METH USE AND RELATED PROBLEMS ARE ON THE RISE

Property Crime, Domestic Violence Increased By Drug

When Montgomery County's drug court began in 1999, crack cocaine was
the drug of choice for most people in the court-supervised
rehabilitation program. But in the past two years,
methamphetamine-related arrests have been increasing.

"Easily half of the people I interview for this program are in jail
for meth use," said Rusty Smith, Montgomery County's drug court coordinator.

Said District Attorney Michael A. McDougal: "If it isn't our biggest
drug problem, it's pretty close to the top."

Montgomery County's methamphetamine problem mirrors what's happening
across the country. Nearly 60 percent of officials surveyed from 500
counties nationwide said methamphetamine is their greatest drug
problem, according to a recent report by the National Association of Counties.

The report found that meth use has caused spikes in property crime
and domestic violence while also increasing the number of children
placed in the custody of child protection agencies.

Also, about 88 percent of counties reported increases in meth-related
arrests starting five years ago, and 50 percent reported that one in
five inmates were incarcerated for meth-related crimes.

"This confirms that methamphetamine is an epidemic and a crisis out
there in counties of all sizes," said Joe Dunn, a lobbyist for the
National Association of Counties.

Forty-four Texas counties participated in the survey, but the Lone
Star State was not mentioned as having a greater increase in
meth-related arrests than other states.

Oklahoma, Louisiana, Florida and Oregon, among others, reported large
increases in meth-related arrests starting five years ago.

In the Houston area, however, officials in Montgomery, Harris,
Chambers and Liberty counties are noticing a growing problem.

'More Popular Than Ever'

In Harris County, prosecutors haven't been able to quantify
meth-related arrests, in part, because the county does not
distinguish drugs by name in its records.

Sally Ring, head of the Harris County district attorney's office
narcotics division, said meth does not pose a greater problem than
cocaine, heroin and marijuana.

"(Methamphetamine) has sort of hit a speed bump when it comes to
Harris County," she said. "In my opinion, this city is such a gateway
for cocaine that it really overshadows the meth market."

Drug counselors and officers have a different view.

"It's more popular than ever," said Houston Police Department
investigator Robert DiMambro, who works with the Texas Department of
Public Safety's Methamphetamine Initiative Group, which shuts down
100 to 120 crude meth labs every year in Harris and surrounding counties.

Beverly Garner, a drug counselor for Harris County's drug court, said
she has noticed an increase in meth-related problems in the last two years.

One of the meth-related social issues gaining nationwide attention is
the number of children taken from the drug users and makers.

Exposure To Children

Estella Olguin, spokeswoman for Harris County Child Protective
Services, said case managers in Harris and surrounding counties have
reported "a significant increase over the past two years in the
number of meth-related allegations" involving parents investigated by
the agency.

"As a matter of fact, they've been doing training with narcotics
officers on how to make accurate assessments (of meth use) in the
home," she said.

Olguin's agency has not tracked statistics related to meth use in the
cases it works. But that will change this fall when a new law will
require child protection agencies to log meth problems.

Lt. John Cash of the Montgomery County special investigations unit,
which raids about 40 meth laboratories every year, said he has seen
many meth labs in homes where children live. He said children are
exposed to the hazardous chemicals used to make methamphetamine.

"Users become obsessed with the drug and lose all interest in their
families, jobs and just any normal functions of life," said Cash.

In the rural areas of Chambers and Liberty counties, officials also
have seen increases in meth-possession arrests and related crime.

"We have the diehard meth users strung out all the time and weekend
warriors who do it on the weekends instead of drinking," said
Chambers County Sheriff Joe LaRive.

Meth By Mail

Narcotics Sgt. Craig McCown of the Liberty County Sheriff's
Department said the drug is being manufactured in small labs as well
as shipped in by overnight mail.

"We have a big meth problem," McCown said. "Just the other day, I had
one man walk out of jail then walk up to undercover officers to set
up a meth deal."

Methamphetamine is a white substance made in powder and crystal form
that can be snorted, smoked or injected. Drug enforcement officials
say it is highly addictive because it offers an instant high that
lasts for hours.

Meth finds its way to the streets through many channels, which
include crude laboratories in which users cook up batches -- usually
less than one pound -- by mixing pseudoephedrine-containing cold
medication with household chemicals.

The majority of the drug in this country, according to the Drug
Enforcement Administration, is manufactured by drug cartels in
so-called "super labs" in Mexico and parts of California. About 30
states, including Texas, have passed laws to curb the production in
crude meth labs by limiting sales of over-the-counter
pseudoephedrine-based cold medication. Texas' law starts Aug. 1.