Pubdate: Thu, 06 Jun 2002
Source: Messenger-Inquirer (KY)
Copyright: 2002 Messenger-Inquirer
Contact:  http://www.messenger-inquirer.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1285
Author: Steve Bailey, Associated Press

OFFICIALS: METH PROBLEM MUST BE SOLVED AT LOCAL LEVEL

LEXINGTON -- Kentucky's methamphetamine problem will continue to grow 
unless the battle is intensified at the local level, state and federal 
officials said Wednesday.

"All of the federal resources we receive are a huge help in our continuing 
fight against methamphetamine," said Steve Pence, U.S. attorney for the 
Western District of Kentucky.

"But we also have to have state law enforcement and local sheriff's offices 
and police departments and even the residents in high-intensity communities 
participate at increasing levels if we really want to get a handle on this."

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, methamphetamine has 
become the No. 1 drug problem facing rural America, rivaling club drugs 
like Ecstasy and cocaine in the nation's urban centers and crack cocaine in 
the northeast.

Some call meth the poor man's cocaine because it is a highly addictive 
stimulant that produces a euphoria similar to cocaine, but lasts longer -- 
six to eight hours compared with 20 minutes to an hour for cocaine.

Since it can be produced simply using a number of easily obtained 
ingredients, including cold medicine and lithium batteries, illegal 
production laboratories frequently pop up in homes as well as motels, vans 
and backyard sheds.

Production and use of methamphetamine has skyrocketed during the past 
several years throughout the Midwest, including Kentucky. Last year, 160 
clandestine meth labs were raided by law enforcement agencies in Kentucky, 
more than double the number in 2000.

"Methamphetamine certainly is a significant problem in Kentucky and is 
continuing to expand as a significant problem in the United States," DEA 
Administrator Asa Hutchinson said.

"There was a 100 percent increase in the number of meth labs seized in 
Kentucky during the past two years. That reflects a serious problem but 
also reflects effective law enforcement work and community support in 
addressing the problem."

Hutchinson, in Lexington to speak at a two-day summit on fighting 
methamphetamine and OxyContin abuse, said he plans to visit cities in 32 
states in an effort to inform communities of the dangers inherent in meth 
production and use.

"We have had significant amounts of success when it comes to fighting 
overall drug use in this country," he said. "We've reduced overall drug use 
by 50 percent in the last 20 years.

"But there is still danger lurking in the heartland of America, and that is 
the danger posed by methamphetamine. We're asking businesses, educators, 
community leaders and policymakers to ask themselves what more they can do 
to help fight this problem."

Hutchinson said the DEA has trained more than 130 Kentucky police officers 
at a cost of more than $2,000 per officer and has provided more than 
$250,000 in equipment to state law enforcement agencies to aid the fight 
against methamphetamine.

"But more has to be done because there is a double hit in Kentucky," he 
said. "In addition to the lab problem here, a lot of methamphetamine comes 
across the United States from California and makes its way through and into 
Kentucky."

Although Kentucky's methamphetamine problem first emerged in the western 
part of the state, it has steadily moved east and is beginning to catch 
OxyContin, a powerful painkiller prescribed to cancer patients, as a drug 
of choice among residents.

"It's simple to make, and the potential for profit for those who produce 
the drug is hard to pass up, especially for those in the poorer sections of 
eastern Kentucky," said Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, U.S. a for the Eastern 
District of Kentucky.

"Only $75 worth of meth ingredients yield more than $200 in profit. On the 
OxyContin side, a $100 doctor visit and a $200 prescription can bring in 
more than $10,000. That's a pretty good return on an investment."

Despite all of the federal help and monetary aid the state has received, 
it's going to take a larger commitment from people in law enforcement, 
prosecutors' offices, in the health and social services fields and the 
residents themselves to curb the problem, Pence said.

"It's a problem that's not just a law enforcement problem," he said. "It's 
a problem we have to take into the places where the meth is being produced 
and sold. We have to make people aware of how significant the problem 
really is and get them involved in trying to stop it."

Hutchinson said the FBI's recent decision to reallocate many of its agents 
and resources to fight the ongoing war on terrorism will not hinder the 
nation's fight against illicit drug use.

"There will be an impact, no doubt," he said. "But the DEA is developing a 
plan that will reallocate our resources and help fill the gap that is left 
by the FBI's reorganization."
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MAP posted-by: Beth