STATE POLICE REPORT GROWTH OF METH MAKING 'EPIDEMIC'

MUNCIE - If a trend continues, methamphetamines could become the
illegal drug of choice in East Central Indiana.

In 2002, state police assigned to the Redkey post - which serves five
counties in East Central Indiana - assisted in the dismantling of 16
methamphetamine labs. A year earlier, only five meth labs were
dismantled in the Redkey district.

Six of the labs discovered last year were in Henry County, where
authorities have made several related arrests over the past year.

"We still have some problems," Henry County Sheriff Kim Cronk said.
"Our biggest tool to fight this is the public. If they smell something
unusual, hear or see something that isn't right, they need to call us,
and we will do something about it."

According to state police statistics, 732 meth labs were dismantled
statewide in 2002, an increase of 34 percent over 2001.

Vigo County in western Indiana had the most labs with
65.

"This is not just a city problem," said Rod Russell, a state police
sergeant. "Meth labs can be anywhere. Buses, trailers, houses,
bathrooms, motel rooms, cars. We have seen them everywhere."

Whenever a lab is dismantled, officers wearing protective suits are
used to dispose of the highly explosive chemicals used to make the
drugs.

"It has become an epidemic," Russell said. "It has started in the
southern part of the state and has slowly moved to the north."