Pubdate: Wed, 16 Aug 2006
Source: Olympian, The (WA)
Copyright: 2006 The Olympian
Contact: http://www.theolympian.com/legacy/services/forms/letter2editor.shtml
Website: http://www.theolympian.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/319
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

WAR ON METH FAR FROM OVER

The war against methamphetamine has shifted focus.

Five years ago, meth labs were a scourge on the Thurston County 
landscape, popping up in rental homes, motel rooms and rural 
properties across the county.

A five-member law enforcement team that formed in 2001 to track down 
and dismantle meth labs and the criminals behind them has been a big 
success, as has a ban on over-the-counter sales of cold medicine used 
to make meth.

The team took down 69 meth labs that first year, knocked off 221 
illicit operations through 2005 and has yet to find one in Thurston 
County this year.

The good news is that meth labs no longer pose the threat to public 
safety and the environment that they did five years ago.

The bad news is methamphetamine addiction and the crimes perpetrated 
by addicts looking for money for their next fix have not gone away 
here in South Sound.

Meth addiction is the driving force behind most property crimes in 
the county, according to sheriff's officers. Identity thefts, 
burglaries, vehicle prowls, auto thefts - even the theft of copper 
wire from construction sites - often are the work of meth addicts.

This drug that destroys lives is still readily available. Much of the 
meth on the streets arrives here from out of the country, often 
Mexico, law enforcement officers say. It's a potent brand of crystal 
meth, which is smoked.

So instead of cracking down on meth labs, the special team has turned 
its attention to dealers and users in a bid to cut off supplies and 
distribution of the dangerous drug.

Just last week, the U.S. Marshals Office, in cooperation with the 
Thurston County Narcotics Task Force, arrested a 33-year-old man 
believed to be perhaps the biggest methamphetamine dealer in South Sound.

The suspect, who owns homes in Thurston and Pierce counties, 
allegedly is responsible for bringing 20 to 60 pounds of the drug 
into South Sound each week, a staggering amount of meth.

Getting that much meth off the streets with one breakthrough case is 
a major coup.

However, in the war against illegal drugs, one dealer's demise is 
another dealer's opportunity. As long as the desire for the drug is 
strong, someone will try to meet that demand.

At the advice of the sheriff's office, the Thurston County 
commissioners last week agreed to use $14,000 earmarked for overtime 
pay for the meth lab team to purchase surveillance equipment to help 
the officers in their investigations.

If the shifts in funds and focus reduce the supply of meth in South 
Sound, it will be money well spent.

Too many individual lives and families have been torn apart by 
methamphetamine addiction.

Too many innocent community members have been victims of property 
crimes committed to feed those addictions.

The meth lab team did this community a great service in helping 
eliminate South Sound meth labs.

Now the team must turn its attention to the next battle in the war on meth.
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