POLK'S METH BATTLE ATTRACTS DEA BOSS

TAMPA - Federal, state and local law enforcement officials converged in
Tampa on Monday to talk about curbing abuse of methamphetamines.

Federal Drug Enforcement Agency Director Asa Hutchinson visited Tampa as
part of a 33-state tour to raise awareness and look for solutions to
problems associated with the dangerously addictive drug.

Rural Polk County has been recognized by the agency as a hotbed for
methamphetamine manufacturing and abuse.

``Because meth is produced here, it poses an extraordinary danger to
children. Some states are adopting legislation to address the problems of
labs found with children present,'' Hutchinson said.

In about 50 percent of cases, law enforcement officials find children
present where meth is manufactured, he said.

The effect of methamphetamines on families and the human condition is
scary, officials said.

``There is no other drug I know of that has such a truly explosive impact
on a community,'' said James McDonough, director of the Florida Office of
Drug Control.

Along with health and social ills, officials cited environmental problems
that result from dumping toxic waste from manufacturing the drug.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Tim Moore called for
stricter laws in dealing with meth users and distributors.

Polk County Health Director Daniel Haight said this year's hepatitis A
outbreak in the county is largely attributed to the meth problem.

``In 70 percent of our cases, there is some tie to drug use,'' he said.
``It is not only a law enforcement problem, it is a social and a health
issue.''

Meth abusers often have poor hygiene, which can lead to the spread of
hepatitis A.

Polk Sheriff Lawrence Crow said he has seen the evolution of a drug first
noticed in his county in 1980. ``The reality of the violence only began to
sink in during the past six or seven years,'' he said.

Crow cited cases in which a Winter Haven police officer and two of Crow's
deputies have been shot by alleged meth users. The sheriff's office has
broken up 11 meth labs in Polk since January. ``That's one meth lab every
two weeks,'' he said.

Crow said ``little Alfredo Montes did not have a chance'' because he was
being raised in a community, Eloise, where meth use is prevalent.

Richard Chouquer, who was babysitting Alfredo, 2, is charged with killing
the boy.

Montes' father, also named Alfredo, is in federal prison for meth
trafficking, and state child welfare authorities allege his mother, Jeanna
Swallows, traveled in circles where meth is abused.

``If a child has a family out of control on meth, I don't think we should
rehabilitate the family. I think we should save the child,'' Crow said.

Public education is key, authorities said.

Crow said people working in stores where meth-making materials are sold
should call authorities when they see people buying large amounts of
pseudoephedrine, hydrous ammonia or other chemicals used to make the drug.

Measures taken in other states include limits on the sale of
pseudoephedrine, a cold medicine used to make meth.

Utah placed a 3-gram limit on pseudoephedrine purchases. The DEA is pushing
Canada to regulate the shipping of pseudoephedrine to the United States,
Hutchinson said.