Pubdate: Wed, 21 Feb 2007
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Copyright: 2007 The Anchorage Daily News
Contact:  http://www.adn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18
Author: George Bryson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

DRUG OFFICIALS FIND FEWER LABS BUT MORE METH

The rapid growth of "mom-and-pop" methamphetamine labs in the Mat-Su 
Valley may be leveling off -- or even falling -- but the prevalence 
of the drug in Alaska isn't, according to a panel of experts who 
addressed the subject this week at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

After the seizure of 62 meth labs in Alaska in 2004, only 45 were 
discovered in 2005, federal Drug Enforcement Agency officer Harvey 
Goehring told forum participants Monday at the UAA Book Store.

At the same time, however, the sheer amount of meth seized by Alaska 
law officials statewide more than tripled -- from 646 grams in 2004 
to 2,292 grams in 2005 -- which suggests that Alaska meth users may 
now be tapping "super-lab" sources Outside.

Supporting evidence virtually poured in three months ago when DEA 
agents in Anchorage seized a FedEx package from California containing 
11 pounds of meth -- about 100,000 hits worth -- with a street value 
that law enforcement officials estimated as high as $1 million.

Goehring and others at the forum pointed to anecdotal evidence that 
meth is reaching village youths in the Bush, where the drug is 
perceived as easier to buy and longer-lasting than cocaine.

That's because it quickly enters the brain and can remain in the 
blood system for days, Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, a family practitioner 
with Providence Matanuska Health Care in Wasilla, told the forum. 
Unfortunately, even small doses can cause permanent brain damage.

The chemicals used in making meth -- which can include ephedrine and 
pseudoephedrine from cold medicines, paint thinner, red phosphorus 
from matchbooks, drain cleaner and battery acid -- can literally burn 
through flesh.

Baldwin-Johnson showed the audience slide photos of users with 
advanced cases of "meth mouth," in which virtually all their teeth 
had rotted away, and one woman with severe blisters on her forearms 
where the drug had eroded her blood vessels from the inside out.

When there's a meth lab in a home, the danger increases, since 
chemicals in the air can easily infect everyone in a family, 
including small children, said Baldwin-Johnson, who in 2002 received 
a national honor as "family practitioner of the year."

According to DEA statistics, between a third and a half of the meth 
labs in Alaska have children in the home at the time of a drug bust. 
And up to 80 percent of the kids who've been tested within two hours 
check positive for meth in their urine.

Another growing concern is the environmental contamination that can 
linger in a meth home, or meth-waste dump hidden outside, after the 
users have come and gone.

"Meth labs have been found almost anyplace you can think of," 
Baldwin-Johnson said. "Out in the Valley -- which unfortunately has 
gained the reputation of being 'The Meth Capital of Alaska' -- we've 
had meth labs dumped in public parks. We've had them discovered in 
hotels and motels. We had a guy who created a meth lab in a Ford van 
that he buried in his back yard."

Goehring showed PowerPoint photos of a tent-lab that was discovered 
in Centennial Park in northeast Anchorage, as well as another meth 
lab in Anchorage on fire -- which is often how they're discovered.

The cost of cleaning up meth labs in Alaska has cost the DEA $750,000 
since 2002, according to the agency's records.

But new renters shouldn't assume that a former meth lab is clean -- 
they should demand to see the documentation, said former Anchorage 
state senator Gretchen Guess, who sponsored two meth bills that were 
passed into law.

The first, adopted four years ago, requires landlords to fully clean 
meth contamination from their properties -- up to state standards -- 
before they allow them to be occupied again. The state Department of 
Environmental Conservation maintains a list of such properties on its 
Web site, Guess said.

The second, which became law last June, limits the amount of 
non-prescription cold medicines that contain ephedrine and 
pseudoephedrine that can be purchased over the counter and requires 
retailers to maintain a logbook. It also increases sentences on 
people convicted of operating meth labs with children present.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman