Pubdate: Sun, 26 Feb 2006
Source: Eagle-Tribune, The (MA)
Copyright: 2006 The Eagle-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.eagletribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/129
Author: Jill  Harmacinski
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

THE NEXT BIG FEAR: METHAMPHETAMINES

As the region struggles with opiate addiction, another perilous drug
threat looms - abuse of methamphetamines.

"It's on its way," Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett
said. "And it scares the hell out of me."

North Shore "meth" cases, for now, are isolated. Beverly police
arrested a Hells Angel with a small amount of the drug in October
2004. Last December, another Beverly man was charged with having 21
grams of the drug. Police initially pulled him over for driving
erratically. He was described in a police report as "extremely high
strung," a tell-tale sign of methamphetamine abuse.

Blodgett's office is also prosecuting a handful of methamphetamine
cases in Newburyport, Amesbury and Gloucester.

Lawrence has yet to see a methamphetamine arrest, according to police
Chief John J. Romero.

Police say methamphetamines - an odorless, crystal-like powder, made
from a toxic mix of chemicals including cold medicines and drain
cleaners - now sells in this area for $150 to $200 per gram. The
drug - also called speed, crystal  meth, ice, crank, croak, tweak
and go-fast - can be swallowed, smoked, snorted  or injected.

Drug store workers are often the first to spot methamphetamine abuse
when they see customers buying or shoplifting large amounts of cold
remedies and cough syrups, police said. Some pharmacies, including
Target, have removed the drugs from the shelves to prevent abuse.

"They'll buy 500 packages of Sudafed at a time," said Salem Detective
Lt. Thomas Griffin.

The drug also poses a threat to the public through those who cook it
in makeshift labs set up in homes, apartments, hotel rooms and even
car trunks. People who live near these home labs, and police officers
and firefighters who investigate them, are also in danger of
developing physical problems, including cancer. "It's not just an
individual problem," said Griffin. "Toxic waste is created. Entire
houses have to be torn down. ... The cleanup is horrendous." Griffin
recently attended a daylong seminar on methamphetamines at the FBI
Academy in Quantico, Va. Agents from the Drug Enforcement
Administration talked about meth labs, the dangers they pose, and
"what to watch out for when you're  dismantling them," Griffin said.

In Danvers, firefighters have undergone training to prepare for a fire
or explosion in a meth lab. There are hazardous materials concerns and
other safety risks, including booby traps set by dealers, noted Deputy
Fire Chief Kevin Farrell. "They don't want to get caught," he said.

Griffin said parents should be alarmed if their children develop a
penchant for cold medicine or cough syrup.

"If they start to have a lot of cough medications around, beyond the
norm, that's something to really be concerned with," he said. And, he
noted, meth labs  aren't always sophisticated operations.

"It is something you can make in small amounts," he added, "right in
your own bedroom."
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MAP posted-by: Tom