PARAPHERNALIA VIOLATION BECOMING ROUTINE DRUG CHARGE

Phil Whittle says the Missouri Southern State College Regional Crime
Lab usually runs a month or two behind in testing for drug cases.

If there's any question about the sheer magnitude of the number of
cases the lab handles, the director says the staff is 200 cases ahead
of where it was this time last year.

"The number just continues to grow," Whittle said.

A common charge cropping up in Jasper County's associate circuit court
is possession of food-storage bags — a drug paraphernalia charge.

The charge commonly is the result of plastic sandwich bags with traces
of methamphetamine or other drug residue in them.

So what is drug paraphernalia?

While the word usually brings to mind images of bongs and roach clips,
these items are not illegal to own or possess, and they are as
accessible as a few mouse clicks away.

State statutes hold a much broader definition as to what can be
considered paraphernalia.

Statutes in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma specify that paraphernalia
is any item that is used or intended to be used to plant, propagate,
cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce,
process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain,
conceal, inject, ingest, inhale or otherwise introduce an illegal drug
into the human body.

"We come across a whole gamut of items out there," said Capt. Tony
Coleman, with the Jasper County Sheriff's Department.

"We see everything from kitchen spoons to the standard roach clips
hanging from the rearview mirror."

Ron Doerge, Newton County sheriff, said there are a number of items
that officers see as indicators of possible meth production or use:
glassware, cans of Coleman lantern fuel, red phosphorous, Red Devil or
other brands of lye, unusual amounts of Sudafed or other types of
over-the-counter medications, batteries, iodine, and even large
amounts of wooden matches.

"All these things by themselves are not indicators, but I know of no
legitimate reason to have them in combinations," Doerge said.

The production of methamphetamine, which Doerge said is the most
dangerous and deadly drug he has encountered, can involve any number
of items that can fall into the drug paraphernalia category.

"For each meth cook, there are 6 to 7 pounds of waste," he said.
"We're seeing the leftovers in ditches all over the county.

"One thing that we really look for are propane tanks with a green
discoloration around the top."

Doerge said the anhydrous ammonia used in meth production corrodes the
tops of the tanks.

Detective Mike Eason, with the Ottawa County (Okla.) Sheriff's
Department, said cigarette rolling papers are a common item that
officers see.

"But rolling papers alone are not paraphernalia," he said. "A lot of
people out there still roll their own cigarettes, but not as many as
they'd like us to believe."

When an officer sees something that raises a reasonable suspicion,
Coleman said, there are several ways the officer can proceed: The
car's owner can give consent for the vehicle to be searched; an arrest
can be made, followed by a search; or a search warrant can be applied
for.

Officers can use field testing kits that work through chemical
activation to determine whether a substance is indicative of a certain
drug.

Field testing kits are class specific, not compound specific, Whittle
said.

A test that results in a deep blue color is a good indicator that a
substance is methamphetamine, but it needs to be confirmed by further
testing.

"There are several different processes that we use," Whittle
said.

"If it's actually a significant amount of visible residue, we scrape
part of the material and dissolve it in a solvent before analysis. For
a very small amount, we'll rinse the portion with a methyl alcohol
solvent and use a moistened cotton swab repeatedly on the area, and
then go on with the analysis."

Lab testing includes processes called thin-layer and gas-liquid
chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy. Taken
together, Whittle said, the tests are considered definitive for
identification.

While state law gives a broad definition of paraphernalia, Joplin
attorney Bill Fleischaker said the application in the courts has been
fairly narrow.

"The key factor is that the state has to prove that the item was
either made or used for the purpose of consuming drugs," he said. "The
best way to do that is to show that there was drug residue in or on
the paraphernalia.

"Items like bongs, roach clips or similar items aren't illegal to
possess or sell unless they're being used for the purpose of
consumption or aiding in the consumption of a drug. If the use of
drugs is confirmed, then it's illegal."

Said Dean Dankelson, Jasper County prosecuting attorney: "Usually,
traces of drug residue is not enough to make a felony. So, it can be
prosecuted as a drug paraphernalia charge."

A Class A misdemeanor, the charge can result in a year in the county
jail and/or a fine not to exceed $1,000.

Dankelson said the charge of possessing plastic bags also is a way
that some cases can be plea-bargained. In such cases, an arrest is
made but a felony conviction isn't likely.

Fleischaker said such misdemeanor pleas are effective for both the
prosecution and the defense.

"I think that its use is a method to deal with someone who is clearly
possessing for their own use, and trying to make sure they get some
kind of treatment," he said.

"If we started pushing them all up to felonies, they would clog the
system."