METHAMPHETAMINE USE CONTINUES TO GROW IN THE OZARKS, SAY USERS, POLICE

They are the stills of the 21st century.

But Phelps County Sheriff's Detective James Schrimpsher knows that
what is being "cooked" is more dangerous than a couple of jugs of
home brew.

It's methamphetamine.

The ingredients - lye, starter fluid, paint thinner, batteries and
cold medicine - can be found in a typical household. But they are
combined in a chemical process in makeshift, illegal labs by
untrained individuals who often wear no protective equipment.

Combining the ingredients is not only extremely dangerous, but it is
hazardous to the environment, officials say.

But ask meth users about the dangers, and it's likely that they never
knew what was in meth before they got hooked.

That is what happened to "Alan," a Phelps County man who at age 38
has been on meth for more than 20 years.

"If I had known what was in it, I never would have gotten on it,"
said Alan, who agreed to talk about his experiences with drugs on the
condition that his real name not be used. "I couldn't believe the
ingredients. The smell of anhydrous ammonia was awful."

It does him little good to feel regret now. He was recently sent to
federal prison for a probation violation from an earlier meth
conviction.

"I won't ever kick it, because it will always be there. You have to
want to quit," he said. "In (jail), you can't get it. I feel good
about myself in here. But once I get out there on the streets, it's a
different story."

For local law enforcement officers, the likelihood of meth labs and
subsequent use is high given the remoteness of some areas in the
county, as well as the vastness of nearby Mark Twain National Forest.

Schrimpsher said, "Meth is in Phelps County. It is very prevalent and
is a little bit more serious than making alcohol. It's bad all the
way around with people freaking out and shooting at us."

One particular meth arrest that stands out in his mind involves a vehicle stop.

"I immediately smelled the anhydrous ammonia, and it should have
alerted me when I saw a dog incapacitated in the back seat,"
Schrimpsher said. "When I popped the trunk, there was a 100-pound
propane tank full of anhydrous. I had to go to the hospital because
of the fumes."

What is particularly disturbing for law enforcement officials is that
the same faces continue to crop up in meth busts.

"I would say that 99.9 percent of those arrested are going to go back
out and do it once they get out of jail," Phelps County Sheriff Don
Blankenship said. "It is mentally and physically addictive."

The sheriff's department routinely handles six to eight meth lab
busts per month - a number that easily could increase, Blankenship
said

"Meth has really taken off in the last two or three years," he said.
"It is easy to make, and there are so many people learning how to
make it."

It doesn't set very well with law enforcement officials that
"recipes" for meth are widely circulated on the Internet. In fact,
Schrimpsher noted, there have been cases where bad recipes have been
circulated with deadly results.

Making a meth bust, particularly involving an operating lab, is not a
favorite thing for officers because it endangers their health and
safety.

"I went into one a few weeks ago and got sick because ammonia had
filled the house," Blankenship said.

Both Schrimpsher and fellow Detective Mark Williams are certified for
meth lab cleanup. They are outfitted with air testers, respirators
and special suits.

"During one meth lab bust, we knew it was in the air, but it was a
matter of either backing out of the house and giving the person time
to get his weapon and set up a barricade or going on with the
search," Williams said.

The likelihood of weapons being involved in a meth lab bust has grown
substantially, especially if the suspect is also a meth user and the
"cook."

That is one reason the St. James police department recently purchased
two TASER weapons - an electro-muscular disruption weapon that
affects the central nervous system.

"People on meth have higher-than-normal pain and energy levels," said
Patrolman Tim McDonald of the St. James department. "They are very
irrational and represent a very high degree of danger to police
officers. You can't predict what they are going to do.

"Meth is a bizarre drug, and there is a lot more to it. It presents a
greater danger than you can imagine."