STATE RUNNING OUT OF ROOM FOR SEIZED DRUG EVIDENCE

TULSA -- The Oklahoma Highway Patrol plans to build a facility to house
evidence seized in drug raids, a project that's expected to be completed in
September or October.

That can't come soon enough for the patrol.

"We are taking so many drugs off of the roadways in this state, the
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has run out of places to put it,"
said Pete Norwood, patrol spokesman.

Normally, drugs confiscated by troopers are taken to the OSBI to be
analyzed and stored. But the OSBI has notified other law enforcement
agencies that it will hold evidence for only up to two years after that
evidence has been analyzed, agency spokeswoman Kym Koch said.

After that, the OSBI will return the evidence to the confiscating agency or
destroy it, Koch said.

During 2000, troopers seized 14,778 pounds of marijuana, compared with
9,182 pounds the previous year, Norwood said. The highway patrol also
seized 485 pounds of cocaine, up from 331 pounds in 1999, Norwood said.

Troopers seized 128 pounds of methamphetamine, an increase from 54 pounds
seized the year before, Norwood said.

"There is more out there," Norwood said of the increased seizures. "The
drug problem is rising."

Part of the reason for increases in confiscations is an increase in
personnel assigned to the task, he said.

The OSBI is one of the few agencies that stores evidence after it has been
analyzed, Koch said. The OSBI lab is seeking accreditation with the
American Society of Crime Lab Directors, which has strict regulations
regarding evidence storage, she said.

"It is a very intense process," Koch said. "We have been working on it for
three years."

The OSBI doesn't have the manpower to ensure that evidence stored over
lengthy periods is properly sealed, she said.