OFFICERS, RETAILERS MEET AT SUMMIT TO DISCUSS WAYS TO COMBAT ABUSE

Law enforcement officers told South Carolina's attorney general at a summit Monday that the state has a long way to go to combat methamphetamine use.

"It's not as bad as it is in other states, but we need to get ready to defeat this," Attorney General Henry McMaster said.

McMaster called more than 200 law enforcement officers and retailers together for the first ever statewide meth summit after hearing from officers that meth use is becoming a growing problem in the state.

Steve Surratt, a specialist with the National Drug Intelligence Center, said the state should keep statewide statistics on meth cases.

"In order to address the problem, you must have numbers on the problem," Surratt said.  He pointed to North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation, which keeps statewide meth lab totals.

South Carolina tracks some cases but does not keep count of meth labs cleaned up or unreported by county authorities, said Scott Bailey, special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

DEA statistics show there were fewer than 10 meth labs in 2001, about 100 labs in 2002 and 130 labs in 2003.  The data show 100 already this year.

The problem in South Carolina is that no central agency has all the certified personnel needed for a meth bust, said Brian Cooley, an investigator with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office.

Cooley said one phone call in North Carolina to SBI brings everyone needed to do the job.

"The hardest part is not having the support at the state level," Cooley said.

North Carolina has been working on its meth problem since 1988, while McMaster said this is South Carolina's first statewide look at the problem.

Summit members were in support of a meth watch program similar to one started in Kansas, where retailers post "Meth Watch" signs on their store windows and near over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines, which often contain the primary ingredients needed to produce methamphetamine.

Retailers, from Wal-Mart to small businesses, have joined the program on a voluntary basis in Kansas and are trained to report unusual activity.

Assistant Attorney General Robert Hood said something similar already is happening in small S.C.  towns, where retailers sometimes call local narcotics agents to report large purchases of cold medicine.

McMaster said he wants to approach retailers about the problem.  He also wants to develop protocol for doctors who might come across a meth burn.

One audience member worried that residue left behind after a meth lab cleanup could make the area unsafe.

Department of Heath and Environmental Control spokesman Thom Berry said the responsibility to pay for the complete cleanup after the initial meth lab cleanup falls on the property owner, who often is in jail.

"The Legislature needs to take a long, hard look at everything ( involved with meth )," DEA agent Bailey said.

A bill now in the Senate would make it illegal to have the products used to make meth with the intent of cooking it.