Pubdate: Wed, 20 Dec 2000 Source: Spokesman-Review (WA) Copyright: 2000 Cowles Publishing Company Contact: P.O. Box 2160 Spokane, WA 99210 Fax: (509) 459-5482 Website: http://www.spokesmanreview.com/ Forum: http://cg.zip2.com/spokane/scripts/community.dll?ep=1 DRUG WAR COMING TO A HOME NEAR YOU Our View: The Methamphetamine Trade Is Bringing Danger, Blight And Expense To Our Neighborhoods And Communities. Doug Floyd - For the editorial board Spokane -- The bad guys are winning the meth war. They should; they have an advantage. Methamphetamine is cheap and easy to make, requiring simple equipment, minimal space and common ingredients. On law enforcement's side, meanwhile, combating this highly addictive drug takes costly equipment, specially trained personnel and the coordinated effort of various public agencies -- health districts, fire departments, law enforcement, environmental agencies -- all of which have budget limitations. Last week, seven people were arrested during raids on two alleged meth labs in the Spokane Valley. The action could have been carried out a day earlier -- sparing three children an extra day's exposure to the hazardous chemicals used in meth -- but local authorities had to wait for a special Washington State Patrol response team to arrive from Western Washington. Seizing a meth lab is highly specialized business. The Spokane County Sheriff's office has spent nearly $190,000 this year just on processing meth labs for evidence. Yet the problem is getting worse. Last year, according to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington ranked second behind California for the number of meth labs seized by police agencies. The state Department of Ecology says the number of known meth labs in the state, a mere 54 in all of 1995, swelled to 670 in just the first six months of 2000 and could approach 1,500 by the time figures for the whole year are tabulated. Idaho had only 133 reported meth lab seizures in 1999, well below Washington's 597, but don't let the numbers fool you. Officials and many residents of Coeur d'Alene say meth use and manufacture is devastating some of the community's historic close-in neighborhoods. Residents of Spokane's West Central Neighborhood contend with the same thing. Cash-toting meth makers rent houses from absentee landlords, then let the properties fall into neglect while attracting unsavory visitors and exposing neighbors to safety risks that include fires, explosions and chemical contamination. The cost of equipment, personnel and training to fight this battle constitutes, in Spokane County Sheriff's spokesman Dave Reagan's words, "a budget buster." Even if all law enforcement needs were met, however, cases would still bog down because the state crime lab for Eastern Washington has too few chemists and prosecutors' offices are inadequately staffed. Those are concerns for state and local budget writers to address. In the community, though, it will take a collaborative effort by concerned and attentive neighbors willing to speak out, responsive code enforcement offices prepared to take action and honorable landlords ready to accept responsibility for the destructive impact easy rental profits sometimes have on neighborhoods. - --- MAP posted-by: Kirk Bauer