METHAMPHETAMINE 'EPIDEMIC' INFECTING STATE

Use of methamphetamine is increasingly popular in south Louisiana. The drug
increases the body's metabolism, giving the user more energy, and it
produces euphoria. It stays in the body for hours after reaching a peak in
two to three hours, with that longevity adding to its popularity, according
to law enforcement Web sites. The drug also increases irritability and
aggressive behavior. It cause anxiety and dramatic mood changes, tending
toward violence.

"Long-term meth use can lead to psychosis that mimics paranoid
schizophrenia," says Dr. Richard Wise, a treatment center physician, on one
Web site.

The drug has been found to be psychologically, if not physically,
addictive. Reactions from users of the central nervous system stimulant
varies with the frequency of use.

Police are particularly concerned about dealing with abusers who reach a
level of stimulation they call "tweaking," when the user may have been
without sleep for more than three days and may react violently,
particularly when confronted.

Concerns of law enforcement officers aside, the drug can create serious
health problems, even death. The elevated heart rate can cause high blood
pressure with attendant problems of kidney failure, heart attack, stroke,
brain damage, liver damage and others. The depression accompanying
withdrawal increases the tendency toward suicide, and the drug can cause
permanent psychological problems.

The highs and the lows of methamphetamine abuse aside, the drug is easily
made and, unlike cocaine, is very much a domestic product.

Law enforcement agents in general and in our area in particular are finding
meth labs in a variety of places. For a time, it seems, many fledgling
manufacturers thought the woods in Livingston Parish would be ideal,
unaware that hunters and foresters visit their property all during the year.

Amethamphetamine "chemists" can set up shop anywhere. More and more labs
are being found inside homes; some equipment has been confiscated from
automobiles.

The ease of manufacture includes the availability of the materials used,
although the procedure involves some explosive chemicals. The explosive
nature of meth labs keeps law enforcement on its toes, but farmers have
learned to be concerned about meth.

Farmers mix anhydrous ammonia with water and apply the mixture as a
fertilizer that enhances the nitrogen content of the soil to help it grow
crops. Farmers store the anhydrous ammonia in large tanks on their farms,
and thieves frequent the storage tanks to "harvest" the necessary
ingredient for methamphetamine.

Although farmers have been phasing out the use of the product -- it is
considered a hazardous material -- St. James Parish sheriff's deputies on
stakeout recently captured two men trying to steal the chemical.

Farmers have been warned to exercise caution if they think someone is
stealing their farm chemicals because the thieves might be dangerous.

Anhydrous ammonia is also a coolant, and thieves trying to steal some from
a shrimp processor at Golden Meadow on Monday caused a spill that resulted
in a evacuation of nearby residents and stopped boat traffic and highway
traffic on Bayou Lafourche and La. 1 for six hours while the spill was cleared.

U.S. Attorney David Dugas of the Middle District of Louisiana told the
Press Club of Baton Rouge in March that meth labs were rare in the area
until last fall, but he predicted a methamphetamine "epidemic."

Not only is the drug dangerous to those who take it -- it can be taken
orally, smoked or injected -- it's toxic and explosive materials make it
dangerous to the manufacturers and to police officers as well.

Law enforcement officers are learning a lot about the drug, because their
own well-being is at stake.

And they never know when or where they may stumble upon some ersatz chemist
who is endangering himself, the police and the public through a dangerous
process that creates a dangerous product.