Pubdate: Mon, 11 Mar 2002
Source: Birmingham News, The (AL)
Copyright: 2002 The Birmingham News
Contact:  http://www.al.com/birminghamnews/today/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/45
Author: Val Walton
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

SHERIFF: METH SPREADS IN WALKER

In Walker County, narcotic officers discover meth labs in car trunks, motel 
rooms, unkempt houses and an upholstery business in the heart of Jasper.

The cheap, highly addictive drug thrives because it's so easy to make.

In this rural county of 72,000, methamphetamine now surpasses cocaine, 
crack and marijuana as the drug of choice, said Walker County Sheriff John 
Mark Tirey. Users eat, snort, smoke or inject it. The addict's high can 
last up to 12 hours; the addiction a lifetime.

Law enforcement officials, fearful of its spread, have taken a hard-nosed 
approach with federal help to hobble the illicit drug.

"We recognize we had a problem and we have worked extremely hard to get it 
stopped," Tirey said.

Last week, authorities began arresting the 31 accused drug-makers and 
dealers indicted Feb. 28 on charges of making and distributing meth. The 
defendants, Walker County residents, face arraignment Tuesday in 
Birmingham's federal court. It was the second wave of indictments stemming 
from a two-year investigation. Thirty-five people were nabbed last year. 
The investigation continues.

"There's more to come," Tirey said.

Tirey and others hope that the arrest and possible conviction of the 
defendants will help stifle the drug's surge. If convicted the defendants 
could serve up to 10 years in prison.

"This will make a big dent," said Paul Kilgore, director of the Walker 
County Narcotics Enforcement Team. "This gets them off the street. It also 
puts a little more fear out there. They know they will go to federal prison 
no parole, no early out."

Methamphetamine's touch has been in Walker County for years. It was being 
carried east from California by biker gangs and long-haul truck drivers, 
who used the stimulant drug to stay awake.

But four years ago, Tirey recalls, authorities discovered meth 
manufactured, or cooked, in mobile laboratories. The drug's infiltration began.

"It was almost like wildfire spreading," Tirey said. "We recognized it 
would get to epidemic proportions if we didn't get onto it as quickly as we 
could."

Raids became common with the help of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. 
Money pumped into the county's narcotics team was beefed up with sheriff's 
deputies and local police. Two of its members received special training to 
learn more about the drug. Officers often worked 18 hour days, scrambling 
to get a handle on its spread.

Walker County District Attorney Charles Baker added a full-time assistant 
district attorney to the narcotics team.

Matthew Daughtery, the drug prosecutor, said the discovery of labs, some no 
bigger than a large Igloo ice cooler, began to climb.

"Instead of one once every three or four months, we started seeing them 
monthly," Daughtery said. "That let us know something was going on."

He said there also was a link in a rise of crime with the drug's presence.

Unlike crack dealing, there haven't been any turf wars, he said. But 
there's plenty of shooting because addicts become angry and paranoid when 
high. They're quick to grab guns.

"We have found them armed to the teeth," Daughtery said. "It makes them 
very dangerous to deal with. Luckily, there have been no shootings during 
search warrants."

Officials also have seen an increase in property crimes, according to the 
prosecutor.

"Once they get hooked on the drugs, they want more," Daughtery said. "If 
they're out of money, they don't think twice about breaking into someone's 
house."

Shoplifting also climbed as meth makers would steal the ingredients, many 
found legally over the counter. Meth is cooked by using a volatile mix of 
chemicals such as Red Devil lye, rat killer, battery parts and anhydrous 
ammonia. It usually contains over-the-counter medications such as ephedrine 
or pseudoephedrine.

Walker County residents are quick to say they don't think the county has a 
bigger drug problem than any other rural area in Alabama. U.S. Attorney 
Alice Martin described making and distributing methamphetamine as the "No. 
1 emerging, illicit drug threat in northern Alabama."

"I don't think it's any worse here," said Bruce Hamrick, county commission 
president. "I don't think the number of arrests should run up some red 
flag. We've got some aggressive people hammering it and just targeting it 
right now."

That's good news to Mitch Kilgore, who owns Jasper's Main Street Hot Dogs. 
Kilgore said meth has touched many lives. His home was burglarized three times.

"Everybody pretty much knows someone involved," he said.

He said he hopes the drug will be only a history lesson when his three 
grandchildren, ages 3, 2 and 1, are ready for school.

For all the efforts, law officers and drug expects are realistic that meth 
will be a stubborn foe.

"It's immediate gratification," said David Whittinghill, an assistant 
professor at UAB and coordinator of the university's substance abuse 
counseling track. "

While crack, which can cost $20 to $50 a rock, offers an intense high that 
lasts about 20 minutes, smokeable meth costs less and has a longer high.

"You get more bang for your buck," Whittinghill said.
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