Pubdate: Mon, 27 Nov 2006
Source: Evening Sun (Hanover, PA)
Copyright: 2006 Evening Sun
Contact:  http://www.eveningsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3512
Author: Brent Burkey
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

HUNTERS, BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR METH LABS

Dumping near those "No Dumping" signs that dot the roadways through 
rural Pennsylvania is a common sight, but some worry that the trash 
might have a sinister source.

In Michigan, for example, hunters have come across at least three 
methamphetamine labs so far this hunting season, according to reports 
from that state.

Materials used to make the drug are explosion hazards, state police 
said, making the manufacturing facilities highly dangerous and 
pushing their construction far away from population centers.

And, although no such lab has yet been found on a public hunting land 
owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, officials are asking 
hunters to be on the lookout for them as they join the million-man 
orange army marching into the Keystone State woods today.

According to the Pennsylvania State Police, methamphetamine is one of 
the fastest growing drug problems in the state.

In 2004, the police agency began releasing posters showing the 
products used to make methamphetamine that are often legal to have 
and can be bought at almost any drug store.

Methamphetamine is an addictive stimulant made from cold medication, 
making large numbers of leftover blister packaging one of the 
telltale signs of a meth lab.

The chemical byproducts from making the drug can also pollute 
groundwater and the manufacturing process can cause a large 
explosion, despite the labs being as small as a backpack, state 
police have said. The explosion danger has made rural, out-of-the-way 
places, popular for manufacturing the drug.

In other states, that has included public lands. Basically, the meth 
kitchens are set up among the trees.

Jerry Feaser, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, said 
the agency has been fortunate in dealing with meth labs.

"So far, we haven't found any," Feaser said. But game commission 
officers are being trained to spot possible labs if they come across them.

Kurt Knaus, spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection, 
said the materials found in a meth lab can be dangerous, but the main 
reason hunters should stay away from them is because they are crime scenes.

"You need to clean up while preserving evidence," Knouse said.

Both officials said anyone who believes they have come across a meth 
lab should contact local or state police immediately.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman