Pubdate: Sun, 05 Oct 2003 Source: Asheville Citizen-Times (NC) Copyright: 2003 Asheville Citizen-Times Contact: http://www.citizen-times.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/863 Author: Quintin Ellison and Lynde Hedgpeth Note: Staff writer Jon Ostendorff and The Associated Press contributed COUNTIES FIGHT NEW DRUG WAR: METHAMPHETAMINE Unorthodox approaches to fighting the illegal drug trade are becoming almost commonplace in the northern mountain counties. A coroner was appointed last month in Avery County to investigate suspected drug-overdose deaths. New terrorism laws are being used in Watauga County against residents accused of concocting illegal drugs in their homes. And N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper convened a summit with law enforcement, prosecutors and others Thursday to work on a strategy to fight the state's methamphetamine problem. That same day, Buncombe County drug agents arrested five people on charges of having chemicals used to make methamphetamine in a Weaverville home. The people were accused of having 10 grams of the drug, according to arrest warrants. In Western North Carolina, an area besieged by the abuse of methamphetamine - - a powerful stimulant that can be made with easy-to-purchase chemicals - police and prosecutors haven't shied from experimenting with new drug-fighting techniques. "People want something done, and they want us to do something," said District Attorney Jerry Wilson, the state prosecutor for Avery, Madison, Mitchell, Watauga and Yancey counties. The Problem More than 50 percent of the illegal drug labs North Carolina police seized this year were in Western North Carolina. Of those, 45 of 71 were in the 13 mountain counties located in the northwestern section of the state, according to the State Bureau of Investigation. Large amounts of methamphetamine also are imported into WNC. A federal Drug Threat Assessment released in April 2003 by the National Drug Intelligence Center noted most of the methamphetamine available here is actually produced in Mexico, California and in the Southwestern states. Statewide, 125 illegal labs were shut down from January through Sept. 15, compared to 18 labs in 2000. "We're seeing things all the way from the basic 'box labs' in the trunks of cars, all the way up to some pretty sophisticated operations," said Charles Moody, special agent in charge for the SBI's western district. "The skills and materials needed are relatively simple." Those materials include items like pseudophedrine, found in decongestants like Sudafed, acetone, lithium from batteries and drain cleaner. Methamphetamine labs pose a risk to neighbors because of the toxic and potentially explosive chemicals produced, Cooper said. The cost of cleaning up those chemicals after a lab is busted can range from $2,000 to $20,000, according to the SBI. Agents who clean up the labs must wear costly hazardous materials suits. In August, U.S. Forest Service agents found a methamphetamine lab at a campsite in Nantahala National Forest. In a criminal complaint filed in federal court, agents said they saw two people making the drug in a tent near a well-traveled road and a lake. They had a short shotgun with them. One agent saw the people throwing something into the lake. Cooper said that for every pound of methamphetamine produced, 5 to 6 pounds of toxic waste are created. Fighting Back In July, Wilson attracted national attention after he charged a man with two counts of manufacturing a nuclear or chemical weapon, a state statute adopted following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, after the man was arrested in connection with methamphetamine. Prosecutors said police officers and firefighters who respond to calls involving the drug are at risk of serious injury because of the dangers of methamphetamine production. Jackson County Sheriff Jimmy Ashe followed suit last month when he had a Savannah community man charged with manufacturing a nuclear or chemical weapon after that man was arrested in connection with making the potent illegal drug in his home. Wilson said the new law, which carries stiffer penalties than those charges related to methamphetamine, fits the crime. "Unlike any other illegal drug I have dealt with, you have the second problem of the gas and deadly chemicals that are being produced," Wilson said. "The law in our state that addresses that directly is the chemical-weapons statute." Some state defense lawyers have expressed skepticism about the new meth-prosecution methods. "It seems to me to be a real stretch of the imagination, that this would be covered under the anti-terrorism law," said Wallace Harrelson, Guilford County's public defender. "It seems to me that the anti-terrorism law was designed with a specific purpose in mind, to prosecute people who are threatening to hurt the safety of the general public." After the methamphetamine summit, Cooper said pushing for new laws about the drug's production could end up as part of a strategic plan to combat it. "Everyone agrees that we need more appropriate laws to prosecute people who manufacture these drugs," he said. Lives Lost Cooper announced last week another resource to help the victims of methamphetamine use. The state received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to start a program for children in homes with methamphetamine. "We've had horrible situations where children . had to be removed from the homes and the Department of Social Services have had to provide for them," Cooper said. "It's going to be a burden on the taxpaying public as well" In Avery County, residents say the drug has cost the community more than money. Some blame methamphetamine and other illegal drugs for several deaths in the past half-year. After seeing four death certificates listing a heart ailment as the cause of death in otherwise healthy individuals who were in their 30s, Avery County's register of deeds convinced the clerk of court to select a coroner to investigate. The clerk picked John Millan, a school resource officer with a 20-year background in law enforcement. Commissioners must approve Millan's surety bond before he can start his investigations. There are also questions about whether changes to the state constitution in 1971 nullified coroners' powers, and whether a clerk of court has the power to make such an appointment. Avery County has not had a coroner in 15 years. Instead, as in all but 10 of North Carolina's 100 counties, medical examiners in Avery County determine cause of death and whether the death was suspicious. Millan, who plans to work for free and only during his time off from his high school day job, has said he won't interfere with the medical examiner. He also said his appointment is not an indication that other officials have fallen short. "They just don't have the legal recourses under North Carolina law to do everything they need to do, and I'm hoping the power of the coroner will help," Millan said. Staff writer Jon Ostendorff and The Associated Press contributed to this report. (Sidebar) How it affects you Methamphetamine production creates toxic and explosive chemicals that pose a danger to the public. Labs have been found in houses, apartments, trunks of cars, national forest land and anywhere people live, according to state Attorney General Roy Cooper. Methamphetamine makers often carry weapons or booby-trap their labs. The public often pays the costs of cleaning up the labs and taking care of children taken from homes with methamphetamine. SOURCE: Attorney General Roy Cooper. How to help Avery County Sheriff Edward Gwyn said citizens can get involved by supporting more resources for the Sheriffs Department and by supporting the formation of an Avery County anti-drug task force. As with most sheriffs departments, Gwyn, said, more deputies are needed. And, forming a drug task force that involved the Sheriffs Department and police departments in Avery County would help create a countywide flow of information and a collaborative spirit. For more information, call the Avery County Sheriffs Department at 733-2071. Meth Facts Type of drug: Amphetamine, or stimulant Forms: Most often a dingy-colored powder, but sometimes crystals or small, bright colored tablets How it is used: Injected, snorted, smoked or swallowed as a pill Nicknames: Meth, ice, crank, glass, poor mans cocaine Users: Traditionally white male blue-collar workers, but use is increasing among diverse groups, including people in occupations that demand long hours, mental alertness and physical endurance During 2000, about 4 percent of people in the United States reported trying methamphetamine at least once in their life. SOURCE: U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, National Institute on Drug Abuse - --- MAP posted-by: Beth +++++++