METH LAB DISCOVERIES DECLINE

Drug Makers Shifted Operations To Mexico

The number of methamphetamine labs and abandoned meth-making sites
found in Kern County has fluctuated over the years, but recently the
amount of meth activity has dropped and the number of sites hasn't
come close to approaching the 69 found in 2000.

Fourteen meth-making sites, including drug labs, abandoned meth
sites and mobile labs, were found in Kern County in 2004, the latest
year for which full statistics are available. That was the lowest
total in the county since 1996. Fourteen sites were also discovered
that year, according to the Department of Toxic Substances Control.

The latest statistics showed that six sites were found in the county
in 2005 through Oct. 16. In all, 322 sites were found from 1995
through Oct. 16, 2005, according to the department.

There's still work to be done, but it's encouraging that the numbers
are dropping, said Bill Ruzzamenti, executive director of the
Central Valley High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force.

Part of the reason for the decrease is that many drug dealers closed
up shop in the Central Valley and moved to Mexico to make meth. As a
result, meth labs and the toxic environments they create have
decreased in the Central Valley, but the drugs are still being
delivered here, Ruzzamenti said.

Restrictions on the sale of pseudoephedrine, an ingredient used to
make meth, have also helped shrink the number of labs in the area,
he said. Drug dealers were importing pseudoephedrine, found in some
over-the-counter cold medicines and nasal decongestants, relatively
easily from Canada into California.

Lawmakers limited the amount of cold medicines a customer may buy
over the counter in 2002 and put other medicines behind the counter.
After that, the flow of pseudoephedrine from Canada declined
sharply, Ruzzamenti said.

Availability of meth varies across California. But even without as
many labs, it's still easy to find in the Central Valley. "It's so
available and at such a ridiculously low price that it draws people
in," he said.

After the number of meth sites in the county peaked with 69 in 2000,
the figure dropped to 35 in 2001, according to statistics. There was
a spike the next year, in which 46 meth-making sites were found, but
by 2003 the number fell to 26.

Kern County Sheriff's Sgt. Richard Wood said deputies have helped
find several labs in 2006, including two in April and a disposal
site in Bakersfield in May. Some labs are so small that officials
call them box labs -- meaning all the items can be packed into a box
and moved. A box lab was found in Ridgecrest within the past year.

"The bad news is that (meth labs) are still out there, there are
still some, and some are too many," Ruzzamenti said.