Pubdate: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 Source: Tulsa World (OK) Copyright: 2000 World Publishing Co. Contact: P.O. Box 1770, Tulsa, OK 74102 Website: http://www.tulsaworld.com/ METH SCOURGE Problem Still Growing Once again Oklahoma has made the top of one of those lists we'd sooner not make at all. According to a recent published report, Oklahoma is one of the nation's leaders in methamphetamine labs, arrests, addicts and cases. This is not altogether new news. When more state and federal funds were sought recently to address the meth problem, the general scope of the problem was made clear. What isn't exactly clear is why meth production and use keep growing and growing. Statistics show that meth cases have increased more than 8,000 percent since 1994. This shocking figure also surprised some state and local law-enforcement officials, who had believed that new regulations regarding the sale of precursor chemicals were making a dent in the problem. One theory about the mushrooming of meth production and use holds that the recipes for making the vile stuff now are easily obtained, especially via the Internet. This theory is bolstered by the fact that the World Wide Web got up and running at about the same time the latest meth craze took off, in 1994. But one puzzling aspect of the meth scourge is why it remains wildly popular in places such as Oklahoma yet hasn't caught on in bigger cities. The very fact that it is cheap might be why meth is so popular in a relatively poor state such as Oklahoma. There's also evidence that meth might just be a regional favorite. Meth accounts for nearly 90 percent of all drug cases in the Midwest, according to one crime report. Perhaps the rural nature of the Midwest, where clandestine labs can be set up easily, is a factor. According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Oklahoma ranks in the top five in almost every meth category. Oklahomans are 42 percent above the national average in all age groups for meth use. Most of us have never and will never even see meth, but it still costs us all dearly. The average cost to clean up one meth lab is about $2,000. Last year, the OSBI spent $1 million on meth clean-up. And the danger of a sudden explosion from a meth lab is possible just about everywhere. So stand by to shell out more tax dollars on this growing plague, which shows no sign of abating -- unless some great minds can figure out how to stop the flow of the stuff used to make it and the recipes for brewing it. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D