CHRISTIAN COUNTY FARMERS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR METH MATERIALS

TAYLORVILLE - It's inexpensive. It's easy to make. And it can become
very profitable. But it's also dangerous - not just the substance
itself, but the people who make it.

"It" is methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant one local law
enforcement official described as "the redneck drug" because of the
relative ease in which its makers can find the components in rural
areas.

In central Illinois, the drug's prominence has literally exploded over
the past three years. The problem is of special concern for farmers,
who are reporting more and more incidents of anhydrous ammonia being
stolen from their farms for use in "cooking" methamphetamine, as well
as potentially dangerous components of the drug's manufacture being
discarded near their fields.

Officials from the Christian and Montgomery county sheriff's offices
explained to farmers at a Christian County Soil Savers meeting
Thursday what to look for and what to do when they find it.

Christian County Sheriff Bob Kindermann explained that there's a
difference between what police report as a meth lab and an
"encounter." If meth-making materials are found, that is an encounter.
It's only reported as a meth lab if the materials are about to be used
to make the drug, are being used to make meth or have just recently
been used to make it.

Kindermann said six meth labs were reported in Christian County in all
of 1999. There were 12 meth labs reported in the county last year, and
there's already been seven reported this year, plus another six meth
encounters, he said.

Not a single meth lab was reported in Montgomery County in 1998, but
there were eight meth labs last year and 32 encounters.

Law enforcement officials say production of the drug is difficult to
prosecute because meth is relatively new, and the laws haven't caught
up with it yet. Plus, it's dangerous to store the volatile chemicals
as evidence for long periods of time.

Montgomery County Sheriff James Vazzi said authorities have taken a
proactive approach. Still, he fears the problem will only get worse.

"I do, because of the easy method they have (to make meth) and the
abundance of anhydrous ammonia," Vazzi said. "It only takes an hour
and a half to make a batch of methamphetamine. All the ingredients can
be gotten through stores locally."

Rick Robbins, a Montgomery County sheriff's deputy who investigates
meth labs for the South Central Illinois Drug Task Force, said
discarded meth-lab components are found almost daily. During
Thursday's presentation, Robbins displayed the dozens of household
items that are often used in making meth: cold tablets, paint thinner,
coffee filters, antifreeze and glass containers. Large amounts of any
of these are a telltale sign of illegal activity, he said.

What can farmers do? Not much, Robbins said. The materials can be
dangerous, so they shouldn't be touched or even smelled. And if you
see someone trying to steal anhydrous ammonia, it's not worth trying
to stop them yourself, he said.

"Farmers need to be very careful of the people who are paranoid that
use methamphetamine because it is a central-nervous-system stimulant
that affects people in so many different ways," Robbins said. "You
cannot actually give an exact term of what a (meth user) will do at
that time because they are so different and the hazards they have with
them can be very harmful to farmers."

Robbins said the anhydrous thieves typically travel in groups. Those
that use meth are often highly paranoid-schizophrenic, have very
sophisticated schemes, are most dangerous when coming down from a
drug-induced "high" and may be willing do anything to get what they
want, he said.

He also noted that anhydrous is worth as much as $500 a gallon on the
black market. "We're asking area farmers to keep track of their
anhydrous ammonia tanks first of all, to make sure they are in a safe
and secure place so that people thinking about the theft of anhydrous
will not be able to get it so easily," Kindermann said.

"We're also asking area farmers to be aware of the hazards that this
process poses to health and public safety. The chemicals can create
explosions, and they are flammable."