NEW LAW IS HITTING METH LABS HARD

But with the number of meth labs in the state falling, officials say
the new concern is smuggling from Mexico.

Oklahoma is leading the way in the eliminating meth labs, but state
officials say that success is creating a new problem -- meth
smuggling from Mexico.

The number of meth labs raided, found abandoned or dumped in Oklahoma
decreased 67 percent from 2004 to 2005, U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration figures show.

That's the largest decrease in the nation, and officials credit
Oklahoma's first-of-its-kind restriction on the base ingredient for
home meth labs: over-the-counter allergy medicine.

Surrounding states, which have copied the Oklahoma law, also have
seen steep declines in the number of meth labs.

"I would say the main reason is the control of pseudoephedrine in the
state and also community awareness," said Tom Cunningham, drug task
force coordinator for the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council.

A law passed by the Oklahoma Legislature in 2004 requires pharmacies
in the state to sell medication containing pseudoephedrine, a
methamphetamine precursor, from behind the counter and to limit the
amount of pseudoephedrine that one individual can buy to 9 grams a month.

Since the law went into effect, 37 other states have copied it.

Officials don't interpret the decrease in the number of labs as a
decrease in demand for meth, however.

"The dealers are going to find a way to manufacture the drugs any way
they can," said Ed Childress, the Tulsa resident agent for the Drug
Enforcement Administration. "In fact, they are probably out there
right now looking for a way to circumvent the law."

Tulsa Police Sgt. Harold Adair said that as local lab numbers have
decreased, smuggling seems to have increased.

"What we have seen in the last six or seven months is a big increase
in smuggling, and in several instances we have seized multiple-pound
quantities," Adair said.

"It's mostly coming from Texas, Arizona and California and being
brought up by Mexican drug-trafficking organizations."

Tulsa police officers seized 21/2 pounds of meth Wednesday in one
arrest, he said.

To deal with the smuggling from Mexican superlabs, Gov. Brad Henry
requested $1 million in the state budget to pay for 12 bilingual
state narcotics agents to infiltrate smuggling operations.

The Legislature approved only $500,000, allowing six agents to hit
the streets this fiscal year, said Paul Sund, a spokesman for Henry's office.

Although meth use and distribution continues, officials say
disrupting local production of the drug has important benefits.

Meth labs brought dangerous environmental hazards to Oklahoma's
neighborhoods and diverted police resources, said Mark Woodward, a
spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control.

Woodward said the success in the effort against local meth labs has
saved Oklahomans millions of dollars because every meth lab that is
closed costs roughly $350,000 in cleanup, prosecution and health care.