AG Recruits Aid in Meth War

2004 11:03 p.m. ASHEVILLE - Makers of a dangerous drug put residents
of quiet streets and guests at area hotels at risk of inhaling toxic
fumes and even getting hurt in explosions in the past year.

Attorney General Roy Cooper wants people in North Carolina to know the
dangers they face when people around them make methamphetamine, a
powerful stimulant made with over-the-counter medicine and household
chemicals.

In 2003, police found 89 secret meth labs in Western North Carolina,
compared to four years earlier, when only nine labs were found in the
entire state.

In Buncombe County, labs were found at a home within half a mile of
Candler Elementary and in the Oteen Travelodge hotel and Black
Mountain's Apple Blossom Motel.

"I think it's a bigger problem than you and I have an idea," said Tom
Allison, who, as a pharmacist, has known about illegal meth production
for years.

To give people like Allison a better idea of the dangers meth poses to
North Carolina residents, Cooper recently called for a statewide
methamphetamine awareness campaign.

The campaign suggestions were part of a report outlining a new
strategy for combating what law enforcement officials have called an
epidemic.

A key part of that strategy, according to the report, is teaching
people how to identify meth labs and understanding the dangers they
pose to public safety.

In the coming months, Cooper and others involved in making the
strategy will study how other states have worked to increase public
awareness about the meth problem, spokeswoman Noelle Talley said.

Talley said Cooper would release another report sometime this spring
more specifically outlining how the North Carolina will implement its
awareness strategy.

Though no details are set yet, the recent report included ideas such
as "a statewide awareness campaign using informational videos and
materials to highlight the impact of the meth problem on children, the
environment and taxpayers."

The report made other recommendations such as building a Web site with
meth information and sending pamphlets about the campaign to community
organizations, churches and local law enforcement agencies.

What you need to know

So what, exactly, does the public need to know about meth? Cooper's
report touched on these gaps in public knowledge:

"Meth labs often go unnoticed. A mother might notice a strange odor in
the vicinity, but she might not be aware that her neighbor is making
meth. . And a farmer might not be aware that the large amount of
fertilizer or anhydrous ammonia stolen from his storage tank is a
common ingredient for making meth."

Lt. Steve Carter is in charge of drug enforcement for the Henderson
County Sheriff's Department. He said enlisting the public's help in
the war on meth could ease the growing burden on his department.

Last year in Henderson County, where agents have fought drug traffic
on Interstate 26 for years, the Sheriff's Department confiscated about
$100,000 worth of methamphetamine. For the first time, meth seizures
surpassed marijuana seizures, while the amount of other drugs stayed
constant, Carter said.

Carter pointed to states and communities where businesses work with
police to report when someone purchases a large amount of "precursor
chemicals," or the chemicals used to make meth. One chemical essential
in all meth recipes is pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient in
Sudafed and other decongestants.

Some states have passed laws limiting the amount of pseudoephedrine a
person can buy at one time. In Missouri, stores must keep
pseudoephedrine drugs either behind the counter, within 10 feet of it,
or under anti-theft protections.

"Where do you draw the line? It just depends on how far the community
wants to respond to this," Carter said. "Is the community going to
realize, and do they realize, the serious nature of the epidemic going
on today?"