NO TIME OUT IN WAR ON ILLEGAL DRUGS

Our position: The use of crack cocaine is thankfully subsiding, but
the rise of methamphetamine poses new threats to Indiana's cities.

Crack cocaine use is down and so are the crime and violence it generates.

That's the good news from the Marion County Lockup's drug monitoring
program and law enforcement experts who interpret its findings.

In 1994, nearly half of newly arrested inmates tested positive for
cocaine. Last year, the ratio was less than one in three. Paralleling
the decline is a drop in the number of homicides, although this
year's total will be slightly above last year's. Marion County
Prosecutor Scott Newman says statistics suggest the younger
generation is turning away from cocaine, while hard-core addicts are
dying off or in prison.

Law enforcement experts consider the level of cocaine use a key crime
indicator. Where use drops, so do thefts, burglaries and the mayhem
associated with turf wars. "The violence that was rampant during the
cocaine epidemic of the 1980s has declined across the country,"
reports Jennifer deVallance of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy. About 5.7 million Americans regularly used cocaine in 1985,
compared to 1.2 million last year.

But if one horror is fading, another is ready to take its place.
Though the lockup report found less than 1 percent of Marion County
inmates used methamphetamine, the story is far different elsewhere.
In Terre Haute and other parts of western Indiana, meth is king.
"Where I am, it's far bigger than crack," said State Trooper Chad
Hilton, who patrols the area.

Meth can be a preferred alternative. It's as cheap and as quickly
addictive as crack, but its high lasts hours longer. Worse, a batch
can be cooked up with little or no equipment using ingredients
readily available but potentially toxic and explosive. State Police
have busted more than 500 clandestine meth labs so far this year and
expect to double that figure next year.

Labs are no longer a rural phenomenon. They are showing up in cities
and towns throughout the state, even near schools and in densely
populated neighborhoods. Fishers police raided a lab a few weeks ago,
and earlier this month, Indianapolis police busted one on the city's
Near-Northside.

Crack is slacking off, but look out for what's ahead.