Pubdate: Fri, 26 Apr 2002
Source: South Bend Tribune (IN)
Copyright: 2002 South Bend Tribune
Contact:  http://www.southbendtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/621
Author: Charles Wilson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?194 (Hutchinson, Asa)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

DEA HEAD LAUNCHES METH TOUR IN INDY

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration 
began a cross-country tour focusing on methamphetamine abuse Thursday in 
Indianapolis, which authorities say is a hub for transporting the illegal 
drug across the nation.

While meth making is a booming cottage industry -- Indiana State Police 
reported dismantling 681 meth labs last year -- as much as 70 percent of 
the drug sold in the state is cooked in "super labs," mostly in California, 
DEA Director Asa Hutchinson said at a statewide meth summit.

Whether made on the West Coast from ingredients imported from Canada and 
Mexico, or cooked in someone's garage from cold pills and batteries bought 
at the local drugstore, "I believe in rural America, it is the number-one 
drug problem," Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson spoke to about 500 police officers, prosecutors, school and 
health officials from around Indiana. He was beginning a 32-state, 
three-month tour focusing on the meth problem.

Methamphetamine -- dubbed "speed," "crank," "crystal meth" and "glass" on 
the streets -- has surpassed cocaine in popularity in rural areas and is 
gaining use in cities, experts say. The stimulant produces a euphoria 
similar to cocaine, but lasts longer and is more addictive. It can be 
snorted, smoked or injected.

Compared with other drugs, meth is easy to make, and the price has come 
down -- from an estimated $1,420 per ounce in 1995 to $1,265 in 1999.

"You've got the cocaine and the crack -- the rich man's high and then 
you've got the poor man's high -- and this seems to be everybody's high," 
said Demetrias McIntosh, a probation officer from St. Joseph County in 
northern Indiana.

She and others who attended the daylong conference heard presentations on 
meth's effects, how it is made, the hazards posed by the drug's production 
and how to treat those addicted to the drug.

Authorities believe that Indianapolis, where four interstate highways 
converge, is a transportation hub for distributing the drug, State Police 
Superintendent Mel Carraway said.

As quickly as large-scale meth dealers are prosecuted, smaller, homegrown 
labs seem to pop up to replace them, said Susan Brooks, the U.S. attorney 
for southern Indiana. State police project they will dismantle 800 meth 
labs by the end of the year.

The solution, Hutchinson said, is to attack not only the supply, but the 
demand.

Courts should offer treatment as an alternative to prison time for 
nonviolent drug offenders, and businesses' drug-testing policies must also 
include remedial treatment for employees who test positive, Hutchinson said.
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