Pubdate: Sun, 25 Feb 2001
Source: Munster Times (IN)
Copyright: 2001 The Munster Times
Contact:  The Times, 601 45th Ave., Munster, IN 46321
Fax: (219) 933-3249
Website: http://www.thetimesonline.com/
Author: Ken Kosky

METH COULD BECOME NEXT BIG DRUG

It provides a longer high than cocaine and people can make it using items 
commonly sold in stores

Recent local meth busts have Porter County police concerned. (Gregg 
Gearhart/The Times)

The next big drug isn't being smuggled into the area from far-away places 
like Columbia, it's being cooked up in homes throughout Porter County using 
ingredients purchased from local stores.

It's methamphetamine, a drug that costs about the same as cocaine but 
produces a longer-lasting high.

Meth makers and users stay in their own circles, so police haven't had much 
success in busting meth labs locally. But Porter County Narcotics Unit 
Coordinator Robert Taylor said a tip led to the confiscation of about 
$10,000 worth of the drug from a Portage home.

"I was told more than once she (the suspect) was cooking it in her 
bathtub," Taylor said.

Taylor hopes by asking people to watch out for the sights and smells of 
meth production, people will turn on their neighbors and help clean up this 
dangerous drug.

The ingredients of meth include the ephedrine found in over-the-counter 
cold medicines, lithium from batteries and the farm chemical anhydrous 
ammonia. If people see large quantities of items like torn-apart batteries 
or cans of starter fluid, that's a sign of meth production.

The most common smells resulting from the cooking include an ether smell or 
a strong cat urine smell.

The drug - also known as crank, ice and speed - was associated with biker 
labs in California and Texas in the 1970s. It began showing up in southern 
Indiana several years ago and has been spreading north ever since.

The number of Indiana labs seized has doubled each year, going from three 
in 1994 to more than 100 in 1999.

In Porter County, police are bracing for an influx of meth. In the 
meantime, heroin remains the biggest problem in Porter County, with several 
young people overdosing in recent years. Cocaine and marijuana also remain 
popular, and ecstasy is on the rise, according to Taylor.

But police know meth is around because of the occasional tip that comes in, 
and because people on probation are failing drug tests because of it. And 
1,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia -- an ingredient in meth -- was stolen 
recently from a Porter County business.

Undercover officers continue to follow up all tips they receive, and Taylor 
said he's driven around the county at night in an effort to detect the odor 
given off by labs.

One reason why police are taking the meth problem so seriously is because 
some users become violent on it. Prolonged abuse causes permanent brain 
damage with symptoms mimicking paranoid schizophrenia.

"The people who are on it are usually crazy," Taylor said.

"In most cases, you don't realize the damage it's doing until too late."

Another problem with meth is making it results in highly toxic fumes and 
waste products. It leaves homes, garages and storage sheds as toxic waste 
sites. And there is an explosion risk.

"A change of temperature or a spark could set one of those off like 
dynamite," Taylor said.

Anyone with tips about meth manufacturing, selling or using is asked to 
call Taylor at 465-3629.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens