EXPLOSIVE METH LABS THREATEN NEIGHBORHOODS

GLEN DALE -- Methamphetamine labs are easy to set up and can be
portable, which leads to many being located in neighborhoods, said
Douglas Sturm, an expert on those who make the drug.

The chemicals used to make the product also can be extremely toxic
and explosive, which puts the surrounding community in danger, he added.

Sturm, an officer with the Parkersburg Violent Crime and Narcotics
Task Force, presented a program at John Marshall High School on the
dangers of methamphetamine labs not only to the people involved with
the production of the drugs but also for the members of the community
who happen to be close to the lab's location.

"When you think of a meth lab, you probably picture something like a
high school chemistry lab, like an actual laboratory,"Sturm said.
"But there is nothing complex about it. There are no high-tech
gadgets or gizmos."

A major problem with methamphetamine production is that most of the
chemicals, the byproducts and the processes involved can produce
large explosions, and Sturm said he has dealt with at least 15 fires
and explosions that are suspected of being caused by meth labs.

Sturm described the process of the manufacture of methamphetamine and
how dangerous all the chemicals are that can be used in the process.
Many of them will cause burns if they come into contact with the
skin, and some of the byproducts of the chemicals are equally
dangerous, he said.

In fact, one of the byproducts is phosphine gas, which Sturm said is
like mustard gas and can be fatal if it is not ventilated.

Additionally, he described how few items are actually needed to make
the drug, and he said most meth labs are very portable operations,
which people frequently move from place to place to avoid detection.

"These things are very compact, and very small," Sturm said. "If you
walked into a place and didn't know what you were looking at, you
wouldn't see it."

Sturm said most people who make the drug do so for their own personal
use and to sell enough to be able to buy new supplies to make more
for themselves. Also, he pointed out that the people who use
methamphetamine are equally divided between males and females,
whereas with many other drugs, the user profile is dominated by men.

"Meth is probably the most addictive drug out there," Sturm said. "I
am not saying that if you try meth one time, you are addicted, but
there is a strong possibility it could happen."

The workshop was presented by the Marshall County Solid Waste
Authority and the Marshall County Commission. Roger Frame, who serves
on the solid waste authority, said the point of holding the workshop
was to spread public awareness of the dangers methamphetamine labs pose.