FW POLICE CHIEF SAYS `METH' PROBLEM HAS HIT TEXAS

Authorities say methamphetamines became more of a Texas problem in 2001 -
and even moreso since the events of Sept. 11.

In Fort Worth, police seized almost twice as much methamphetamines from
January through November this year as in the same 11 months of 2000, and
arrests were 14 percent higher.

"With the closing of the borders, we're not seeing the same kinds and
quantities of drugs brought in. As a result, we're seeing more of the drugs
made locally, like methamphetamines," said James Cook, chief prosecutor of
the Tarrant County drug unit.

Lt. Ric Clark, supervisor of the Fort Worth narcotics unit, said
methamphetamine, also called meth, is now being seized in drug busts and
arrests more often than any other controlled substance except cocaine.

That doesn't include marijuana, which is not in the same category as
cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and so on.

Once, the manufacture of methamphetamines was a skilled outlaw trade, run
mostly by drug cartels in Mexico or motorcycle gangs using secret recipes.

Not any more. Cheaper and easier than ever before, manufacturing the drug
has become more of a home-based operation that has spread from the West
Coast to the Metroplex, officials say.

Clark attributes the widespread possession of methamphetamine to the
development of simpler cooking directions and availability of recipes on
the Internet.

Clark calls meth "the moonshine of the drug world."

"It was kind of a West Coast problem initially that spread eastward," said
Fort Worth Police Chief Ralph Mendoza. "It hit Oklahoma pretty hard last
year. Now it's hitting the (Dallas-Fort Worth) Metroplex pretty hard also."

So far this year, members of the unit have seized more than 55 meth labs in
Tarrant County, said Bill Russell, commander of the narcotics unit.

Methamphetamine is a central nervous system stimulant that increases the
heart and respiration rate, blood pressure and body temperature. Also
called speed, crank, ice or crystal, meth can be smoked, snorted, injected
or taken orally.

Drugs such as heroin or cocaine require transporting poppy and coke leaves
from other countries, but Nazi and Red P labs use legal ingredients that
can be purchased at retail and feed stores.

Some cooks steal anhydrous ammonia fertilizer.

"It's being refined, and every day a new cook steps in the process," Clark
said.

Hindering law enforcement is the speed with which meth can be produced - as
little as 30 minutes.

"At about the time we're getting information and getting enough probable
cause to get a warrant, they're finishing up and leaving," said Duane
Steen, Garland district captain of the Department of Public Safety's
narcotic unit. "The labs are mobile."

Steen said he believes that a new law that went into effect Sept. 1 will
help authorities with what he calls the "explosion" of methamphetamine and
labs.

The law makes it illegal to possess or transport anhydrous ammonia or a
chemical substance subject to regulation by DPS, with the intent to
manufacture a controlled substance. Under the new law, the intent to
manufacture meth is a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in
prison and a fine of up to a $10,000.

"It's going to be a plus," Steen said. "They're not going to have to have
that finished product for you to make a good drug case."