RECORD NUMBER OF METH LABS SEIZED IN 2000, BUT TREND IS SLOWING

Tougher Sentences And Stronger Prevention Efforts Are Starting To Make A
Difference, A KBI Spokesman Says.

TOPEKA (AP) -- The number of methamphetamine labs continued to rise last
year, but tougher laws have slowed the increase, the Kansas Bureau of
Investigation said.

"We are no longer doubling like we have been. The increase has slowed down.
We are not drowning as fast," KBI spokesman Kyle Smith said Thursday.

Preliminary figures for 2000 show 655 meth labs were seized last year,
compared with 511 in 1999 and 189 in 1998. That translates to a 28 percent
increase from 1999 to 2000 compared with a 170 percent increase from 1998
to 1999.

There were 99 labs seized in 1997; 71 in 1996, seven in 1995 and four in
1994. Kansas finished third nationally in the number of meth labs seized in
1999.

Smith said the 2000 figures are through Dec. 27 and he expects a slight
increase when the KBI gets all the numbers through the end of the year
statewide.

Leading the state in meth lab seizures last year was Shawnee County with
58, compared with 23 in 1999.

Smith attributed the smaller increase from 1999-2000 and 1998-99 to
educating retailers about what products can be used for making the illegal
drug and 1999 changes in state law.

"We are making it a little more difficult for them to make it," Smith said.
"It's still a crisis but it is not as bad as it could be."

Meth labs can range from the sophisticated to the crude. The clandestine
labs can be set up a variety of locations -- a car trunk, bathtub, closet
or just about anywhere there's space to mix chemicals.

There are various ways to make meth, but a common method uses anhydrous
ammonia, a chemical commonly used as a fertilizer by farmers. Most of the
other ingredients are available in over-the-counter products such as cold
and allergy medicine.

Some retailers have started the practice of limiting the amount of cold and
allergy medication a person can purchase at one time.

Under the 1999 changes in the law, those convicted of meth making the first
time face 11 1/2 years behind bars, compared with the previous maximum of
four years.

The law also made it easier for the state to seize property where meth labs
are found. It also makes it a felony to possess anhydrous ammonia in
anything but an approved container.

It also increased the penalty for setting booby traps around illegal drug
productions and makes it a crime to knowingly provide or possess large
quantities of over-the-counter medications used to make meth.