METH SCOURGE SKIRTS LOWCOUNTRY -- SO FAR

The crystal methamphetamine epidemic hasn't spread to the
Lowcountry, but it's on its way, according to county officials.

"We're very fortunate we don't have it yet, but it's something we're
very concerned about," said 14th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone.

Crystal meth, a glassy substance sold powdered or in rocks, is
either smoked or injected to produce a long-lasting euphoric high,
according to a Web site maintained by the National Drug Intelligence Center.

Over time, meth can produce inflammation of the lining surrounding
the heart, tooth loss, paranoia and other symptoms.

The drug was first produced in South Korea from farm chemicals and
over-the-counter cough medicine, Stone said. It then spread to Guam,
Hawaii and California.

From there, it traveled rapidly through the Midwest, where the raw
ingredients are relatively common, then to the East Coast, he said.

Meth labs have been discovered in the northern and western portions
of South Carolina, but it still hasn't penetrated the Lowcountry, Stone said.

In 2007, only 10 to 15 meth cases were prosecuted in the 14th
Judicial Circuit, he said.

According to a Drug Enforcement Agency Web site, meth lab
discoveries spiked in 2004 with 116 incidents statewide. In 2005,
the most recent year for which records were available, lab
discoveries fell to 88.

"Meth makes up roughly half of the drug cases elsewhere," Stone
said. "The first hint we get will be burglaries of farmland. When we
start seeing farms hit for chemicals, that'll be one of our first indicators."

It's not clear why the Lowcountry has been so insulated from crystal
meth, according to Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner. The area's
increasing urbanization may play a role, he said.

"There's not a lot of farm land left in Beaufort County, and there
aren't many outbuildings far away from other structures," he said.
"We're glad, but we don't know why we haven't been saturated with a
meth problem."

Meth labs in residences generally are easy to detect because of the
tell-tale odors they produce, so many meth producers choose to build
their labs in vans, mobile homes or vehicle trunks, according to
Wade Bishop, prevention director for the Beaufort County Alcohol and
Drug Abuse Department.

The labs sometimes explode because meth production involves heating
volatile chemicals in a confined space, he said.

In 2006, Bishop attended a meth conference for law enforcement,
teachers and social workers within the 14th Judicial Circuit.

One of the results of that conference was an instructional program
for South Carolina retailers on how to recognize buying patterns
that might signal meth production -- for instance, a customer or
string of customersbuying a large amount of cough medicine in
a short span of time.

Retailers were instructed to report odd purchases to law enforcement
officials, Bishop said.

"We wanted to be ahead of any predictions here," he said. "We have
to show that information and heighten that awareness."

Bishop also provides information to teachers and social workers who
might find themselves in a home where a meth lab has been
established, he said.

"They look for the open sores that are left behind on people who use
it, they look for people who obviously haven't had sleep or are
searching for 'invisible bugs' on their skin," he said.

They also are trained to look for unusual quantities of trash and to
detect the strong chemical odor meth labs produce, he said.

Children particularly are at risk in a home where meth is being
produced, he said.

"The kids are often crawling around the floor and being exposed to a
lot of dangerous materials," he said. "Social workers need to keep
their eyes and ears open when they look around a house."