WITH THREAT GROWING, POLICE GEAR FOR METH CRACKDOWN ON LABS, USERS

KENT COUNTY -- Carrying a tailor-made recipe for an explosion, a teen
with components for an alleged mobile methamphetamine lab in his car
led police on a chase in Plainfield Township.

Last month, a farmer returned home to find a man wearing a ski mask
trying to steal the meth-manufacturing ingredient anhydrous ammonia
from a tank on his Alpine Township property.

And earlier this spring, a bird was found hung in a ceiling cage
inside a raided Oakfield Township home that was converted to a meth
facility. The bird served as cookers' warning sign of potentially
fatal fumes, much like coal miners used canaries.

All instances are clear indications methamphetamine production and
addiction are making inroads in Kent County, police say.

And authorities expect it will get worse, both in drug offenses and
criminal offenses fueled by substance abuse. Investigators say
break-ins and thefts are on the rise due to meth addiction.

"Others who have seen and confronted this problem have been saying,
'Wait. You won't believe what's next,'" Kent County Sheriff's Lt.
John O'Rourke said. "It's a drug that absolutely destroys people and
any logic, compassion and common sense they may have had.

"They become an animal for the drug and will do anything for it."

The drug task force Metropolitan Enforcement Team and Kent County
police agencies are set for a push to dismantle labs and crack down
on users, said Lt. Chris McIntire, who heads the drug unit.

Since meth burst into the region in 2002, the traditional hubs in
Allegan and Kalamazoo counties have spread north.

Allegan still has a majority of arrests, but McIntire believes rural
areas around Sand Lake, Cedar Springs, Kent City and county borders
house production centers.

"We'd have to be naive to think that we don't have the labs here," he
said. "There's no way that's the case. It's everywhere, and we
haven't done as good job as we could.

"That's going to change."

State legislators recently toughened meth-related penalties and
restricted the sale of pseudoephedrine, a main component. Still, it
has not stemmed the flow of the drug, a stimulant that keeps people
awake and strung out for days on end.

"Part of the problem, unfortunately, is these people are relatively
good at what they do," McIntire said of manufacturers.

"The other thing is that nearly everything used to make it is legal,
but is twisted and used for an illegal concoction."

Users and manufacturers may not be as prone to violence during drug
deals, like those involved in cocaine and dope trade, but the human
toll is just as severe, O'Rourke said.

"Some people say this is a victimless drug because people are making
it for themselves and their friends," he said. "Tell that to the
people who've had their house broken into by addicts searching for
money to feed their habit.

"Tell that to grown women who are suddenly prostituting themselves to
get more."

Despite media attention focusing on the drug's dangers, Karyn Pelon,
coordinator of the county's methamphetamine task force, says meth
still flies under most people's radar. She's working to educate
business owners, farmers and youth about its hazards and consequences.

"Many people think there are bigger problems out there," Pelon said.
"We've got to get them to better understand the urgency."

O'Rourke, who commands the sheriff's north substation, said nearly
every burglary this year has links to meth. Addicts can't keep jobs
and turn to crime to feed their habit.

"These people are walking zombies, and they just take, take, take,"
he said. "It's hard to sympathize because they contribute nothing.
They say every generation has their own cross to bear, and meth
appears to be this one's."