FORUM PREDICTS METHAMPHETAMINE NEXT DRUG TO WORRY LOCAL OFFICIALS

Methamphetamine, popularly known as "crystal meth" or "crank," may soon be
the next big thing on Knoxville's illegal drug market, police said
Wednesday at an educational forum sponsored by the Metropolitan Drug
Commission Alliance.

While authorities have yet to see a dramatic rise in the number of Knox
County residents caught using or manufacturing the illicit stimulant, the
drug's powerful and long-lasting effects make it a prime candidate for
supplanting crack cocaine as the area's biggest problem, said Lt. Jeff
Clift of the Knoxville Police Department's Organized Crime Unit.

"We've always been a little behind the times," Clift said, referring to
Knoxville's drug culture as contrasted with other large cities where
methamphetamine is already popular.

Methamphetamine is generally produced in clandestine labs using household
chemicals and over-the-counter drugs like pseudoephedrine or ephedrine. The
drug causes euphoria, sleeplessness and a "rush" similar to that of crack
cocaine, according to KPD Investigator Ed Kingsbury.

Because the drug's effects can linger for many hours while the high from
crack cocaine usually wears off in minutes, the drug is gaining popularity
with drug users who want "more bang for their buck," Kingsbury explained.

Other illicit drugs recently appearing in Knoxville are gamma
hydroxybutyrate, which is sometimes used as a "date rape drug," and
"Ecstasy," a drug popular with college students and teens, he continued.

Ecstasy, which is usually smuggled into the United States from Western
Europe, has turned up in investigations in the Knoxville area, Kingsbury said.

The forum, held at the Knox County Health Department, was heavily attended
by health-care professionals and social services workers.