Pubdate: Sun, 18 Sep 2005
Source: Portsmouth Herald (NH)
Copyright: 2005 Seacoast Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1157
Author: Susan Morse
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

SEABROOK POLICE PREPARE FOR RISE IN USE OF CRYSTAL METH

SEABROOK - It's not a question of if, but when, the meth epidemic will hit 
the state.

So say Seabrook police, who on the border of Massachusetts await the next 
illegal drug influx like sailors looking toward a coming storm.

"Heroin is traditionally cheap and available," said Seabrook Police Officer 
Jeffrey Stackpole. "This, unfortunately, is the drug of the future we're 
dealing with."

Unlike heroin, which infected Seabrook as an "epidemic," according to the 
State Police Narcotics Unit, methamphetamines will require no clandestine 
trips to Lowell or Lawrence, Mass., to secure the drug.

It will be manufactured in local homes and motels, in cars, and in the 
woods, and then the sites will be abandoned, leaving a hazardous-materials 
mess for taxpayers to clean up.

Catching meth-makers will be difficult, as the materials used to create the 
crystalline white drug are legal: Sudafed, Contact, or similar cold 
products containing pseudoephedrine, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, 
matchbook striker pads, batteries, iodine and Coleman fuel, to name a few.

The meth ingredients are pulled from the drugstore items by hot or cold 
method, over a burner, or through shaking.

Two empty plastic Coke bottles and surgical tubing has created many a meth 
lab in the back of a car, which is later abandoned, Stackpole said.

The hot method heats highly flammable ingredients, Stackpole explained, and 
explosions are common. The cold method is no less volatile.

Every pound of meth made creates five pounds of hazardous waste. Meth labs 
are transient and often hidden outdoors.

While no labs have been found in Seabrook or surrounding towns, three have 
been discovered in the Rochester-Dover area.

"It would not surprise either of us if it's here," said Stackpole, 
referring to himself and Seabrook's undercover Drug Task Force officer. 
They and Officer David Buccheri are attending meth seminars to find out 
what they're dealing with and how to recognize meth before the epidemic 
completes its northeasterly spread.

Nearly 3,000 meth labs have been found in Missouri, more than 1,000 in 
Illinois and Indiana, and 48 in New York State.

Other states have moved Sudafed to shelves behind the pharmacist's counter.

"At least three labs have been found in the state so far," Stackpole said. 
"There is an epidemic in the West."

The highly addictive stimulant releases dopamine in the brain, boosting 
feelings of pleasure. Users can stay high for days without eating or 
sleeping, making the drug as attractive to high school and college students 
as speed.

As the drug wears off, deep depression signals the need for another dose. 
The chemicals erode brain tissue. Users literally burn out.

The fertilizers, battery acid, matchbook striker surfaces and hydrogen 
peroxide in meth reduce saliva in the mouth, resulting in more bacteria, 
which erodes teeth. "Meth mouth" is a common affliction among users.

The high is similar to cocaine, Stackpole said, but lasts much longer. A 
single dose creates a six-to eight-hour high, compared to cocaine which 
lasts eight to 20 minutes.

A dose costs about the same as cocaine, $70 to $100 for a gram, he said.

"It's one of the most addictive drugs you can get," said Seabrook's 
undercover drug officer.

It can be snorted, smoked or injected, and goes by numerous names: speed, 
meth, crank, ice, crystal, glass.

"It's literally an epidemic in other parts of the country and it's working 
its way toward us," Stackpole said.

Recipes are easily available on the Web. Ingredients are cheap, profit 
margins are great, the middle man is eliminated, and the addiction is 
immediate.

For $140 in ingredients, meth-makers can profit $2,000, Stackpole said.

"It's not a matter of if it's coming. It's just when."
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman