Pubdate: Mon, 05 Jun 2000 Source: Casper Star-Tribune (WY) Copyright: 2000 Casper Star-Tribune Contact: P.O. Box 80, Casper, WY 82602-0080 Fax: (307) 266-0568 Website: http://www.trib.com/ INLAND NORTHWEST METHAMPHETAMINE PROBLEM SURGES SPOKANE (AP) - The methamphetamine problem in the Spokane area and neighboring northern Idaho has become so huge that public officials describe it like an outbreak of disease. "It's a full-blown epidemic," said John Grasso, a Spokane County deputy prosecutor who handles mostly meth offenses. For police, the main problem definitely isn't tracking down those who make, sell and use the highly addictive, volatile drug. "There's so much meth out there," Spokane police Lt. Daryl Toombs said. "The only thing that limits the number of arrests is manpower." The meth problem first appeared locally in the mid-1990s and surged in the last half of the decade, The Spokesman-Review newspaper reported Sunday in the first segment of a five-day series on methamphetamine. The Inland Northwest is one of several regions across the West struggling to overcome a surge in meth use that roughly coincided with a decline in the cocaine trade. In the Spokane area and Idaho's Panhandle, the boom has overwhelmed police, the courts and social service agencies. Police in Idaho's five northern counties raided 92 suspected meth labs last year, state police say. The number is more than half the statewide total of 171, even though the Panhandle has just 14 percent of Idaho's population of 1.2 million. In Spokane County, there were more meth-related arrests last year than for cocaine and heroin combined. Thirty-six meth manufacturing sites were found in the county last year, compared with nine the previous year, according to local law enforcement records. In the first four months of this year, 31 were found. The drug's spread is attributed partly to the fact that it can be manufactured with chemicals readily available in retail stores. A purchase of $80 at a hardware store can buy ingredients for an ounce of meth worth up to $1,000. Another factor is the high feeling that people get when they eat, snort, smoke or inject the white, crystalline powder. A 38-year-old woman now in a Spokane drug treatment center said she became addicted after restaurant co-workers offered her meth. Soon, she had plenty of energy to work double shifts. "You feel like a superperson - the clarity, the euphoria," said Michelle, who did not want her name used. "You feel so great, you don't see how your life is falling apart." The number of meth addicts treated in publicly funded treatment clinics in Spokane County rose from 22 in 1993 to 503 last year. Waiting lists are weeks long, and public funds dry up before many users can get help. Addicts often become paranoid. "If someone buys a black car across the street, they're sure that the FBI is out to get them," said Sue Greenfelder, a Spokane drug counselor. "This drug is a very jealous lover," she added. "Think about leaving it, and it seems impossible." To get money to make and use meth, addicts often turn to burglary and robbery. Frequently, homes housing meth labs are turned into armed camps. "Meth is so overtly dangerous," said Capt. Wayne Longo of the Idaho State Police's Coeur d'Alene detachment. "The violence added another element to it that we didn't see with other drugs." Meth labs are often found in homes, trailers, storage units and cars. The volatile chemicals involved create a hazard for those living near meth labs, and for police who stage raids and clean up afterward. Children are found in nearly half of Spokane's meth houses. Typically, they are placed in protective custody. Parents frequently don't get their children back because they can't overcome their addictions. Police say about half the meth used in the Inland Northwest is imported, with Mexican gangs prominent in the trafficking. But any successful campaign to overcome the problem must start at home, police say, not just in the criminal justice system. Police are urging community leaders, church officials and average citizens to address the social problems that can lead to meth use. "Everybody has to take some ownership to it," Longo said. - --- MAP posted-by: greg