Pubdate: Fri, 22 Dec 2006
Source: Edwardsville Intelligencer (IL)
Copyright: 2006 Edwardsville Publishing Company.
Contact:  http://www.goedwardsville.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1431
Author: Steve Horrell
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

REGION SEES A DECREASE IN METH ARRESTS

State Legislature Toughens Sentences For Convicted Manufacturers

Around 5:30 p.m. on May 4, 2001 then-deputy Joe Halbrooks noticed a
man driving away from anhydrous  ammonia tanks parked in rural Marine
where he was on  patrol.

The man fled north on Humbolt Street. Halbrooks  followed. The pursuit
followed Route 143, Interstate  255, Interstate 270 and wound up at
Troy Road and  Montclaire Avenue in Edwardsville, where the deputy had
radioed ahead to have "stop sticks" strung across the  road. The
triangular pointy sticks punctured the  vehicle's right front tire,
although the man continued  driving west to Second Street. He fled on
foot, but  Halbrooks was able to handcuff him after he tripped.

The suspect, of St. Louis, was charged  with theft.
Markham turned out to be a major "cooker"  of methamphetamine in
Missouri. Anhydrous ammonia is  used by farmers as a source of
nitrogen for their  fields. But it's also a key ingredient in meth
production, and other Missouri meth cookers  often stole
it from tanks that farmers in Marine and  St. Jacob often let stand
overnight in their fields.

On Friday, Madison County Sheriff Robert Hertz said  that meth arrests
in the county are down in 2006, in  part because police and farmers
have become more aware  that anhydrous ammonia tanks are a prime target.

"I've noticed a marked decrease in that activity,"  Hertz said of such thefts.

While end-of-the-year statistics are not yet available,  Hertz
suspects they will show that meth arrests have  dropped in recent
years. He also cited a recent state  law that moves adult cold
capsules containing  pseudophedrine -- another key ingredient in meth
production -- behind pharmacy counters.

And the legislature has also doubled the jail sentence  for anyone
convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine  when children are present.

Last week U.S. Senator Dick Durbin announced a campaign  to promote
awareness and prevention of methamphetamine  abuse in southern and
central Illinois. The campaign,  in partnership with the Illinois
Sheriff's Association  and the Illinois Broadcasters Association, will
use TV  and radio commercials as well as billboards to educate
Illinoisans about the dangers of meth.

In 2006, Durbin secured $177,000 in federal funding to  raise meth
awareness.

Earlier in the year, Durbin asked the University of  Illinois to
gather and analyze data on how meth is  affecting Illinois and to look
for strategies for  fighting it. The data suggests that most victims
are  white adults living in rural areas. Most of those  involved are
poor and have less education than the  average Illinois citizen,
according to a news release  from Durbin. Men outnumber women by 12
percent,  according to the U of I study. The stronger hold on  women
has major implications for children and families,  Durbin said in the
release. In Illinois, 1,700 women  and children and 115 pregnant women
entered public drug  treatment centers in Illinois last year. In 2004,
more  than half the children entering foster care in some  rural areas
of rural southeastern Illinois were forced  into the program because
their caretakers were meth  abusers, according to the release.

"Meth is tearing apart our families and overwhelming  our child
welfare network," Durbin said in the release.  "Illinois law
enforcement response has been swift and  well-coordinated." Last year,
state police encountered  nearly 1,000 meth labs, more than double the
number  encountered in 2000, he said.
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MAP posted-by: Derek