NEW REPORT DOCUMENTS DECLINE IN METH LABS AND USE

Over the past few years, the number of methamphetamine (meth) labs and meth
users in Minnesota have declined significantly, according to a new report
published by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). "Methamphetamine in
Minnesota: A report on the impact of one illicit drug," is the first
comprehensive review on the topic in this state. It describes historical
trends and economic costs of meth use; outcomes of the 2005 anti-meth law;
and the range of national, state and local efforts aimed at combating meth.
It also provides recommendations for further strengthening efforts to
reduce the use of meth and other drugs.

Meth is a very strong stimulant drug that causes the release of high
levels of dopamine and other chemicals in the brain. Meth comes in
various forms, but is commonly a white odorless powder. It is often
most potent in its crystallized form, referred to as crystal meth or
"ice."

Some of the report's key findings include:

. Between 2003 and 2007, the number of reported meth labs decreased by
92 percent. The number of reported meth labs in Minnesota peaked in
2003, at nearly 500.

. Drug arrests in the category that includes meth peaked in 2005 at
4,790, and declined 19 percent from 2005 to 2006. There have been more
than 20,000 arrests for felony meth offenses in Minnesota since 2001.

. On Jan. 1, 2006, there were 1,138 meth offenders in Minnesota state
prisons. This number declined 15 percent between 2006 and 2008, to 969
meth offenders on Jan. 1, 2008.

Significant meth use and meth manufacturing took hold in Minnesota
beginning in the mid-to-late 1990s. The problem intensified through
2005, the year Governor Tim Pawlenty and the Legislature enacted
comprehensive anti-meth legislation. The legislation contained tight
restrictions on the sale of cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine.
This is credited with the dramatic reductions in meth labs.

The legislation also included notice and clean-up requirements for
properties that contained a meth lab. Meth labs produce a variety of
by-products that are hazardous to human health and the environment.