WEEKEND HEROIN BUST COULD SWAY LOCAL USERS

Local police will be watching to see if a massive Washington state
"black tar" heroin bust will affect the marked increase in possession
of the drug in west Washington County.

Cornelius Police Department Cmdr. Ed Jensen says black tar heroin had
been on a decline for a long time, but over the last 10 days was seen
often enough to unnerve officers.

The increase could be tied to a regional drug ring that was busted by
Tacoma, Wash., police Friday, March 2, Jensen said.

Two Mexican citizens are being held pending federal charges in what
the Tacoma Police Department is calling the largest drug bust in the
history of the department.

Detectives with TPD did hundreds of hours of surveillance during the
investigation that ended with the seizure of 55 pounds of black tar
heroin worth more than $2.5 million, said TPD spokesman Mark Fulghum.

Black tar heroin is the most common form of the drug in Oregon. Black
tar heroin is produced in Mexico and transported from Southwest
border states directly to Oregon. Mexican drug trafficking
organizations primarily control the transportation and distribution
of heroin into and throughout Oregon with Mexican street gangs and
outlaw motorcycle gangs. The black tar version of heroin isn't as
pure as the white powder form, and is therefore more dangerous, experts say.

Drug popularity does tend to run in cycles, Jensen admits.

"The only one that really hasn't run in cycles is methamphetamine," he said.

Methamphetamine is one of the most widely abused controlled
substances. In the past, powder methamphetamine was most common;
however, seizures show a switch to the more addictive and potent form
of meth referred to as "ice" or "crystal."

Oregon legislators enacted a number of laws aimed at directly
reducing meth availability and local production. In July 2006,
products containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, precursor
chemicals used in methamphetamine manufacturing, became Schedule III
controlled substances, available only by prescription.

Reported clandestine laboratory seizures have been declining in
Oregon, but the price and availability have remained the same, Jensen
said. So-called "superlabs" in Mexico and South America have
willingly filled the void left by local manufacturers, Jensen said.

Unlike other drugs, the methamphetamine epidemic started in the west
and is just now reaching the East Coast.