WAR ON METH FAR FROM OVER

The war against methamphetamine has shifted focus.

Five years ago, meth labs were a scourge on the Thurston County
landscape, popping up in rental homes, motel rooms and rural
properties across the county.

A five-member law enforcement team that formed in 2001 to track down
and dismantle meth labs and the criminals behind them has been a big
success, as has a ban on over-the-counter sales of cold medicine used
to make meth.

The team took down 69 meth labs that first year, knocked off 221
illicit operations through 2005 and has yet to find one in Thurston
County this year.

The good news is that meth labs no longer pose the threat to public
safety and the environment that they did five years ago.

The bad news is methamphetamine addiction and the crimes perpetrated
by addicts looking for money for their next fix have not gone away
here in South Sound.

Meth addiction is the driving force behind most property crimes in
the county, according to sheriff's officers. Identity thefts,
burglaries, vehicle prowls, auto thefts - even the theft of copper
wire from construction sites - often are the work of meth addicts.

This drug that destroys lives is still readily available. Much of the
meth on the streets arrives here from out of the country, often
Mexico, law enforcement officers say. It's a potent brand of crystal
meth, which is smoked.

So instead of cracking down on meth labs, the special team has turned
its attention to dealers and users in a bid to cut off supplies and
distribution of the dangerous drug.

Just last week, the U.S. Marshals Office, in cooperation with the
Thurston County Narcotics Task Force, arrested a 33-year-old man
believed to be perhaps the biggest methamphetamine dealer in South Sound.

The suspect, who owns homes in Thurston and Pierce counties,
allegedly is responsible for bringing 20 to 60 pounds of the drug
into South Sound each week, a staggering amount of meth.

Getting that much meth off the streets with one breakthrough case is
a major coup.

However, in the war against illegal drugs, one dealer's demise is
another dealer's opportunity. As long as the desire for the drug is
strong, someone will try to meet that demand.

At the advice of the sheriff's office, the Thurston County
commissioners last week agreed to use $14,000 earmarked for overtime
pay for the meth lab team to purchase surveillance equipment to help
the officers in their investigations.

If the shifts in funds and focus reduce the supply of meth in South
Sound, it will be money well spent.

Too many individual lives and families have been torn apart by
methamphetamine addiction.

Too many innocent community members have been victims of property
crimes committed to feed those addictions.

The meth lab team did this community a great service in helping
eliminate South Sound meth labs.

Now the team must turn its attention to the next battle in the war on meth.