Pubdate: Sun, 02 Sep 2001
Source: Appleton Post-Crescent (WI)
Copyright: 2001 The Post-Crescent
Contact:  http://www.wisinfo.com/postcrescent/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1443
Author: Ben Jones
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH MAKES INROADS IN FOX VALLEY

Police say it started as a routine traffic stop. The officer, a 
Manitowoc County Sheriff's deputy, found a half-ounce of a stimulant 
called methamphetamine in a vehicle he pulled over Aug. 26 in rural 
Manitowoc County.

Later, officers executed search warrants on homes in Two Rivers and 
the Town of Chilton and found two sites where the drug, known as 
meth, was being manufactured.

In northeastern Wisconsin, discoveries like this are becoming more common.

Authorities say they are seizing more meth and more of the volatile 
labs used to produce the drug than they ever have before.

While much of the drug activity has been confined to rural counties 
in the southwestern and northwestern parts of the state, the drug is 
becoming more common in the Fox Valley area.

"It's out there, it's increasing and it's a very dangerous drug," 
said Bob Sloey, director of operations for the Wisconsin Division of 
Narcotics Enforcement.

Sloey said the increase is illustrated by tallies of seized samples 
processed by the State Crime Lab.

If police continue to seize the drug at the current rate, the lab 
will process 160 samples this year, twice what it processed last year.

"It's becoming the drug of choice, particularly in rural Wisconsin," 
Sloey said.

Sloey said states that border Wisconsin, especially Iowa, Minnesota 
and Illinois, have more meth activity.

Last year, Iowa police busted more than 530 meth labs, compared to 30 
labs seized by Wisconsin officers.

"We should feel very fortunate compared to other states," Sloey said. 
"We don't compare to our neighbor states yet, but there has been an 
increase in the presence of meth and the presence of meth labs."

In Wisconsin, Sloey said meth use and production appear to be most 
common in counties near the state's border.

Last year, the state lab processed two batches of meth from Brown 
County and one sample each from Outagamie, Winnebago and Door 
counties.

In the first six months of this year, the lab processed four samples 
from Outagamie County, six samples from Winnebago County, two samples 
from Brown County and three samples from Fond du Lac County.

The recent discovery of a meth lab in Calumet County is the first of 
its kind in recent memory, said Dean Schenk, an investigator with the 
Calumet County Sheriff's Department.

The Calumet County District Attorney's office is investigating the 
case and plans to file charges sometime this week.

"In Calumet County, this is something we take very seriously," Schenk said.

He said the drug is concerning. "It's a highly addictive drug," 
Schenk said. "One of the dangers is the manufacturing process. They 
use things like ammonia, chemicals containing heavy metals and 
starting fluid."

The labs can produce fires, explosions and dangerous fumes.

Meth can be snorted, injected or smoked. The drug's high lasts for 
hours o far longer than cocaine's effects. Users come off the drug 
hard.

"When they come off, there are violent mood swings," Schenk said. 
"They come off in a very hard, abrupt way."

Sloey said the drug can prompt people to stay up for days. Users can 
become paranoid, delusional and violent.

Sgt. Roger Price, project director of the Lake Winnebago Area 
Metropolitan Enforcement Group, a regional undercover drug police 
squad, said that in the Fox Valley, marijuana and cocaine are still 
more prevalent. But, he said his office has witnessed a steady 
increase in meth activity over the past few years.

"I think we will be seeing more and more of it," Price said.
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