CHEAP, AVAILABLE FERTILIZER BEING USED TO MAKE ILLEGAL DRUG

SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- It's not a byproduct normally associated with farming,
but anhydrous ammonia, a cheap, available fertilizer, is increasingly being
used in the manufacture of illegal methamphetamine.

It has been a problem in the nation's heartland for some time and is
spreading into the Northwest.

Sgt. David Dewey of the Pierce County, Wash., Sheriff's Department, said
about 85 percent of the approximately 165 meth labs uncovered in Washington
in 1998 used anhydrous ammonia.

Methamphetamine, or "speed," has been manufactured in the past using the
"red phosphorous" method. Restrictions on the ingredients used with this
process, however, have increased user reliance on the farm fertilizer.

Anhydrous, which is created during natural gas processing, is a cheap and
efficient nitrogen source. Tanks of the stuff are found at retailers, in
fields and on rail cars.

Andrew Asher, manager of government affairs for the Agriculture Retailers
Association, said the use of anhydrous to make speed already is a huge
problem in the Midwest. Exactly how huge nobody knows since anhydrous is
available in such large quantities that small thefts can go unnoticed.

A year ago, there wasn't even a mention of the problem at the annual
meeting of the Agriculture Retailers Association, Asher said. At the most
recent meeting it was a major topic.

For meth manufacturers, use of the farming fertilizer is one step in a
process for creating the drug. Near the end of the process, an amber oily
liquid called meth oil is produced. The anhydrous is run through the
liquid. After a few minutes, crystals of the meth start dropping to the
bottom of the solution.

This method produces relatively small quantities. Its advantage is how
quickly a batch can be cooked -- under two hours from start to finish.

A gram of speed from either method can keep a user high for up to 12 hours.
It costs $60 to $80 and there are 28.35 grams in an ounce. Crack cocaine,
which costs about the same, will keep a user high only about 30 minutes.

Asher said the retailers' Anti-Meth Industry Task Force has been looking at
various approaches. One may be to add sulfur to the anhydrous mixture.