Pubdate: Fri, 25 Apr 2014
Source: Herald and News (Klamath Falls, OR)
Copyright: 2014 Herald and News
Contact:  http://www.heraldandnews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2600
Author: Tristan Hiegler
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

Editor's note: This is the first of a three-part series exploring the 
current state of drug usage in Klamath County. This first part is an 
overview; Saturday's stories will look at "usage on the ground" 
through the eyes of patrolmen, users and neighborhoods where the drug 
is prevalent; Sunday's article will look at the growth of other 
dangerous drugs in the county such as prescription drugs, cocaine and heroin.

Meth

STRUGGLING WITH METH

Drug Still Prevalent in Klamath County; Production Changing

Property crimes, paranoia, hallucinations and death are the primary 
signs and symptoms of methamphetamine use in a community.

According to local law enforcement officers, Klamath Falls and the 
county at large still struggles with this dangerous drug despite the 
legislation enacted to slow down its production in Oregon.

"Methamphetamine seems to be the one we're seeing the most," said 
Klamath Falls Police Detective Jack Daniel. "We're seeing a slight 
influx of heroin as well as a larger influx of prescription medication use."

A highly addictive drug that stimulates the body's central nervous 
system, meth is swallowed, snorted, injected or smoked by users. It 
can come in pill, powder or "crystal" forms, according to the federal 
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

Meth has been identified as a problem not just in the local area but 
across the state. According to a report released Thursday by the 
Office of the Oregon State Medical Examiner, meth accounted for the 
most drug-related deaths statewide in 2013.

The report states meth was involved in 123 deaths last year (a 32 
percent increase from 2012's numbers), while heroin accounted for 111 
deaths and cocaine was at 12 fatalities. Locally, two deaths were 
attributed to methamphetamine in Klamath County last year.

Lake County statistics were not available as the report only detailed 
areas where drug-related deaths were reported.

Crime correlations

In Klamath Falls, many of the reported thefts and burglaries are 
eventually tied to meth and other narcotics users, according to 
Detective Daniel. He said the property crimes are usually committed 
so addicts can get their hands on expensive electronics and other 
items they trade with their dealers for the next fix.

"Many of those are committed by those low-level, day to day narcotics 
users," Daniel said. "A very, very, very high percentage of the 
property crimes committed in this county are committed by narcotics users."

For two years Daniel worked on a special KFPD street crimes unit. He 
said essentially every property crime he worked, the suspect 
identified was motivated by addiction to meth or another drug.

"There's a high level of poverty here, a high level of unemployment. 
That usually correlates with criminal acts and narcotics use."

An imported business

While certain precursor chemicals used in meth manufacturing have 
become harder to obtain in the past decade, the drug still finds its 
way into Oregon via active smuggling operations out of California and Mexico.

Since 2006, Oregon has regulated the sale of pseudoephedrine, a 
common non-prescription medication sometimes utilized in meth 
recipes. It used to be stocked openly on pharmacy shelves. Now it is 
stashed behind the counter, which seems to have had an impact on the 
number of domestic meth labs in Oregon.

Since 2004, the number of labs has decreased drastically, according 
the DEA. In 2004, 632 clandestine labs were found statewide. In 2012, 
only nine were located.

Sgt. Walt Markee, with the Oregon State Police's (OSP) Drug 
Enforcement Section in Salem, said meth-related labs are still out 
there but their nature has changed. Instead of making the drug from 
scratch, the conversion labs take unfinished product smuggled in from 
elsewhere and turn it into useable methamphetamine.

"It's a newer trend," Markee said. "We used to get hundreds of 
(traditional labs) in a year. There are some labs, and they could come back."

"We're seeing more meth than we've ever seen, it's continued to go up 
every year ... for the most part it's smuggled across the border into 
the U.S. from Mexico."

Daniel said organized criminal groups across the border seem to be 
responsible for the influx of meth into the country.

"Most methamphetamine operations are ultimately sourced to cartels," 
Daniel said. "We don't have the amount of methamphetamine 
manufacturing in the U.S. anymore since pseudoephedrine has been 
controlled, so the amount of labs that we used to see are no longer 
here. So methamphetamine is often made by cartel-controlled operations."

The systems put in place by the cartels include suppliers for various 
areas. From the suppliers, the product is handed out to dealers, who 
sell or trade small amounts of methamphetamine to users. Daniel said 
multiple subsidiary organizations or businesses could be involved in 
a cartel's operation.

"Nationwide, the model is to invest in businesses that are cash-only, 
that way there's a limited paper trail, and that money obviously gets 
laundered and disseminated."

Possible solutions

Budget cuts have hit efforts to combat narcotics and property crimes 
throughout the area. Daniel said a major blow came when the Klamath 
Interagency Narcotics Team (KINT) was cut in 2008.

"Klamath County has been without a dedicated drug team for many 
years. I would say during its heyday eight years ago, it was a very 
effective policing tool and did many major cases."

The best path forward for curbing methamphetamine abuse and overdose 
deaths is to have a dedicated multi-agency unit on the street dealing 
with property and narcotics crimes, Daniel said.

"There are currently no dedicated city police assets, nor countywide 
.. that is working exclusively drugs and property crimes."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom