SHERIFF: METH SPREADS IN WALKER

In Walker County, narcotic officers discover meth labs in car trunks, motel
rooms, unkempt houses and an upholstery business in the heart of Jasper.

The cheap, highly addictive drug thrives because it's so easy to make.

In this rural county of 72,000, methamphetamine now surpasses cocaine,
crack and marijuana as the drug of choice, said Walker County Sheriff John
Mark Tirey. Users eat, snort, smoke or inject it. The addict's high can
last up to 12 hours; the addiction a lifetime.

Law enforcement officials, fearful of its spread, have taken a hard-nosed
approach with federal help to hobble the illicit drug.

"We recognize we had a problem and we have worked extremely hard to get it
stopped," Tirey said.

Last week, authorities began arresting the 31 accused drug-makers and
dealers indicted Feb. 28 on charges of making and distributing meth. The
defendants, Walker County residents, face arraignment Tuesday in
Birmingham's federal court. It was the second wave of indictments stemming
from a two-year investigation. Thirty-five people were nabbed last year.
The investigation continues.

"There's more to come," Tirey said.

Tirey and others hope that the arrest and possible conviction of the
defendants will help stifle the drug's surge. If convicted the defendants
could serve up to 10 years in prison.

"This will make a big dent," said Paul Kilgore, director of the Walker
County Narcotics Enforcement Team. "This gets them off the street. It also
puts a little more fear out there. They know they will go to federal prison
no parole, no early out."

Methamphetamine's touch has been in Walker County for years. It was being
carried east from California by biker gangs and long-haul truck drivers,
who used the stimulant drug to stay awake.

But four years ago, Tirey recalls, authorities discovered meth
manufactured, or cooked, in mobile laboratories. The drug's infiltration began.

"It was almost like wildfire spreading," Tirey said. "We recognized it
would get to epidemic proportions if we didn't get onto it as quickly as we
could."

Raids became common with the help of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
Money pumped into the county's narcotics team was beefed up with sheriff's
deputies and local police. Two of its members received special training to
learn more about the drug. Officers often worked 18 hour days, scrambling
to get a handle on its spread.

Walker County District Attorney Charles Baker added a full-time assistant
district attorney to the narcotics team.

Matthew Daughtery, the drug prosecutor, said the discovery of labs, some no
bigger than a large Igloo ice cooler, began to climb.

"Instead of one once every three or four months, we started seeing them
monthly," Daughtery said. "That let us know something was going on."

He said there also was a link in a rise of crime with the drug's presence.

Unlike crack dealing, there haven't been any turf wars, he said. But
there's plenty of shooting because addicts become angry and paranoid when
high. They're quick to grab guns.

"We have found them armed to the teeth," Daughtery said. "It makes them
very dangerous to deal with. Luckily, there have been no shootings during
search warrants."

Officials also have seen an increase in property crimes, according to the
prosecutor.

"Once they get hooked on the drugs, they want more," Daughtery said. "If
they're out of money, they don't think twice about breaking into someone's
house."

Shoplifting also climbed as meth makers would steal the ingredients, many
found legally over the counter. Meth is cooked by using a volatile mix of
chemicals such as Red Devil lye, rat killer, battery parts and anhydrous
ammonia. It usually contains over-the-counter medications such as ephedrine
or pseudoephedrine.

Walker County residents are quick to say they don't think the county has a
bigger drug problem than any other rural area in Alabama. U.S. Attorney
Alice Martin described making and distributing methamphetamine as the "No.
1 emerging, illicit drug threat in northern Alabama."

"I don't think it's any worse here," said Bruce Hamrick, county commission
president. "I don't think the number of arrests should run up some red
flag. We've got some aggressive people hammering it and just targeting it
right now."

That's good news to Mitch Kilgore, who owns Jasper's Main Street Hot Dogs.
Kilgore said meth has touched many lives. His home was burglarized three times.

"Everybody pretty much knows someone involved," he said.

He said he hopes the drug will be only a history lesson when his three
grandchildren, ages 3, 2 and 1, are ready for school.

For all the efforts, law officers and drug expects are realistic that meth
will be a stubborn foe.

"It's immediate gratification," said David Whittinghill, an assistant
professor at UAB and coordinator of the university's substance abuse
counseling track. "

While crack, which can cost $20 to $50 a rock, offers an intense high that
lasts about 20 minutes, smokeable meth costs less and has a longer high.

"You get more bang for your buck," Whittinghill said.