Pubdate: Thu, 15 Jun 2006
Source: Grand Forks Herald (ND)
Copyright: 2006 Grand Forks Herald
Contact:  http://www.northscape.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/513
Author: Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

REPORT FINDS FEWER METH LABS, STEADY METH TRAFFIC IN MINNESOTA

MINNEAPOLIS - Methamphetamine labs are disappearing in Minnesota, 
though that doesn't mean there are fewer abusers or less of the 
addictive drug on the street, according to a report slated for release today.

The Hazelden report showed a 78 percent drop in the number of meth 
labs busted and a 75 percent drop in people arrested for making meth 
in the third quarter of 2005 compared with the same period in 2004. 
The drop came after a state law went into effect July 1 restricting 
the sale of decongestants which contain a key meth ingredient at drugstores.

"We have seen a huge drop of meth labs in the state. I think the new 
law is the best example of something that actually worked," said 
special agent Larry Bergsgaard, who heads the narcotics unit of the 
state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Similar results were seen in 
Iowa, Oklahoma and other states that have similar laws, he said.

The drop confirms anecdotal reports from law enforcement officials 
that they are finding fewer meth labs. The explosive chemicals used 
to make the drug seep into the walls and floors of buildings and into 
the environment and can cause cancer, brain damage and respiratory problems.

Although the report didn't cite the number of meth labs busted, in 
2003 police found more than 400 of them, according to the state 
Department of Public Safety. Even so, "meth continues to come into 
the state in large quantities, the purity is higher and the price is 
still pretty cheap," Bergsgaard said.

Although the number of people treated for meth addiction continues to 
increase, fewer died from meth overdoses. There were 14 
methamphetamine deaths in the state last year compared with 20 in 
2004, the report said. Heroin and other opiates caused the most drug 
overdose deaths in the two counties, 102 deaths in 2005, which was 30 
more than in 2004.

Among all Minnesotans, fewer than 1 percent used methamphetamine in 
the past year, said Carol Falkowski, a Hazelden Foundation drug trend 
expert who compiled the report. National surveys found the same 
share, about 0.6 percent, had used meth.

That compared with about 7 percent of Minnesotans who had tried 
marijuana and 1 percent who used cocaine in the past year, according 
to a telephone survey of about 16,900 people interviewed for the 
state Human Services Department.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman