Pubdate: Mon, 11 Aug 2008 Source: Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, WI) Copyright: 2008 Eau Claire Press Contact: http://www.cvol.net/contacteditor.htm#editorform Website: http://www.leadertelegram.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/236 Author: Chris Vetter, Chippewa Falls News Bureau Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) AREA METH USE ON THE DECLINE As Eau Claire County Sheriff Ron Cramer was leaving a restaurant Thursday night, a man approached him and proudly told the sheriff he had been clean and sober for four months. He thanked Cramer for his help. "It's a good feeling that they want to share their success stories with you," Cramer said. Several law enforcement officials from around the Chippewa Valley met last week, and they talked about which drugs are hot and which are not, Cramer said. The consensus was that methamphetamine use is down but that other drugs are taking its place. Meth arrests have dropped significantly since 2005 in the Chippewa Valley. After a high of 28 arrests in July 2005, the numbers fell to two arrests in October, one in November and none in December, according to West Central Wisconsin Drug Task Force figures covering 2005 through 2007. Cramer said legislative changes, which made it more difficult to accumulate large supplies of drug precursors such as Sudafed, are a reason for the drop. "That has really worked," Cramer said. "The mom-and-pop labs have really gone down. It has slowed down immensely." While the Chippewa Valley is seeing a drop in meth use, Cramer heard from officials in the Duluth, Minn., area that use is rampant there. Chippewa Falls Police Chief Wayne Nehring agreed that meth arrests are down, but that doesn't mean it's gone. "We are probably still seeing meth use, not to the degree we did two or three years ago, but it's still there," Nehring said. "The drug that has probably replaced it is cocaine. I think people are lulled into thinking meth has disappeared because you don't hear as much about it anymore, but that's not necessarily true." The Chippewa Falls Police Department made a huge push in the spring to get area residents to clean out their medicine cabinets and get rid of old prescription medicine. "I still think our number one drug problem is the prescription abuse," Nehring said. Kirk Olson, an investigator with the drug task force, agrees with Nehring that legal prescription drugs like methadone and Oxycontin are a big concern. "There seems to be a lot of that going on," Olson said. "And you get some of these people who go 'doctor shopping,' going from one doctor to another." For instance, a person who gets a prescription filled for methadone in Altoona one day might try to get another prescription for the drug filled in Whitehall the next day, Olson said. Olson said teens are getting their hands on prescription drugs and selling them to friends, and they might not even know the effects of the pills, such as anti-depressants and diuretics. "We'll arrest people who have 12 pills in their pockets, and there will be three or four different types," Olson said. "(They have) no idea what they'll do to you." Cramer said the key to reducing drug use is education about the dangers involved. "I hate the phrase 'the drug war,' " Cramer said. "It's constant drug education." With the drug task force, which covers six area counties, Olson has seen a continued drop in meth arrests so far this year. The task force has seized more meth this year, however, because of one large drug bust. Heroin use nationwide is up, but that doesn't seem to be the case locally, Olson said. "We're seeing a little bit of it," Olson said. "It is greater than it was five, 10 years ago, but it isn't as widespread as in other places, like in bigger cities." Marty Folczyk, an investigator with the Menomonie Police Department assigned to the drug task force, said marijuana remains the most abused drug in the county. Meth use declined two years ago but gradually is rising again, she said. The majority of meth found in Dunn County comes from the Twin Cities, he said. Folczyk estimated about a dozen meth cases have been reported in the county this year, but he has seen little or no heroin use. Cramer said heroin use hasn't been a big issue. "We're not seeing it," Cramer said. "It's mostly out of the Twin Cities or mailed in from Thailand. It used to be used for medicinal purposes from the elders (there)." Chippewa County Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk used to work on the drug task force. "In the three years I was in there, we never (saw) heroin," Kowalczyk said. "I'm not saying heroin isn't available here, but it's not the drug of choice." Marijuana use remains prevalent, Cramer said, and it's more powerful than what was being sold years ago. "What we are dealing with is the high-grade marijuana that they call 'nuggets,' " Cramer said. "They are going out to the West Coast or from Canada (to get it)." Menomonie Bureau reporter Pamela Powers contributed to this report. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom