POLICE BRACE FOR METHAMPHETAMINE

Prince William County isn't quite surrounded yet, but the threat of
methamphetamine is headed east and officials are alert for signs of
the drug and the dangerous labs that produce it.

"It'll be the next drug trend we have to deal with," said Maj. Ray
Colgan, Prince William police.

Last year, law enforcement officials in Kentucky, Tennessee and West
Virginia busted 1,060 labs that produce the highly addictive,
speed-like drug that can cause violent behavior, anxiety, paranoia,
hallucinations, malnutrition, psychosis and irreversible brain damage.

In 2002, police in Virginia busted 10 meth labs. In 2003 they found
20. By 2004 the number of labs police took down had risen to 74,
Colgan said.

Most of the use in Virginia has been in the southwest part of the
state, said Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Sean
T. Connaughton, R-at large.

Connaughton said communities around Richmond and in Northern Virginia
are starting to see increased use of the drug.

"We're seeing some of it in Prince William, but if any of these other
communities are a precursor, we're going to be prime for the future,"
Connaughton said.

Police discovered two methamphetamine labs in Prince William County
within the last two years, Colgan said.

One of the labs was set up in a hotel off Sudley Road in the Manassas
area by construction workers from southwest Virginia who were in the
area working on a construction project.

"The other one was in a private home off of Glenkirk Road," Colgan
said of the lab police found in the Vint Hill area.

The process to make methamphetamine is unstable, potentially explosive
and caustic.

Common ingredients to make the drug include over-the-counter cold and
asthma medication containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, red
phosphorous, hydrochloric acid, drain cleaner, battery acid, lye,
lantern fuel and antifreeze.

"One gallon of methamphetamine creates five gallons of toxic waste,"
Colgan said.

The fumes from a meth lab are also hazardous, he said.

"Last year there were over 440 law enforcement officials who lost
between 20 to 50 percent of their lung capacity just by being involved
in meth lab busts," said 1st Sgt. Nathan Jones of the county's Vice
Narcotics Unit.

All Prince William police officers have been briefed on what to do
should they encounter a meth lab, Colgan said.

"The fire department is doing the same thing with their first
responders," Colgan said.

If police discover a meth lab in the area, they'll call in the Drug
Enforcement Agency and Fire and Rescue to close it down in a joint
operation, Colgan said.

Traditionally, meth labs have been set up in rural areas since the
labs produce odors similar to fingernail polish remover or cat urine.

But the criminals have become increasingly bold and have started
moving their operations into urban areas, Colgan said.

To complicate things for the police, meth labs can be made mobile,
Colgan said.

"You can set this stuff up in a bathtub," Colgan said. "We know of an
incident in Oklahoma where a guy was operating out of the back of his
car."

Police aren't the only county agency preparing for the arrival of
methamphetamine, said Keith Shuster of the Community Services Board,
which provides early intervention for drug abuse.

Shuster said there hasn't yet been an increase in methamphetamine use
in the county, but the board is preparing for an epidemic akin to the
PCP, crack, oxycontin and heroin usage of earlier decades.

"I think what we're all gearing up for is an invasion of a new drug of
abuse," said Shuster, the board's drug offender recovery services
program manager.

Known on the street as "meth," "zip," "go fast," "chalk," "speed,"
"cristy" and "crank," methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug that
damages blood vessels and causes an irregular heartbeat, inflammation
of heart lining and stroke with prolonged use, Shuster said.

Methamphetamine, a powerful psycho-stimulant, can be more dangerous
than other drugs because it stays in the body longer, Shuster said.

With cocaine, 50 percent of the drug is purged from the body within an
hour.

Fifty percent of methamphetamine stays in the body for 12 hours,
Shuster said.

"People are under the influence for a longer time," Shuster said.
"That produces a lot more toxicity."

Methamphetamine does most of its damage to the brain, Shuster
said.

The drug produces euphoria. Users feel that their attention spans are
lengthened. They feel sharper and think they don't need as much rest,
Shuster said.

But the drug damages the nerve cells that produce serotonin and
dopamine, natural chemicals in the brain that regulate mood and allow
people to experience happiness and satisfaction, Shuster said.

"This is not a drug that should be taken lightly," Shuster said.