Pubdate: Fri, 26 Jan 2001
Source: Beacon Journal, The (OH)
Copyright: 2001 The Beacon Journal Publishing Co.
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Author: James Hannah

TAFT TARGETING METHAMPHETAMINE LABS FOR CRACKDOWN

DAYTON, Ohio (Associated Press) -- Methamphetamine, the drug Gov. Bob Taft 
targeted in his State of the State speech, is considered by the Drug 
Enforcement Administration to be the fastest-growing drug threat in the nation.

Experts say the drug has been gaining popularity because it is potent and 
cheap and easy to make. Authorities worry also about the threat to officers 
and the environment from the chemicals used to create the drug.

In the past four months, the DEA has busted 27 meth labs in Ohio compared 
to only 18 in the previous 12 months.

"Law enforcement officials are seizing record amounts of meth and seeing an 
alarming surge in the number of labs that produce it,'' Taft told the 
Legislature in his State of the State address Wednesday. "I ask you to join 
me in enacting laws to fight this illicit drug and to attack these toxic 
labs.''

But some lawmakers think other drugs should get more attention.

"We continue to have a huge problem with heroin in our cities,'' said Rep. 
Jack Ford, D-Toledo, the House's top-ranking Democrat. "Crack is still a 
problem. Alcohol use, particularly among middle-class girls, is increasing, 
and binge drinking on our Ohio campuses is at an epidemic level. Yet, no 
discussion of that.''

Rep. Peter Lawson Jones, D-Shaker Heights, said not one of his constituents 
has brought up the problem of meth.

"I must confess that although I've heard conversations about this drug in 
the past, from my perspective crack and illegal cocaine use tend to be the 
major problems,'' he said.

Harvey Siegal, director of the Centers for Intervention, Treatment and 
Addiction Research at Wright State University, predicted that meth use will 
become a big problem in Ohio within a year.

"It is so far not a major, major problem in the state, but there is no 
question in my mind it is coming,'' Siegal said Friday.

Wright State and the University of Akron operate the Ohio Substance Abuse 
Monitoring Network of people who report on drug use in their areas to 
create an early warning system.

Siegal said stimulant drugs have been increasing in popularity and that the 
boom in meth use has been moving east from the West Coast, coming at Ohio 
like a wave.

"This stuff is easy to make,'' he said. "That means small entrepreneurs can 
get in. And the effects are longer lasting than cocaine.''

Meth, which is usually in the form of a powder, a rock or a powder with 
little chunks of crystals, can be swallowed, snorted, smoked or injected. 
It also is known on the streets as speed, ice, crystal, chalk, glass, crank 
and go-fast.

Users report a euphoria within five minutes, with the feeling lasting 
several hours. Side effects can include nervousness, hallucinations and 
even psychotic behavior. As the drug wears off, fatigue or depression can 
set in.

A former meth addict who spoke on condition of anonymity said the drug 
makes it feel like there's an electric current shooting through the body.

"There's this incredible, almost agitated state of energy. You can't sit 
still,'' he said. "There's a lot of craziness, doing risky behavior. And 
there's a good deal of paranoia that runs with it too. I would be up for 
days and finally get to the point where I absolutely needed to sleep.''

When the drug wears off, he said, it leaves an "evil mood.''

"You're just irritable as hell,'' he said.

Meth is a man-made drug produced by cooking commonly available chemicals. 
The process generates dangerous substances that can dissolve flesh and 
fumes so toxic they can collapse lungs. The fumes soak into walls, 
ceilings, carpeting and furniture.

Over the past few years, agents from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal 
Identification and Investigation have undergone training to protect 
themselves in searching labs for evidence. And for cleanup, the labs are 
treated the same as hazardous-waste sites.

"Some of these can be cancer-causing chemicals,'' said Heidi Griesmer, 
spokeswoman for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. "And for every 
pound of meth that is generated, 6 pounds of toxic or hazardous waste is 
generated and that is often just dumped.''

In the past six months, the Warren County drug task force in southwest Ohio 
has busted three meth labs and arrested nine people.

John Burke, director of the task force, said labs can be set up in motel 
rooms or even semitrailers. But since the smell of chemicals can arouse the 
suspicion of neighbors, farmhouses are popular places for labs.

It is currently a felony to make or possess meth. Burke favors toughening 
the penalties to keep users and traffickers off the streets longer and to 
discourage others from getting involved with meth. He also favors 
stiffening penalties for stealing anhydrous ammonia, a farm fertilizer used 
as an ingredient in meth.

Rep. Ann Womer Benjamin, R-Aurora, chair of the House criminal-justice 
committee, said she expects anti-meth legislation to be introduced soon.

"Given evidence that this is an increasing problem and we want to forestall 
its spread in Ohio, I think the Legislature will act on it,'' she said.
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