DRUG OFFICIALS FIND FEWER LABS BUT MORE METH

The rapid growth of "mom-and-pop" methamphetamine labs in the Mat-Su
Valley may be leveling off -- or even falling -- but the prevalence
of the drug in Alaska isn't, according to a panel of experts who
addressed the subject this week at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

After the seizure of 62 meth labs in Alaska in 2004, only 45 were
discovered in 2005, federal Drug Enforcement Agency officer Harvey
Goehring told forum participants Monday at the UAA Book Store.

At the same time, however, the sheer amount of meth seized by Alaska
law officials statewide more than tripled -- from 646 grams in 2004
to 2,292 grams in 2005 -- which suggests that Alaska meth users may
now be tapping "super-lab" sources Outside.

Supporting evidence virtually poured in three months ago when DEA
agents in Anchorage seized a FedEx package from California containing
11 pounds of meth -- about 100,000 hits worth -- with a street value
that law enforcement officials estimated as high as $1 million.

Goehring and others at the forum pointed to anecdotal evidence that
meth is reaching village youths in the Bush, where the drug is
perceived as easier to buy and longer-lasting than cocaine.

That's because it quickly enters the brain and can remain in the
blood system for days, Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, a family practitioner
with Providence Matanuska Health Care in Wasilla, told the forum.
Unfortunately, even small doses can cause permanent brain damage.

The chemicals used in making meth -- which can include ephedrine and
pseudoephedrine from cold medicines, paint thinner, red phosphorus
from matchbooks, drain cleaner and battery acid -- can literally burn
through flesh.

Baldwin-Johnson showed the audience slide photos of users with
advanced cases of "meth mouth," in which virtually all their teeth
had rotted away, and one woman with severe blisters on her forearms
where the drug had eroded her blood vessels from the inside out.

When there's a meth lab in a home, the danger increases, since
chemicals in the air can easily infect everyone in a family,
including small children, said Baldwin-Johnson, who in 2002 received
a national honor as "family practitioner of the year."

According to DEA statistics, between a third and a half of the meth
labs in Alaska have children in the home at the time of a drug bust.
And up to 80 percent of the kids who've been tested within two hours
check positive for meth in their urine.

Another growing concern is the environmental contamination that can
linger in a meth home, or meth-waste dump hidden outside, after the
users have come and gone.

"Meth labs have been found almost anyplace you can think of,"
Baldwin-Johnson said. "Out in the Valley -- which unfortunately has
gained the reputation of being 'The Meth Capital of Alaska' -- we've
had meth labs dumped in public parks. We've had them discovered in
hotels and motels. We had a guy who created a meth lab in a Ford van
that he buried in his back yard."

Goehring showed PowerPoint photos of a tent-lab that was discovered
in Centennial Park in northeast Anchorage, as well as another meth
lab in Anchorage on fire -- which is often how they're discovered.

The cost of cleaning up meth labs in Alaska has cost the DEA $750,000
since 2002, according to the agency's records.

But new renters shouldn't assume that a former meth lab is clean --
they should demand to see the documentation, said former Anchorage
state senator Gretchen Guess, who sponsored two meth bills that were
passed into law.

The first, adopted four years ago, requires landlords to fully clean
meth contamination from their properties -- up to state standards --
before they allow them to be occupied again. The state Department of
Environmental Conservation maintains a list of such properties on its
Web site, Guess said.

The second, which became law last June, limits the amount of
non-prescription cold medicines that contain ephedrine and
pseudoephedrine that can be purchased over the counter and requires
retailers to maintain a logbook. It also increases sentences on
people convicted of operating meth labs with children present.