Pubdate: Wed, 06 Dec 2006
Source: Jasper Newsboy, The (TX)
Copyright: 2006 Hearst Communications, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.jaspernewsboy.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4206
Author: Jimmy Galvan

METH ISSUE FRUSTRATES AUTHORITIES

Southeast Texas' justice system stepped up its battle  against what 
has become the most popular drug abused by  users - methamphetamines 
- - beginning Thursday, Nov. 30,  National M e t h a m p h e t a m i n 
e Awareness Day.

"We want to bring the facts to the public," said U.S.  Attorney 
Matthew D. Orwig of Beaumont. "Meth is a  powerful poison. It kills 
the user while destroying the  family and environment."

Jasper Police Chief Todd Hunter, who worked on the  growing meth 
problem in the Dallas area while with the  Addison Police Department, 
said the problem would not  go away by ignoring it.

"You are taking volatile chemicals and placing them in  your body and 
they are going to have an adverse  affect," Hunter said. "Ninety 
percent of the people  cannot do this in a recreational setting. This 
is not a  recreational drug.

"It destroys the person, the family and the community  and that's why 
we have to deal with this as an impact  drug," Hunter said. "This 
drug problem will go on  forever until it is eradicated."

For police agencies, drugs and their misuse seem to run  through 
cycles in their popularity. The miscues of  methamphetamines started 
in the 1970's and quickly fell  off due to the volatile nature of 
producing the drug.

A new method was developed, though, to produce meth and  thus came 
the 'cold cook' method. This method  subtracted the volatile chemical 
ether from the mix and  reduced the bad smell from the process as well.

"In the 70's, you literally had to go on somebody's  land and be away 
from everybody to get away with it,"  Hunter said. "Now you don't 
have to. You can cook up a  nice batch of it next door and no one 
will ever know  it."

U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales directed the  U.S. 
Attorney's offices to make the prosecution of  methamphetamine cooks 
and distributors a high priority.

"We don't have any more of a problem than any other  rural town in 
the United S t a t e s , " Hunter said.  "Some have been harder hit 
than others but we are in a  high density drug trafficking area so we 
do have a  problem with methamphetamines."

Hunter said the Jasper area is plagued by the usage of 
methamphetamine, crack cocaine and the misuse of  pharmaceutical drugs.

"Our problem here is the usage of the drugs but at one  point here we 
had a problem with the manufacturing of  these drugs," Hunter said. 
"All are very devastating to  families and people."

He admitted that the area has seen a decrease in the  formation of 
the meth labs.

"We have not had a local lab in the city limits of  Jasper in quite 
some time," Hunter said. "That's not to  say there isn't one but 
typically we are seeing a  change in the way people are producing 
methamphetamines."

However, Hunter admitted there is a new way meth is  being refined - "ice."

"Ice" is found in the form of clear, chunky crystals,  similar in 
appearance to rock candy. Ice is a very  pure, smokable form of 
methamphetamine and is more  addictive than powder or tablets.

In its original form, meth is formed to 35 or 40  percent of its 
purity. Super labs, as Hunter called  them, are producing "ice" which 
is 85 percent pure.

"That is devastating the Midwest now," Hunter said.  "Texas has seen 
this for some time but the Midwest is  now starting to see it. Those 
in the meth culture now  feel that 'ice' provides a more intense high 
and they  are seeking that out. No one in this area can  manufacture 'ice.'"

According to Hunter and police agencies, the majority  of the 'ice' 
movement is being funneled through the  Dallas area towards East 
Texas. Drug Enforcement Agency  reports indicate the 'ice' is being 
shipped from  Arizona and Mexico to Dallas.

"It is being funneled into Dallas and then to the  smaller rural 
areas such as Jasper," Hunter said.

According to DEA statistics, approximately 8,600  clandestine lab 
clean-ups for state and local agencies  were administered in 2005 and 
approximately 4,500 in  2006.

In 2006, the DEA made 6,233 methamphetaminerelated  arrests and 
seized 1,550 kilograms of the drug.

He pointed to a couple of cases recorded in Jasper that  showed the 
drugs coming from the Tyler and Dallas  areas.

It is vitally important in the prosecution of meth  arrests to 
determine the purity of the meth recovered  during an arrest. Federal 
prosecution can be sought for  arrests made with pure 'ice' meth in 
their possession.

"It falls under what is called a high impact drug,"  Hunter said. 
"They take these and crack cocaine because  of its destruction on the 
family, community and the  area. Anybody we find in possession of 
something that  is 85 percent pure, we can go through the federal 
system with it.

Hunter said even though the manufacturing of these  drugs has 
decreased in recent months that doesn't mean  there are no meth labs 
working in the county at this  time.

"We do know of some possible labs out in the county,"  Hunter said. 
"A county like this should be finding 15  to 20 labs a year because 
we have a lot of rural area  where someone could go out and 
manufacture this stuff  in confidence.

The purpose of the special day was to stress the  importance of 
education and public awareness, to inform  the public of the dangers 
of continued use and the end,  show the users that they will face 
prison time if they  continue.

"Once people become involved in this drug culture, they  look for 
ways to get out," Hunter said. "These drugs  are very addictive and 
it makes it very hard for them  to get off of them on their own. They 
need a life  change."

He said he has helped those who have sought his help to  end their 
drug usage. But unfortunately, help is not  too close by.

The nearest facility to deal with meth addiction is in  Beaumont and 
in prisons.

"You have to have treatment for this because you can't  get off of it 
on your own," Hunter said. "If someone  asks for help, I want to be 
able to find help for  them."

But in the end, those that continue to use and deal  these drugs will 
face arrests and the judicial system.

"I've always said you can't win the war on drugs  because I don't 
like that analogy," Hunter said. "A war  is something that is 
decisive - you have treaties.  There have been drug addicts since the 
beginning of  time so all we can do is make a big impact.

"That is what we are trying to do here in Jasper,"  Hunter said. "We 
are not going to completely solve the  drug issues we have but we can 
make an impact so that  you have to look for a family that has been 
impacted by  this drug. Right now, you would be hard pressed to find 
a family that hasn't been impacted by drug usage. I  want to reverse that."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Elaine