Pubdate: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 Source: Missourian (MO) Copyright: Washington Missourian 2007 Contact: http://www.emissourian.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3309 Author: Ed Pruneau, Missourian Managing Editor Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) METH LABS CONTINUE TO BE PROBLEM The Head Of Franklin County's Drug Task Force Said Missouri Is On Track To Being No. 1 Again This Year In Meth Labs Seizures. "Missouri will lead the nation again in meth labs," predicted Detective Sgt. Jason Grellner, commander of the Franklin County Narcotics Enforcement Unit (FCNEU). Grellner said Missouri authorities expect the number of meth lab seizures to reach between 1,000 and 1,200 by the end of the year. Nearly 50 percent of those will be in the St. Louis region which includes Franklin County and other nearby counties. While Missouri will remain at the top, the actual number of labs seized will be down from last year, Grellner said. Despite passage of new state and federal laws that restrict the sale of pseudoephedrine, "labs continue to be a problem," Grellner said. Grellner was in Washington, D.C., last week attending a meeting of the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws, a group formed under the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He was appointed to the Meth Precursor Tracking Advisory Committee which first met last March, then corresponded through conference calls and via the Internet. The committee met for the last time last week to develop recommendations on standardized computer reporting and a nationwide data base to track people who are "smurfing," or going from store to store to purchase medications containing pseudoephedrine, the vital ingredient needed to make methamphetamine. "We're looking at pseudoephedrine tracking and full prescription monitoring programs" to stem the flow of illegal prescription drugs as well as meth-making ingredients, Grellner said. "This group sought to come up with standards for both and integrate them." Grellner is secretary of the Missouri Narcotics Officers Association which will be lobbying lawmakers again next session to pass legislation to control the availability of pseudoephedrine. He said the cost to install a statewide tracking program and real-time reporting database would be about $1 million. Annual maintenance costs would run about $300,000, he noted. Last year was the first full year for Missouri's new anti-meth law that restricts the sale of medicine containing pseudoephedrine. A similar federal law also went into effect in 2006. Even though the laws limit how much pseudoephedrine a person can buy in any month, meth manufacturers have resorted to pill shopping in other states and going to multiple pharmacies. The law also requires everyone who buys pseudoephedrine to show a photo I.D. and sign a log. The county narcotics unit, in cooperation with pharmacies, has used those logs to develop intelligence information about violators. Under the new laws, and with increased enforcement efforts, the number of meth labs in Franklin County dropped from 103 in 2005 to 69 last year. Grellner said while meth labs in Missouri will be down for the year, "they've pretty much hit a plateau." The only state seeing a marked downward slide is Oregon which has passed legislation making pseudoephedrine a Schedule 3 drug that requires a doctor's prescription. Following are the total lab seizures in Franklin County in other recent years. The numbers include labs seized in Franklin County by the sheriff's office, police departments, the highway patrol and federal agencies. 2004 - 138; 2003 - 107; 2002 - 152; 2001 - 67; 2000 - 48; 1999 - 48; 1998 - 24; and 1997 - one. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom