METH'S GREEN HUE A MYSTERY

3 Sonora Arrests Come As Seizures Of Candy-Flavored Drugs Reported Nationwide

During a drug bust earlier this month, Tuolumne County sheriff's
narcotics detectives discovered 2.35 ounces of methamphetamine in
small plastic baggies hidden inside a shaving cream can and a vehicle
starting fluid can. Both had false bottoms.

The detectives arrested three people on Dec. 3 at a home on Cherokee
Road in Sonora and later determined that the meth was individually
packaged to be sold, according to sheriff's officials.

The meth was worth several thousand dollars on the street and was an
un-usually large bust for the Tuolumne Narcotics Team detectives, who
typically see seizures of less than an ounce, said sheriff's
spokesman Lt. Dan Bressler.

The detectives noticed something else unusual, too. One of the
baggies was filled with green meth.

Bressler said the green powder was very fine and crystalline, and it
tested positive for methamphetamine.

He joked that it was "Christmas meth most likely."

Bressler also said it was no laughing matter considering small-time
dealers and cookers will do anything to make the destructive drug
look more appealing to users.

"I've seen pink meth, orange, red, and I've seen green meth,"
Bressler said. "(Dealers and cookers) have nothing but time on their
hands, and sometimes they color their meth."

It's a color-coated marketing strategy that's been seen before by
narcotics investigators who have busted meth makers and pushers in
the foothills and the Northern San Joaquin Valley.

Law enforcement officials said it's a strategy that's been around
since the mid-1990s, but they fear that it was only a precursor to a
new gimmick that threatens to attract kids to the highly addictive drug.

Law enforcement agencies have reported seizures of candy-flavored
colored meth in California, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Texas, New
Mexico, Missouri and Minnesota, according to intelligence gathered by
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents from informants, users,
local police and drug counselors. Some of the flavors include
strawberry, chocolate, cola and other sodas.

A DEA spokeswoman said flavored meth has not been seized in the San
Francisco Division, which encompasses the northern portion of
California all the way to Bakersfield.

"This does not mean that it is not out there, rather we have not come
across it," said special agent Casey McEnry. "With that said, we do
pay attention to new trends in marketing of drugs and obviously this
one has caught our attention."

McEnry said they have heard anecdotal reports of flavored meth
distribution in their area.

Law enforcement officials in Idaho reported earlier this year that
meth makers were using strawberry flavors to entice children around
Valentine's Day, the Idaho Press Tribune re-ported in March.

That's the real danger, Mc-Enry said, of manufacturers using this
colorful, flavorful and highly addictive drug to lure younger users.

"The question to ask is, why flavor something with straw-berry?"
McEnry said. "My answer would be to make it more appealing to a younger crowd."

Methamphetamine is usually a white or brownish, bitter-tasting
crystalline powder that dissolves in water and is usually smoked or snorted.

Federal narcotics agents said they are vigilant for this marketing
ploy, which still produces meth that is destructive to the body, the
environment and to victims who deal with the aftermath of meth-fueled
crime, McEnry said.

In the short term, high doses of meth can elevate the body
temperature to dangerous and sometimes lethal levels, as well as
cause convulsions, according to the DEA Web site.

In addition to meth addiction, chronic users can develop long-term
symptoms such as violent behavior, anxiety, confusion and insomnia.
They can display paranoia, auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances
and delusions, such as the sensation of insects creeping on the skin,
according to the Web site. The paranoia can result in homicidal as
well as suicidal thoughts.

As for the green meth that was found in Sonora, Tuolumne County
narcotics detectives didn't detect an odor from the meth, which could
have been an indication of flavor additives.

The detectives, however, sent the green meth to the state Department
of Justice to determine its chemical makeup and what made the meth
green, said sheriff's Lt. Bressler.

"It could be (the meth makers) were just trying to brand their
stuff," Bressler said. "Maybe they were trying to make it more
appealing to the ladies."

Narcotics investigators in Stanislaus County ran into colored meth in
the early to mid-1990s when makers were using the colors to
"trademark" or identify who produced the meth, said Sgt. Robert Hunt
of the Stanislaus Drug Enforcement Agency.

The other theories were that the colored drug was a result of the
process of meth cooking or mistakes made during the cook, Hunt said.

"We would run into a pinkish colored meth that was called 'rosebud
crank' on the streets," Hunt said. "There was also 'peanut butter
crank' that looked kind of brownish and creamy like peanut butter.
There was also the old 'Waterford chicken crank' that looked kind of
like chicken feed."

He said he had heard about the Tuolumne County case of green meth and
had heard of similar cases in Southern California, where meth has
been dyed with food coloring and similar items.

But Hunt said narcotics investigators in Stanislaus County have not
seized any colored or flavored meth during this decade.

"I do not know if the recent cases are more of a trademark type of
thing or if it's being used to entice teens," Hunt said. "I hope it
is not for enticing."