MODEST VICTORIES IN LOCAL WAR ON METH

It's still too early to break out the bubbly and declare victory over
meth, a devastating scourge that has wrought havoc on users, their
families and the victims of numerous meth-related crimes. Pierce
County still has the biggest meth problem in the state. In 2002, it
also led other counties in Alaska, California, Hawaii and Oregon in
meth lab and dump site cleanups and in chemical and equipment seizures.

Squeezing the sources of meth precursors also had another effect. It
got the word out to local meth addicts - who can often be paranoid -
that Pierce County wasn't a safe place to shop for chemical
precursors. It is a message worth repeating loudly and clearly until
this destructive drug epidemic is finally over.

The methamphetamine capital of Washington: It's a title Pierce County
doesn't want. Fortunately, the county's uncontested claim to this odious
distinction may finally be weakening.

New statistics from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department show a
promising trend in local efforts to combat the cheap, highly addictive
drug. According to the department, meth labs busts in the county fell
by 45 percent last year.

Tacoma police uncovered eight more labs last year than in 2001.
However, the number of busts in the city has varied little over the
last four years, which suggests meth use in Tacoma has reached a plateau.

It's still too early to break out the bubbly and declare victory over
meth, a devastating scourge that has wrought havoc on users, their
families and the victims of numerous meth-related crimes. Pierce
County still has the biggest meth problem in the state. In 2002, it
also led other counties in Alaska, California, Hawaii and Oregon in
meth lab and dump site cleanups and in chemical and equipment seizures.

Still, any progress in the campaign against this insidious drug is
welcome. Some of the credit goes to a different tactic used last year
by state and county meth hunters to make a dent in the production of
the drug.

Instead of focusing primarily on finding and busting meth labs and
arresting addicts, local and state investigators put a much stronger
emphasis on shutting down the sales of precursor chemicals used to
cook meth.

Precursors are also found in common household products such as cold
remedies. Because it takes a lot of medicine, diet pills and other
over-the-counter items to produce a small amount of meth, cooks
typically buy such products in bulk.

Aided by a new state law limiting the single sales of cold medicines
containing pseudo-ephedrine and other meth precursors, investigators
decided to switch gears and try to stop the labs before they got up
and running. Investigators pressured store owners to obey the law.

Tacoma police officers and deputy sheriffs also launched
investigations and conducted sting operations at local businesses,
which resulted in the arrests of retailers and customers who weren't
thinking of stuffy noses when they bought loads of cold medicines.

Squeezing the sources of meth precursors also had another effect. It
got the word out to local meth addicts - who can often be paranoid -
that Pierce County wasn't a safe place to shop for chemical
precursors. It is a message worth repeating loudly and clearly until
this destructive drug epidemic is finally over.