METHAMPHETAMINE STATISTICS ATTEST TO DRUG'S MISFORTUNE

The numbers stand solemnly on the page like tombstones in a cemetery,
seemingly endless columns of statistics spelling out a single message:
Methamphetamine is spreading like an invading army, overwhelming courts,
counselors and law enforcement.

Meth Addicts Face Inner Battle

Statistics over the past few years show Oklahoma among the nation's leaders
in meth labs, arrests, addicts and cases. So far, no drug treatment or
police tactic has stemmed the tide.

"We don't know what caused it, why Oklahoma," said John Duncan, a chief
agent at the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs
Control. "Somewhere, the information became more available."

It's not that meth is a newfound drug, or even a drug that evolved over the
years from other controlled substances. The substance has been around since
World War II. But beginning in the mid-1990s, it became the fastest-growing
drug for manufacturing and use in nearly all categories and states.

The Evidence:

Meth lab seizures have gone up 577 percent nationally since 1995.

Meth arrests have gone up 300 percent nationally since 1993.

Oklahoma meth cases have gone up more than 8,000 percent since 1994.

State officials thought they had the problem under control after an
outbreak the previous decade.

In the late 1980s, Oklahoma ranked fourth nationally in the number of meth
laboratories seized each year, according to a 1992 report from the Oklahoma
Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control. But the number declined,
owing in large part to the passage of state and federal laws regulating the
chemicals needed to make it.

But more than the availability of the chemicals, the know-how to make meth
may have triggered the '90s craze.

"It used to be the recipes were secretly guarded," said Robert Surovec,
assistant special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration's Oklahoma
City branch. "It used to cost thousands of dollars to get a recipe. Now
it's on the Internet."

The increase in usage coincides with the emergence of the World Wide Web.
In 1994, the Drug Enforcement Administration seized 263 meth labs. That
figure climbed to 879 in 1996 and 1,627 in 1998.

Meth numbers also indicate the drug has yet to make it to the East Coast.
Cities such as Oklahoma City and Omaha, Neb., have worse meth problems than
New York City or Detroit.

According to the DEA, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Des Moines, Las Vegas and
Sacramento have far more males testing positive for meth when arrested than
Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago and Miami, Fla. Oklahoma City reported that 8
percent of males arrested tested positive for meth in 1998, a greater
percentage than Atlanta, Chicago, New York City and Miami combined.

However, Surovec said the drug is spreading east. The numbers reflect the
history of meth, which started in California and is migrating east.

But nowhere is it a bigger problem than in the Midwest, where meth accounts
for nearly 90 percent of all drug cases, according to the Koch Crime
Institute. And nowhere is it more prevalent than Oklahoma, which ranks in
the top five in almost every meth category.

Oklahomans are 42 percent above the national average in all age groups for
meth use, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reports.

"I would say one of five people do it in Oklahoma City," said Tim, a
patient at the Norman Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center. Tim has been using
meth for 15 years.

Meth is surpassing cocaine as the drug of choice in Oklahoma. The state
medical examiner's office reports the number of death cases testing
positive for meth has been higher than for cocaine for the past three
years. The office also reports meth is found in more cases of homicides and
motor vehicle accidents screened for drugs.

Theories abound about why Oklahoma has become a haven for meth. Known as
the poor man's cocaine, meth fits the state's low economic status compared
with the rest of the country.

From medical experts such as Duncan to users such as Tim, all agree the
ability to make a cheap product and sell it for a high price appeals to a
state with Oklahoma's demographics.

The estimated cost of making meth is $100 an ounce, with a street value of
$800 an ounce.

While cheap for the people who make it, meth is costly for taxpayers. The
OSBI estimates that it costs an average of $2,000 to clean up a lab. Many
law enforcement agencies, including the OSBI, contract out for cleaning
services. The OSBI spent $1 million on cleaning services last year.

The courts have felt the effects of the meth invasion, with several
district courts overloaded with cases. Many are being dropped because of
delays in meth testing at state laboratories.

"In Oklahoma, we have the strongest penalties than any other place in the
country for manufacturing drugs," Duncan said. "But in 1998, we only had 42
people convicted but had 300 labs busted. The courts are swamped with
cases. If we're lucky, we're getting maybe one out of 10."

This year, both the state Legislature and federal government have increased
funding to prosecute meth manufacturers.