BILL BATTLES DRUG AT SOURCE

State Legislation Would Make It Illegal To Possess Chemicals, Equipment To
Make Methamphetamine

COLUMBUS: On the street, the drug is called ice, speed and crystal.

And it is becoming more popular.

The production and use of methamphetamine is on the rise in Ohio and across
the Midwest. And the chemical quickly is becoming the largest drug threat
in the country, according to officials.

As one of their first acts of the year, Ohio lawmakers have proposed
legislation designed to curb production of the drug.

The law would allow officers to arrest people solely for possessing the
chemicals and equipment needed to produce meth, as it is commonly known.

Although it is illegal to produce or possess methamphetamine, the materials
used to create a meth lab are legal to possess and relatively easy to
obtain, said Rep. Jeffery Manning, R-North Ridgeville, who sponsored the bill.

The simplicity of setting up a lab and the availability of the ingredients
needed to make meth may be one reason for the drug's growing popularity in
the Midwest. In 1999, police confiscated 16 meth labs in Ohio. But in the
last four months, authorities have confiscated 27, Manning said.

Akron police found their first meth lab in 1996. Last year, they
confiscated 15 labs, said Akron Detective Glenn Payne, who works in the
department's narcotics unit.

"It seems to get bigger and bigger each year," Payne said.

A main ingredient for meth is anhydrous ammonia, a fertilizer commonly used
by farmers. Many farmers have reported the fertilizer stolen in plastic
buckets -- a dangerous way to transport the chemical.

The new law would make it a crime to possess anhydrous ammonia without a
legitimate agricultural or business reason, Manning said.

"It's not going to affect the farming process," he said.

The legislation also could allow tougher penalties for another dangerous
trend in meth production, Manning said. Some drug makers have set up meth
labs on public property, such as state parks, using campers to cook the drug.

"About 20 percent of the labs they eventually find, they find because
they've either blown up or burst into flames," he said.

Because the labs are so volatile, drug makers can create hazards for many
people in parks, apartment buildings and near schools, Manning said.

Last year, an Akron man was injured when he tried to use a garden hose to
put out a fire sparked from a meth lab in his apartment. After recovering
from his burns, police arrested the man on drug charges.

Police in the Akron area have not had a problem with meth labs on public
property, however, Payne said. Most of the labs they have found have been
in either private homes, or portable units in boxes or containers, he said.