Pubdate: Fri, 07 Jan 2005
Source: Huntsville Times (AL)
Copyright: 2005 The Huntsville Times
Contact:  http://www.htimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/730
Author: David Brewer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH USE OUTLOOK STILL GRIM FOR REGION

Law Enforcement Officials See Problem Draining Staff

Scottsboro - Two northeast Alabama counties ranked among the highest
in the state for clandestine meth labs saw a small decline in meth lab
raids and arrests over the past year.

But law enforcement officials in Jackson, Marshall, Morgan, Limestone
and DeKalb counties are not ready to say that the drug problem is
improving much at all, and at least one sheriff expects the problem to
continue growing.

"I don't know what's going on, but I wouldn't hold my breath." said
Darrell Collins, commander of the DeKalb County Drug Task Force in
Fort Payne, discussing a dip in meth arrests and lab raids last year.
Collins said he doesn't see the probblem getting much better soon.
"It's by far the worst drug problem I've seen in my 32 years of law
enforcement," he said Thursday.

Chuck Phillips, chief investigator for the Jackson County Sheriff's
Department in Scottsboro, said the meth problem strains his
department's six investigators.

"It's draining us," he said Thursday. "We receive tips every day on
suspected labs and (meth) cooks. There's not enough of us to handle
all of them. "We're doing the best we can. But even if we worked 24
hours a day, seven days a week, it would still be impossible."

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says meth has become
Alabama's biggest drug threat, surpassing cocaine abuse.

The DEA says that DeKalb, Jackson, Marshall and Madison were among
seven counties with the worst meth lab problem in 2003. The other
counties were Baldwin, Etowah and Walker. The DEA did not have
specific numbers for meth-related arrests for each county.

In Huntsville and Madison County, officials raided at least 60 meth
labs in 2004. Of those, at least 35 were seized by by the
Huntsville-Madison County Strategic Counterdrug Team, known as the
STAC Team. The unit found 15 in 2003 and two in 2002.

At least 25 meth labs were found and seized in 2004 by the the Madison
County Sheriff's Vice and Narcotics Unit, compared to 15 in 2003.
Figures for arrests for those agencies were not available Thursday. In
Marshall County, a Boaz man was killed and another man was injured in
February when a home lab blew up in a Boaz neighborhood. Almost
two-thirds of the drug cases worked by the Marshall County Drug
Enforcement Unit in 2004 involved crystal methamphetamine, DEU
Director Rob Savage said Tuesday.

The agency reported 744 total drug arrests during the year, with 505
involving meth. Of those 505, 173 involved meth labs, he said. In
2003, the agency had about 625 total drug arrests, about 450 involving
meth. The figures have gone up year to year since the drug was
introduced in the area several years ago.

The biggest concern now, besides the danger involved in home labs, is
a higher grade of meth making its way into the area. Ice, as it is
called, is made in sophisticated labs and brought into the area,
Savage said. "It isn't just a problem in Marshall County," said
Savage. "It is the fastest growing narcotic in the United States."

District Attorney Steve Marshall plans to go to Washington, D.C., to
lobby for money for the county, he said.

Phillips said his department seized 67 labs and arrested 107 people on
meth charges in Jackson County last year. In 2003, his department
confiscated 84 labs and made 137 arrests.

Scottsboro police Maj. Ralph Dawe said Thursday said the department
seized 21 labs in 2004 and 23 in 2003. But he said more meth-related
arrests were made last year, 27 compared to 25 the previous year.
Morgan County Sheriff Greg Bartlett said the county saw seven meth lab
busts in 2002 and 11 in 2003. The number soared to 64 last year, and
Bartlett said there could be more than 100 this year.

At the same time, "we only have four officers assigned to narcotics."
He plans to ask the County Commission for three or four more drug
agents. The sheriff said it costs between $2,000 and $8,000 to clean
up a meth lab. Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely said, "Crystal
meth today is as bad as crack cocaine was in the mid-80s." He only has
one full-time narcotics agent, he said, and needs more.

Collins said his DeKalb County task force of six investigators also
made more arrests in 2004 although they, too, found fewer labs. His
department seized 68 labs and arrested 103 people in 2004 compared to
73 labs and 96 arrests in 2003.

"It's the worst drug we've seen in our area (Jackson County),"
Phillips said. "It's affected more people than any other drug. It has
no social barriers. It tends to affect a lot of people who would
normally not be getting into drugs."

Meth can be made with relatively inexpensive ingredients found in
local stores, he said. The process for making it, which can be found
on the Internet, takes about four to five hours, Phillips said, adding
that a high from a gram of meth can last up to five days for a
first-time user. "A person can get hooked the first time," he said.
"Although they feel like they may have more energy and can work
better, the drug begins to tear down their body from the first time
they use it."

Phillips and Jackson County District Attorney Charlie Rhodes said
making ephedrine a controlled substance would prevent many people from
trying to produce meth.

Although ephedrine or meth could still be shipped in from Mexico or
Canada, Rhodes said the risk of getting caught becomes much greater.
"There needs to be enough prison time so people realize that it's not
worth the risk," he said. Times staff writers Wendy Reeves,
Christopher Bell and Laranda Nichols contributed to this report.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Derek