When Henry Police Capt. Michael Gaddis was promoted last month to head the criminal investigative division, he also became the head of the narcotics division.

And, he inherited a the problem of containing and stopping a growing scourge in Henry County: methamphetamine.

"Meth is probably our most prevalent drug," Gaddis said. "It appears to be the drug of choice in the county."

In fact, methamphetamine use in Henry County, based on amounts of the drug seized here, has almost tripled in two years. In 2002, police seized methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $357,100; in 2003 they seized $714,200 worth of the stuff; and in 2004 the estimated street worth of the seizures topped $1 million.

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