Pubdate: Sun, 05 Jun 2005
Source: Daily Citizen, The (Dalton, GA)
Copyright: Daily Citizen 2005
Contact:  http://www.northwestgeorgia.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1929
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

BATTLE AGAINST METH NOT OVER

The massive law enforcement sweep aimed at curtailing methamphetamine 
production in Northwest Georgia on Friday captured national attention. It 
was about the only thing reported on the front page of this newspaper.

More than 200 law enforcement officers cooperated in the raids, which 
targeted owners and employees of independently owned convenience stores 
believed to be providing the key ingredients for the making of meth.

More than 40 people were arrested and charged with violations of federal 
statutes. The feds seem to have built a powerful case, as each of the 
targets had been under careful investigation for almost a year.

So, meth is no longer a problem in Northwest Georgia?

Of course not. Not even close.

While Operation Meth Merchant may make it tougher in the short term for 
"mom and pop" meth manufacturers to fill their shopping lists, many law 
enforcement officers acknowledge (off the record) that the much more 
serious problem in this area is the organized methamphetamine rings, many 
of which are based in Mexico. Most of the meth sold on the street here 
comes from Mexico and is shipped into the U.S. through a sophisticated 
transportation network.

State legislators patted themselves on the back for "getting tough on meth" 
during the last legislative session, but the laws they passed (which go 
into effect in July) will do little good.

For instance, a store owner may be limited in how much of a cold medicine 
(containing the key meth ingredient pseudoephedrine) he can sell to an 
individual customer, but what will keep that same customer from going to 
two or three other stores until he has the amount of material he needs. 
Lawmakers in this session felt the need to "do something," which they did. 
But their "something" is next to useless as the new laws again target the 
small-fry producers, the kind of knuckleheads who cook meth mostly for 
personal use and sometimes blow up their bathroom in the process.

If tougher law enforcement can reduce the manufacture and use of meth - 
there is no guarantee that is the case - then Friday's activities were 
probably an effective first step. But a lot of the low hanging fruit is 
gone now.

As law enforcement officials move their attention to the core problem - 
smart, organized, experienced and ruthless drug gangsters - the job is 
going to get a lot tougher.
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