DRUG EXPERTS TEACH AREA SAFETY OFFICIALS

Drug dealers are targeting kids with an expanding arsenal of
products, including strawberry- and coconut-flavored methamphetamine,
narcotics experts said Sunday during a disaster planning conference
Downtown.

"We've come a long way since the old days, but so have the crooks,"
said Bob Gallardo, a retired special agent supervisor for the
California Department of Justice. "They're marketing to kids."

Gallardo and Mick Mollica, also a retired Justice investigator, spoke
yesterday to about 15 regional hazmat and fire officials about
clandestine labs, including how to spot and clean them up.

The class was one of many on the first day of the Emergency
Preparedness & Prevention and Hazmat Spills Conference. Among the
lessons learned:

In addition to flavoring meth, dealers are injecting gumballs and
gummy bear candy with concentrated hash oil for students to chew on
during school hours.

Meth is easy to make, and the know-how is easy to pass on. "A meth
cooker teaches at least one person how to make meth every 90 days,"
Gallardo said. "You can teach your buddy, even though he might be
brain dead."

Large meth labs typically are found in secluded areas, but they can
be anywhere, including hotel rooms.

Addicts have learned to extract unmetabolized meth from their
urine.

Single doses of meth can be made in a 16-ounce bottle in about two
hours.

Investigators found more than 17,000 clandestine labs in 2004, but
only about 7,300 last year. Law enforcement officials believe they
find about 10 percent of all such labs.

The drop is likely the result of new laws restricting purchases of
products containing pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in meth,
experts say. But more meth now is smuggled into the country, mainly
from Mexico, Mollica said.

Meth addiction costs taxpayers in various ways, including cleanups,
law enforcement and health care. Dental bills alone exceeded $1
billion last year for jail and prison inmates suffering from tooth and
gum decay known as "meth mouth," Mollica said.

"Meth mouth is alive and well," he said, pointing to a photo of an
addict's mouth. "In October, if you did this to a jack-o-lantern,
you'd win a prize."

It's important to teach first-responders in Pennsylvania about meth
labs because although the problem is not as widespread as in the
Midwest and West, it will be growing, Gallardo and Mollica said.

"It's here, and more is coming," said Jim Bittner, a planning and
training officer with the Fayette County Emergency Management Agency.

"And we'll be ready," added his co-worker, hazmat technician Hilary
Griffith.