Pot times
Meth Labs, Abuse Growing Worse
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1093/a07.htmlNewshawk: Kirk
Webpage: http://noblesvilledailytimes.com/articles/2005/07/09/news/front_page_news/front02.prt METH LABS, ABUSE GROWING WORSE
Pubdate: Sat, 09 Jul 2005
Source: Noblesville Daily Times, The (IN)
Copyright: 2005 Noblesville Daily Times LLC
Contact:
news@noblesvilledailytimes.com
Website: http://www.thenoblesvilletimes.com/
Author: Rebecca L. Sandlin
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm
(Methamphetamine)
Hamilton County Sheriff Doug Carter doesn't have a large-scale methamphetamine
problem yet. But he believes he will.
The crippling spread of meth labs and abuse has become the leading drug problem
affecting local law enforcement agencies, according to a National Association of
Counties survey of 500 sheriff's departments in 45 states.
Carter said he did not participate in the survey, but he is not surprised by the
findings.
"We are starting to sense the initial ripples of the methamphetamine trade.
I'm of the opinion that it will probably be, eventually, of epidemic
proportions," Carter said. "We're not exempt from what the other
counties have experienced and the other counties are a very good telltale sign
of what is coming to us."
The report said about 90 percent of the sheriffs interviewed reported increases
in meth-related arrests in their counties over the last three years. More
than half of those interviewed said they considered meth the most serious
problems their department faces.
In Hamilton County, the sheriff's office hasn't seen the dramatic increase in
arrests that have packed jails in the Midwest and elsewhere.
"I'm confident that we will," Carter said.
Jon Marvel, the sheriff of Vigo County, one of the worst-hit counties in
Indiana, estimates that 80 percent of the inmates in the county jail in Terre
Haute are held on meth-related charges. He also points to an operating
budget that has risen from $800,000 in 1999 to about $3.4 million last year as
example of the stranglehold methamphetamine has on the county's resources.
Those costs include cleaning up makeshift labs and caring for the children left
behind when addicted parents are sentenced to prison time or undergo treatment,
Marvel said.
Carter goes a bit farther. He said children can, and do contribute to
making the drug.
"A 12-year-old can do it," he said, "using household
chemicals."
Carter advocates using pro-active measures to educate the public on just how
insidious the meth problem is.
"There is no boundary of the people ( meth ) grabs hold of, so it doesn't
matter: wealthy, poor, rural, urban, white collar, blue collar, educated or none
n it doesn't make any difference," he said.
While he believes the public education that is available currently has worked to
make people aware of methamphetamines, more needs to be done to control how the
drug is manufactured, such as limiting access to large quantities of
pseudoephedrine, a main ingredient in meth.
"I applaud what the legislature did in 2005. It was not a popular
thing, but it was the absolute right thing to do," Carter said.
"If we look back in time and look at other places that have similar laws,
most have seen a reduction of around 80 percent in the trade because of limiting
the amount of pseudoephedrine a person can buy."
Carter said every dose of pseudoephedrine equals one dose of methamphetamine.
"So if you look at the totality of what that means, it's huge," he
added. "There are no boundaries to this trade. Once it grabs
hold of you, it's virtually impossible to let go."
Indiana is included in the number of states which reported a doubling of meth
arrests over the last five years, joining Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa,
Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Figures from the Indiana State Police show that on average, it costs Hoosier
taxpayers $1,500 to $2,000 to clean up a methamphetamine lab, depending on its
size.
State Police Sgt. Mike Burns said the federal Drug Enforcement Agency
contracts with a waste hauler to dispose of the highly volatile contents of
busted meth labs.
Methamphetamine is mostly made by two processes: one using anhydrous ammonia and
another using ether. Both processes are extremely explosive, making it
dangerous not only to the "cooks" who manufacture the drug, but also
to their neighbors. Carter wants the community to call 911 if they see --
or smell -- anything suspicious in their neighborhood.
"We need a community partnership," he said. "Almost
everybody knows somebody in this world, whether it's a fireman, whether it's a
policeman, whether it's a judge -- whomever it might be. At the end of the
day, we need the community to help us."
Carter believes the county is still some time away from seeing meth wreak the
devastating effects it has on other Hoosier counties.
"But again, once that happens, it's a little too late for us to do anything
about it," he added. "The right thing for us to do is address it
now, because once it gets to the jail it's too late."
