NEW FRONT IN WAR ON DRUGS

It often seems that when law enforcement gains ground on one front in
the war on drugs, it's forced to divert its attention to a different
battle.

Local officials are reporting progress in controlling methamphetamine,
although the problem hasn't been erased.

The amount of meth coming into Etowah County has been reduced in
recent years, driving the price as high as $2,400 an ounce. Those who
are hooked on meth have turned almost exclusively to one-pot or "shake
and bake" labs to make the drug. Ninety-nine percent of the 500-plus
meth labs that were seized in 2010 by the Etowah County Drug
Enforcement Unit fit that description. So there's still much on the
DEU's plate, as evidenced by other numbers from last year.

The unit investigated 1,309 cases, involving meth, cocaine, marijuana
and prescription drugs, and made 923 felony and 232 misdemeanor
arrests. It staged two major local roundups and, in conjunction with
the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force, smashed a large local cocaine
trafficking operation.

The unit deserves praise for those efforts. However, its agents
currently have no way to deal with a new and scary drug problem that
has been seen elsewhere in the U.S. and has made its way to Etowah
County.

Faux "bath salts" containing the chemicals mephedrone and
methylenedioxypyrovalerone are being sold at local stores and also
have been found by agents during drug raids and traffic stops. When
snorted, smoked or injected, they produce a high that can turn into
hallucinations, paranoid behavior and suicidal thoughts. They also
cause a variety of physical symptoms, like nausea and headaches.

It often seems that when law enforcement gains ground on one front in
the war on drugs, it's forced to divert its attention to a different
battle.

Local officials are reporting progress in controlling methamphetamine,
although the problem hasn't been erased.

The amount of meth coming into Etowah County has been reduced in
recent years, driving the price as high as $2,400 an ounce. Those who
are hooked on meth have turned almost exclusively to one-pot or "shake
and bake" labs to make the drug. Ninety-nine percent of the 500-plus
meth labs that were seized in 2010 by the Etowah County Drug
Enforcement Unit fit that description. So there's still much on the
DEU's plate, as evidenced by other numbers from last year.

The unit investigated 1,309 cases, involving meth, cocaine, marijuana
and prescription drugs, and made 923 felony and 232 misdemeanor
arrests. It staged two major local roundups and, in conjunction with
the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force, smashed a large local cocaine
trafficking operation.

The unit deserves praise for those efforts. However, its agents
currently have no way to deal with a new and scary drug problem that
has been seen elsewhere in the U.S. and has made its way to Etowah
County.

Faux "bath salts" containing the chemicals mephedrone and
methylenedioxypyrovalerone are being sold at local stores and also
have been found by agents during drug raids and traffic stops. When
snorted, smoked or injected, they produce a high that can turn into
hallucinations, paranoid behavior and suicidal thoughts. They also
cause a variety of physical symptoms, like nausea and headaches.

Right now, those "bath salts" are not illegal in Alabama. Other states
where the problem has been especially acute are in the process of
banning them. Alabama should follow suit, quickly.

There's an element that's always going to be looking for new and
"better" ways to get high, which is why the war on drugs is so
reactive instead of proactive.

Still, there's a legitimate and compelling societal interest in not
having hallucinating, paranoid and suicidal people on the streets.