 in 1993. \nThe study reports about 40 percent of the busts were made in rural areas.\nSouthern Indiana is not exempt from the drug's reach. It is a hotbed of meth production, said Hailey Moss, a forensic scientist for the Indiana State Police. \n"It's a very big problem in the state of Indiana, mostly in the southern and western part of the state," she said. "And it is spreading north."\nMoss said the regional "meth county," where the drug is produced in clandestine labs, is in the tri-state area of Southern Illinois, Indiana and Western Kentucky. The problem has been historically concentrated in the Southwest.\nWhile Indiana State Police busted four meth labs in 1994, Moss said they raided 427 clandestine labs last year. \nMany of the busts have been made in the Evansville area, where police have tried to crack down on the drug. \n"In 1999, 49 labs were taken down, and last year, 30," said Sgt. Mike Lauderdale of the Evansville Police Narcotics Division. "They were in apartments, residences, mobile homes, hotel and motel rooms, vehicles, vans and trucks." \nState Rep. Jonathan Weinzapfel, D-Evansville, said he is concerned and is filing legislation this session to curtail the problem.\n"I've met with several local law enforcement officials and what they want is the tools to help them fight this battle and hopefully win this battle," Weinzapfel said.\nMeth is a highly addictive stimulant, which has a powerful effect on the central nervous system. It can be made with relatively inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients in simple laboratories, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration's Web site, www.dea.gov.\nLauderdale said it's not uncommon for the drug's producers to steal fertilizer from local farms, which contains ammonia, a key ingredient.\nMeth, according to the DEA, can be either injected into the blood stream or smoked. When it is injected, its street names are "speed", "meth" and "chalk". The methamphetamine that can be smoked goes by the names of "crystal", "crank", "ice" or "glass." It can also be taken orally or snorted.\nThe effects of meth include euphoria, hyper-excitability, extreme nervousness, accelerated heartbeat, insomnia and incessant talking, according to the DEA. Telltale signs of methamphetamine use are violent and aggressive behavior, impaired speech, uncountable movements, extreme rises in body temperature, acne, sores, dry, itchy skin and a disorganized lifestyle, the Web site states.\nThe cost of the drug is typically $100 a gram, Moss said, which is equivalent to the price for the same amount of cocaine. \n"We really haven't seen any on campus," said Lt. Jerry Minger of the IUPD. "But that does not mean that it is absent from the campus."\nBloomington police have reported one meth lab bust thus far this year, Captain Joe Qualters said.\nIn Bloomington, Moss said the biggest problem with methamphetamine is the manufacturing of methcathinone, a weaker version of the drug commonly know as "cat." Police believed they curtailed the problem a few years ago, she said, but the drug is starting to make a comeback. \n"Any jerk can set up a cat lab," said Laurence County Sherriff's Detective Philip Whigley, where cat manufacturing has been particularly pronounced. \nThe manufacturing of the drug is extremely dangerous, Lauderdale said. Many of the basic ingredients of the drug are very flammable and explosive. Fatal accidents during the manufacturing of the drug are not uncommon.\nThe problem, he said, is still growing. To combat the epidemic, police officers in the state are receiving training in learning how to recognize meth labs. They are also learning how to deal with them after they find them.\nLauderdale said more concerning than the overdoses that happen every year is the alarming number of highly publicized and violent homicides caused by the extreme paranoia associated with use of the drug.\n"It's gone beyond the scope of just trafficking in narcotics," Lauderdale said. "This is a public safety issue"