ARMING AGAINST METH LABS

Dumping near those "No Dumping" signs that dot the roadways through
rural Pennsylvania is a common sight, but some worry that the trash
might have a sinister source.

In Michigan, for example, hunters have come across at least three
methamphetamine labs so far this hunting season, according to reports
from that state.

Materials used to make the drug are explosion hazards, state police
said, making the manufacturing facilities highly dangerous and
pushing their construction far away from population centers.

And, although no such lab has yet been found on a public hunting land
owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, officials are asking
hunters to be on the lookout for them as they join the million-man
orange army marching into the Keystone State woods today.

According to the Pennsylvania State Police, methamphetamine is one of
the fastest growing drug problems in the state.

In 2004, the police agency began releasing posters showing the
products used to make methamphetamine that are often legal to have
and can be bought at almost any drug store.

Methamphetamine is an addictive stimulant made from cold medication,
making large numbers of leftover blister packaging one of the
telltale signs of a meth lab.

The chemical byproducts from making the drug can also pollute
groundwater and the manufacturing process can cause a large
explosion, despite the labs being as small as a backpack, state
police have said. The explosion danger has made rural, out-of-the-way
places, popular for manufacturing the drug.

In other states, that has included public lands. Basically, the meth
kitchens are set up among the trees.

Jerry Feaser, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, said
the agency has been fortunate in dealing with meth labs.

"So far, we haven't found any," Feaser said. But game commission
officers are being trained to spot possible labs if they come across them.

Kurt Knaus, spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection,
said the materials found in a meth lab can be dangerous, but the main
reason hunters should stay away from them is because they are crime scenes.

"You need to clean up while preserving evidence," Knouse said.

Both officials said anyone who believes they have come across a meth
lab should contact local or state police immediately.

What Is Meth

Methamphetamine is a stimulant drug of increasing popularity that is
manufactured out of household chemicals in a process that can cause
an explosion or produce dangerous fumes.

For more information, visit the Pennsylvania State Police Web site
devoted to the drug at http://www.psp.state.pa.us.