Pubdate: Fri, 11 Apr 2003 Source: Weatherford Democrat (US TX) Contact: 2003, The Weatherford Democrat Website: http://www.weatherforddemocrat.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2881 Author: Tereasa Nims, Democrat Reporter Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) POLICE: METH IS COUNTY'S DRUG OF CHOICE Area law enforcement are seizing more methamphetamine laboratories in Parker County, which they claim is due to the area's affinity for the drug and the ease in making it. "Methamphetamine has always been the drug of choice in Parker County," said Lt. Brian Wright of the Cross Timbers Narcotics Task Force. "Every area has a drug that is more predominant and that's what it is here." Wright said that, coupled with it being easier and cheaper to make, has led to a steady number of methamphetamine labs seized in the county. He said in the past two years the numbers have been steady. Wright said in 2001 Cross Timbers seized 36 meth labs and in 2002 they dismantled another 36. Those numbers compare to the 122 labs seized statewide by the Texas Department of Public Safety. In addition, the total number of meth labs seized across the state in 2001 as reported by all state law enforcement was more than 350. DPS Director Col. Thomas A. Davis Jr. said DPS narcotics agents seized 122 methamphetamine labs in 2002 in Texas compared to 19 in 1998, a 542 percent increase. Officials said a growing demand and easy accessibility to the chemicals used to make methamphetamine have led to an increase in its production and use. "The production of meth is dangerous to those who cook it and use it, but the danger is not limited only to them," Davis said. Davis said in 2000, DPS seized 65 meth labs of the 178 reported statewide, in 2001 there were reportedly 228 labs seized, with 124 being seized by DPS. Davis said the growing meth problem is a threat to the public, law enforcement and hazardous-materials teams because it involves the use of explosive, flammable and cancer-causing chemicals. He warns anyone who comes in contact with these chemicals can endure a variety of life-threatening symptoms, including chest pains, shortness of breath, dizziness and burns. "Anyone who comes in contact with these labs is exposed to dangers that can produce life-threatening injury, death and destruction of property," Davis said. Wright said most users find it easier to make the drug than to buy it. "There are a lot of people out there doing it," Wright said. He said because cooks no longer need electricity or water to process the drug, the labs are more portable and one can make it from the back of their car. While some people get recipes for the drug online, Wright said that often it is from "monkey see, monkey do." But the one factor working in favor of law enforcement is the difficulty in getting ingredients. Wright said many meth manufacturers get the active ingredients from drug stores. "That's where almost all of them get it," Wright said. "Most stores are regulating such items, only allowing consumers to buy three boxes." Yet, not all are buying. The increase in theft of such products and the accelerated danger has forced many pharmacies to keep the items locked behind the counter. Brookshires Manager Dan Carter said the store keeps over-the-counter medications containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine in a locked cabinet. He said that high theft of the products have forced the store to take that step. "We have a limit on how many you can buy," said Pharmacist Monte Berrin of Hometown Pharmacy. He said the store restricts the amount people can buy because one needs a lot of the substances to make methamphetamine and they don't want to contribute to the process if they can help it. Davis said that a person might be living next door to a meth cooker or driving next to one on the highway, with law enforcement finding them in the back seats and trunks of cars. Labs were once staffed by chemists or those familiar with chemicals. But the labs are not run by chemists now, they are run by "cooks" who are following a recipe that has passed through an untold number of people before the cook received it. The process sometimes ends with the meth cooker getting burned, blown up or otherwise injured. One law enforcement agency estimate attributed the discovery of one out every five meth labs is because of an explosion. The Nazi method of producing methamphetamine derives its name from a formula believed to have originated in Nazi Germany. The method uses ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, which up until recently was a readily available over-the-counter drug used in cold remedies, weight-loss aids and energy enhancers. Investigators said that the meth cooks and their friends usually use half of the final product while selling the remainder to buy more ingredients. There is another methamphetamine production type called clandestine production. This method produces toxic substances and requires special training for dismantling because of the vapors and other byproducts involved. Some of the items used in this manufacture of meth can include carburetor cleaner, engine starting fluid, anhydrous ammonia, drain cleaners, cyanide and several different types of acid. Wright said that because of the paranoia that many meth users suffer, some of the labs are bobby-trapped. While this hasn't been a problem for narcotic officers in Parker County, agents across the country have been killed or injured in the process of raiding labs. The drug was first synthesized in Japan in 1919. It was used to keep Allied and Axis troops in World War 1 alert. Today, it is used to treat attention deficit disorders and narcolepsy, but it is also being abused by others with no medical reason for using it.