NEW DRUG ON THE RISE IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN

The good news: Use of crack cocaine is declining in Kalamazoo. The
bad news: Use of methamphetamine, a much more addictive and harmful
drug, is on the rise in southwest Michigan.

That is what Capt. Jerome Bryant of the Kalamazoo Department of Public
Safety and other law enforcement agents told an audience of judges,
parole officers and social workers at a workshop Thursday during the
Michigan Association of Drug Court Professionals conference at the
Radisson Plaza Hotel at Kalamazoo Center.

Bryant said consumption of crack cocaine has declined considerably
over the last few years, based on the decreasing number of arrests,
seizures, hospitalizations and deaths related to the drug.

On the other hand, drugs such as marijuana, LSD and methamphetamine
are on the rise, with marijuana being the most popular in Kalamazoo,
Bryant said.

"The drugs of the '60s now are coming back to the kids of the '90s,"
he said. "Marijuana is a big thing. I don't know if we will ever get
rid of that problem."

Traffickers also have boosted the quality and potency of marijuana,
making it a more dangerous and more expensive drug, Bryant said. And
because of the higher prices, more users and dealers are going home to
grow their own, he said.

"I've seen basement operations that are better than greenhouses," he
said.

Economic factors also may have contributed to the decline of crack as
a drug of choice on the streets, while opening the door to a new,
unwanted guest in the neighborhood - methamphetamine.

A rock of crack cocaine costs between $10 and $20 and provides a high
that can last from 20 minutes to one hour, which can amount to a $200
to $300 daily habit for heavy users, Bryant said. For about $100,
however, one can buy a gram of methamphetamine and stay high for up to
16 hours.

Methamphetamine, also known as "speed" or "meth," is a new drug in
Michigan, and so far only has been detected in the southwestern
counties, said state police Detective Lt. Tracey McAndrew of the
Southwest Michigan Enforcement Team.

"It's the worst drug I've ever had to deal with," he said. "It's one
of the most addictive substances known to man."

Meth addicts are extremely prone to violence and suffer acute
paranoia, sometimes going for several days without sleep, McAndrew
said. The drug often gives users the sensation that bugs are crawling
on their skin, causing them to dig on their own bodies. Studies also
show meth to be much more harmful to the body than crack, especially
to the liver.

The presence of methamphetamine in southwest Michigan has increased as
much as 300 percent over the last two years, McAndrew said. "We are
struggling at this point to keep up with it," he said.

McAndrew said 99 percent of meth users are white. The drug also is
popular among young girls, because amphetamine is a hunger suppressor.

One of the biggest dangers of meth is that it can be made relatively
easily, using commercial chemicals at home, which makes labs hard to
detect. It is produced in several different forms, and can be smoked,
snorted or injected.

"This isn't something that can be imported," McAndrew said. "People
are making it locally."

The workshop was one of several training sessions held during the
Michigan conference, which concludes today.

"The White House looks to Michigan as an example," Donald Vereen,
deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said
during a general session Thursday morning. "There are number of ways
Michigan is a leader."