WAR ON METH

Are the good guys winning the war on meth? If you look at the number
of meth labs seized from 1999 to 2003, it is apparent that
law-enforcement authorities were cracking down hard on clandestine
methamphetamine laboratories and, through tough state laws, driving
some of the manufacturers to cover. And now federal authorities have
gotten involved with similar laws designed to keep the basic
ingredients of meth out of the hands of traffickers and to put those
who make or sell the drug behind bars for longer periods.

The result has been a drop in domestic labs being raided and closed
from more than 10,000 seizures in 2003 to 9,895 in 2004. Look for
further declines as federal and state laws continue to constrict the
availability of chemicals necessary for meth production -- ephedrine,
pseudoephedrine and phyenylpropanolamine -- that are found in some
over-the-counter cold medicines.

While local and federal law enforcement agencies are to be applauded
for the drop in meth lab seizures -- and, by extension, the
accompanying decrease in meth production -- other, no less sinister
players have shouldered their way into this profitable, tragic
business: Mexican drug lords.

Domestic victories in the meth war, while noteworthy, are changing
the battleground. Super labs in Mexico are producing large quantities
of the drug every day for export to the United States.

In 2004, a National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 11.7
percent of Americans ages 12 and older had experimented with meth at
least once. Many of those became regular users of meth variations.
Addicts can suffer from a variety of symptoms, including depression
and psychotic behavior. Withdrawal can bring intense cravings,
aggression and paranoia.

Putting domestic manufacturers and dealers out of business and into
prison is important. But heightened interdiction efforts by law
enforcement will be necessary to stem the flow of meth across the
border.

But in truth, as long as people are willing pay for this drug,
eradication will be impossible. The war will end only when potential
users realize they aren't immune to the addictive characteristics of
meth and comprehend the serious health and quality-of-life risks
they run by experimenting with that first smoke, injection or ingestion.