Pubdate: Mon, 12 Nov 2007
Source: Peoria Journal Star (IL)
Copyright: 2007sPeoria Journal Star
Contact:  http://pjstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/338
Note: Does not publish letters from outside our circulation area.
Author: Frank Radosevich, II
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

STATE METH PRODUCTION DROPS

'Professional' Drug Labs In Mexico Taking Over; Local  Decline
Credited To Tough Laws

PEKIN - A few years after  methamphetamine spread across the fields
and towns of  central Illinois, authorities believe they have stunted
the growth of small-time meth manufacturing for the  time being,
thanks to collaboration between police and  lawmakers.

But as domestic production of the drug drops off, the  shortage has
been offset by large-scale, "professional"  laboratories in Mexico
that have been gradually  expanding their trade and now account for
the lion's  share of the drug's supply.

Usually smoked or injected, meth is a highly addictive  and
unforgiving drug whose use became prevalent in the  Midwest after
spreading from California in the late  1990s and early 2000s.

"When you're using it, you're up for days at a time,"  said Coleen
Moore, coordinator for resource development  at the Illinois Institute
for Addiction Recovery at  Proctor Hospital. "They'll crash, they'll
sleep and  then they'll want to start it all over again."

Experts attribute the slow but steady decrease in  domestic production
to a slew of Illinois laws that  toughen penalties and make key
ingredients for meth  harder to obtain.

Just last month, Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a bill  that makes
stealing, improperly storing or illegally  transporting anhydrous
ammonia - a toxic chemical used  to fertilize farms and also to make
meth - a Class 4  felony.

Police also credit the creation of the Illinois State  Police
Methamphetamine Response Teams for helping with  the decline. The MRTs
cover several counties and focus  solely on combating meth-related
crimes, allowing local  police departments to concentrate on other
problems.

"Overall, lab seizures are down right at 50 percent  from last year at
this time," said Sgt. Eric Hall, a  coordinator for the six state
police MRTs.

The number of lab seizures and meth-related arrests  throughout
Illinois have declined gradually since their  peak in 2003. The
Illinois State Police, which handles  the majority of investigations
into meth production  statewide, seized 793 clandestine labs last
year, 180  fewer than in 2005. Only 249 were seized during the  first
half of this year. The state's first lab ever was  seized in Adams
County in 1996. Peoria's first working  lab was discovered in May 2002.

In many ways, the shift in meth production from small,  homemade labs
to large-scale labs operated by  entrenched, veteran traffickers poses
a more  challenging task for law enforcement.

Meth producers and smugglers from Mexico tend to be  well-organized
and better at eluding authorities than  local makers, often referred
to by officials as  operating "mom-and-pop" labs.

In Tazewell County, the county in the Tri-County Area  hit hardest by
the drug, most labs were crude, one-man  operations where the drug was
made in small batches for  personal use or to turn a slight profit.
And when  police raided the labs, the accused was usually willing  to
cooperate with police, Tazewell County State's  Attorney Stewart
Umholtz said.

"Your local meth cook was really like the village  idiot," said
Umholtz, adding his case load for meth  crimes peaked in early 2003.
"Not so for these hardened  criminal elements from other areas. . . .
You're not  going to make much headway with them."

Demand for meth reportedly has remained steady.

"In my opinion, you're not going to totally do away  with the meth
problem," Hall said. "If there's a will,  there's a way."

Still, officials say the drug's grip on the state is  not as ironclad
as some may think. In Illinois, meth is  not the most abused drug, nor
is it commonly found in  urban areas. And few, if any, quantities of
"Mexican  meth" have reached the drug markets of central  Illinois.

"We're just not seeing meth at all," said Larry  Hawkins, director of
the Multi-County Narcotics  Enforcement Group, which includes Peoria,
Tazewell,  Knox and Marshall counties. "The drug of choice here is
cocaine or heroin."

Yet for a potent and profitable drug, a resurgence here  is not out of
the question.

"If there is a market out there and someone thinks they  can make
money, it'll be here," Hawkins said.
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MAP posted-by: Derek