METH THREAT MOVES FARTHER INTO FOOTHILLS

Watauga County is No. 1 no more.

The title of methamphetamine manufacturing capital of North Carolina is now
owned by its neighbor to the south, McDowell County. It's a distinction
McDowell Sheriff Jackie Turner would gladly relinquish, and a blight he
would wish on no one else. But Turner says his county is merely the latest
high spot in the flood of meth addiction that had its genesis on the West
Coast 20 years ago, and has only now made its way across the continent to
the mountains of North Carolina.

"It's easily accessible," Turner said, in explanation of methamphetamine's
seemingly inexplicable popularity. "The method for cooking it up in a lab
is so easy, even simple-minded people can do this." And users, not dealers,
are the driving force behind the proliferation of small-scale labs, said
Chief Deputy Philip Byers, of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department.
It's a distinction that separates the meth explosion from drug trends of
the past.

"The majority of what we're seeing," he said, "they're not selling. It's
user-driven."

Byers said he believes the manufacturers are bypassing the expense of
purchasing the drug by making their own.

It's a relatively cheap process where a few hundred dollars' investment can
result in several thousands of dollars in product. And, as North Carolina
Attorney General Roy Cooper points out, a sort of grass-roots course in
meth production has been spreading across the region as experienced meth
cooks instruct newcomers on the various recipes for success.

This word-of-mouth instruction, Cooper said, appears to be playing a
significant role in the spread of the drug.

"There are cooks going around and teaching others about making meth; I can
see where there could be migration," Cooper said. That migration appears to
be headed south along the Appalachian region. And while several counties to
the east have seen a modest increase in lab discoveries, the vast majority
of production can still be found in the mountain counties to the west.

Of 322 meth labs discovered in 2004, 246 were located in the Appalachian
region of 24 counties bordered roughly by Surry and Yadkin to the northeast
and Cherokee to the southwest.

Just five of those 24 - Burke, McDowell, Buncombe, Rutherford, Watauga and
Ashe -accounted for 157 clandestine labs, half the total for the state.
Despite the spike in the number of labs discovered statewide, from 177 in
2003 to last year's 322, Watauga held steady at 34, Wilkes increased from
three to five, and Avery went from four to five. The most startling jump
was seen in McDowell and Rutherford counties. McDowell had peaked at seven
labs each year between 2001 and 2003 before witnessing a five-fold increase
last year to 43. Like McDowell, Rutherford reported only one lab as late as
2001. The number climbed to 14 in 2002 and held steady until last year when
43 busts tied them with their neighbor to the north as the state's leading
site for clandestine meth lab busts.

Meanwhile, Buncombe nearly doubled from 12 to 23 between 2003-04, and
Haywood, which reported no labs from 2001-2003, uncovered nine just last
year. Burke, which shares borders with Avery and Caldwell counties to the
north, and McDowell and Rutherford to the south, saw an even more
pronounced leap in meth activity. From 2001 to 2003, Burke had averaged one
lab discovery per year. In 2004 law enforcement officials seized 16 labs.
Watauga held steady at 34, the same as for 2003.

So far this year, McDowell is the undisputed champion, their total as of
May 21 nearly exceeding their take for all of 2004. According to figures
released by the State Bureau of Investigation. McDowell and state
authorities have uncovered evidence of 37 meth labs already. And Sheriff
Turner said with more users learning to cook their own, he could find
little reason to believe the number would not continue to climb. "The meth
labs we used to deal with were humongous," he said, referring to the super
labs employed by major producers - gangs mostly - which turn out 10 or more
pounds of meth in a day's time.

Super labs still produce 80 percent of the meth consumed nationwide,
according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. The proliferation of smaller labs
works to undercut the market for the criminal gangs, which produce much of
the drug in Mexico for import to the states. But the "mom and pop" labs, as
they've come to be known, have become neighborhood nemeses, littering the
landscape with toxic waste, contaminating rental properties, spoiling water
supplies, polluting the air, and jamming foster homes with children plucked
from the dysfunctional homes of meth-producing parents.

It's a trend that has by no means confined itself to McDowell County. SBI
statistics indicate the number of lab busts has roughly doubled each year
since the first small-scale meth kitchens first began to appear in 1999.
It's too early to say for certain if that trend will hold true yet another
year, but if early reports are any indication, the number will double yet
again.

The SBI has already reported 161 clandestine lab responses for the first
quarter of 2005. That projects to roughly 644 labs for the year - exactly
double the number of 322 reported in 2004.

It isn't that law enforcement agencies aren't trying. They may even be
making progress. Many of those assigned the grim task of battling the
spread of meth say they believe experience and education are leading to the
exposure of more labs and contributing to the higher numbers. Watauga,
Wilkes and Avery may owe some of their relative success to the formation
last year of the Northwest North Carolina Methamphetamine task force. The
task force has become a model for other jurisdictions as meth production
works its way southward along the Tennessee border toward the South
Carolina line.

In Rutherford County, Byers said a beefed up narcotics division has helped
root out many labs they might otherwise never have found. "Three years ago
we had a total of two narcotics officers for the whole county," Byers said,
"and we were able to maintain things pretty well with that. Today, we've
got five officers working full-time just on meth." Before meth, Byers said,
a favorable climate and ample open space -Rutherford has just 63,000
inhabitants sharing 566 square miles - made marijuana cultivation his
county's biggest drug problem. By comparison, the arrival of
methamphetamines has made the marijuana era seem like the good old days.

Law enforcement officials are unanimous in their opinion that no other drug
has had so far-reaching an impact on their communities. Its highly
addictive qualities make beating the habit more difficult than kicking
crack cocaine.

The debilitating, long-lasting high keeps users up for hours and depressed
for days, leaving children neglected, jobs untenable, and social
interaction out of the question.

Meth takes a devastating toll on the body; and the toxic byproducts from
its manufacture pollute the landscape. All combine to make it one of the
most damaging and costly drugs ever conceived. "There isn't a single
(government) agency that will not be affected by this problem," Byers said.
And the impact, he added, is wide-sweeping, affecting everything from the
children of meth abusers to the economic resources of county agencies
charged with mopping up in its wake. Costs begin accumulating before law
enforcement ever gets involved. Stories abound of children found in homes
where the implements and residues of meth production clutter kitchen
counters, bedrooms - even the vehicles used to carry them to and from
school. Noxious fumes seep into furniture, walls, carpets, clothes, even kids.

Byers said Rutherford County removed 24 children last year from homes with
meth labs on the premises.

"We have to decontaminate them before we can ever remove them for transport
to a medical facility," he said.

And there's no telling what still-hidden, long-term health effects may show
themselves in the future, he said.

"It's going to cripple us on our healthcare," Byers warned. "(Meth
abusers') health is pitiful."

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) provides a list of long-term
side effects common among chronic meth users. They include lung and nerve
damage, heart disease, kidney failure, extreme weight loss, stroke, and
seizures.

Another ailment quickly gaining notice and bloating law-enforcement budgets
is "meth mouth," a condition that rots the teeth of meth users for reasons
that are still not quite clear to dental health experts. One theory
suggests the cotton-mouth that affects most users deprives their mouths of
saliva that might otherwise cleanse the mouth of enamel-eroding bacteria.

Often, polluted homes must be de-contaminated as well, Byers said. And
since most meth cooks are renters, the contamination they leave behind
becomes a problem for landlords. That is having its own effect on local
economies. "When we find a lab we're required to notify the health
department within 24 hours," Byers said. "And the land owners aren't
allowed to rent again until the health department clears it." Cooper said
the risk to landlords has come to his attention. "We've already had many
cases where land owners rent out property and lose the entire value of the
land because of contamination from these labs," Cooper said.

Added to the increased costs in health care, displaced children, law
enforcement personnel, toxic cleanup, crime lab resources, land values, and
property crime losses, is another less obvious expense: an extreme drop in
the property forfeiture revenue many narcotics agencies have grown to
depend on to fund their operations.

"When cocaine was the 'career' of choice for drug dealers," Byers said, "it
was not unusual to seize thousands of dollars at a time; homes, cars,
trucks - you name it. When we go to make meth arrests we're going after
people who live at the end of dusty old dirt roads in run-down trailers."
McDowell's Sheriff Turner lamented much the same.

"These people don't have anything in terms of money, or anything of value,"
he said. "Plus, the scene is contaminated. It's a terrible, terrible drain
on our manpower."

It's a relatively cheap process where a few hundred dollars' investment can
result in several thousands of dollars in product. And, as North Carolina
Attorney General Roy Cooper points out, a sort of grass-roots course in
meth production has been spreading across the region as experienced meth
cooks instruct newcomers on the various recipes for success.

This word-of-mouth instruction, Cooper said, appears to be playing a
significant role in the spread of the drug.

"There are cooks going around and teaching others about making meth; I can
see where there could be migration," Cooper said. That migration appears to
be headed south along the Appalachian region. And while several counties to
the east have seen a modest increase in lab discoveries, the vast majority
of production can still be found in the mountain counties to the west.

Of 322 meth labs discovered in 2004, 246 were located in the Appalachian
region of 24 counties bordered roughly by Surry and Yadkin to the northeast
and Cherokee to the southwest.

Just five of those 24 -- Burke, McDowell, Buncombe, Rutherford, Watauga and
Ashe --accounted for 157 clandestine labs, half the total for the state.
Despite the spike in the number of labs discovered statewide, from 177 in
2003 to last year's 322, Watauga held steady at 34, Wilkes increased from
three to five, and Avery went from four to five. The most startling jump
was seen in McDowell and Rutherford counties. McDowell had peaked at seven
labs each year between 2001 and 2003 before witnessing a five-fold increase
last year to 43. Like McDowell, Rutherford reported only one lab as late as
2001. The number climbed to 14 in 2002 and held steady until last year when
43 busts tied them with their neighbor to the north as the state's leading
site for clandestine meth lab busts.

Meanwhile, Buncombe nearly doubled from 12 to 23 between 2003-04, and
Haywood, which reported no labs from 2001-2003, uncovered nine just last
year. Burke, which shares borders with Avery and Caldwell counties to the
north, and McDowell and Rutherford to the south, saw an even more
pronounced leap in meth activity. From 2001 to 2003, Burke had averaged one
lab discovery per year. In 2004 law enforcement officials seized 16 labs.
So far this year, McDowell is the undisputed champion, their total as of
March 21 nearly exceeding their take for all of 2004. According to figures
released by the State Bureau of Investigation. McDowell and state
authorities have uncovered evidence of 37 meth labs already. And Sheriff
Turner said with more users learning to cook their own, he could find
little reason to believe the number would not continue to climb. "The meth
labs we used to deal with were humongous," he said, referring to the super
labs employed by major producers - gangs mostly - which turn out 10 or more
pounds of meth in a day's time.

Super labs still produce 80 percent of the meth consumed nationwide,
according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. The proliferation of smaller labs
works to undercut the market for the criminal gangs, which produce much of
the drug in Mexico for import to the states. But the "mom and pop" labs, as
they've come to be known, have become neighborhood nemeses, littering the
landscape with toxic waste, contaminating rental properties, spoiling water
supplies, polluting the air, and jamming foster homes with children plucked
from the dysfunctional homes of meth-producing parents.

It's a trend that has by no means confined itself to McDowell County. SBI
statistics indicate the number of lab busts has roughly doubled each year
since the first small-scale meth kitchens first began to appear in 1999.
It's too early to say for certain if that trend will hold true yet another
year, but if early reports are any indication, the number will double yet
again.

The SBI has already reported 161 clandestine lab responses for the first
quarter of 2005. That projects to roughly 644 labs for the year - exactly
double the number of 322 reported in 2004.

It isn't that law enforcement agencies aren't trying. They may even be
making progress. Many of those assigned the grim task of battling the
spread of meth say they believe experience and education are leading to the
exposure of more labs and contributing to the higher numbers. Watauga,
Wilkes and Avery may owe some of their relative success to the formation
last year of the Northwest North Carolina Methamphetamine task force. The
task force has become a model for other jurisdictions as meth production
works its way southward along the Tennessee border toward the South
Carolina line.

In Rutherford County, Byers said a beefed up narcotics division has helped
root out many labs they might otherwise never have found. "Three years ago
we had a total of two narcotics officers for the whole county," Byers said,
"and we were able to maintain things pretty well with that. Today, we've
got five officers working full-time just on meth." Before meth, Byers said,
a favorable climate and ample open space -- Rutherford has just 63,000
inhabitants sharing 566 square miles -- made marijuana cultivation his
county's biggest drug problem. By comparison, the arrival of
methamphetamines has made the marijuana era seem like the good old days.

Law enforcement officials are unanimous in their opinion that no other drug
has had so far-reaching an impact on their communities. Its highly
addictive qualities make beating the habit more difficult than kicking
crack cocaine.

The debilitating, long-lasting high keeps users up for hours and depressed
for days, leaving children neglected, jobs untenable, and social
interaction out of the question.

Meth takes a devastating toll on the body; and the toxic byproducts from
its manufacture pollute the landscape. All combine to make it one of the
most damaging and costly drugs ever conceived. "There isn't a single
(government) agency that will not be affected by this problem," Byers said.
And the impact, he added, is wide-sweeping, affecting everything from the
children of meth abusers to the economic resources of county agencies
charged with mopping up in its wake. Costs begin accumulating before law
enforcement ever gets involved. Stories abound of children found in homes
where the implements and residues of meth production clutter kitchen
counters, bedrooms - even the vehicles used to carry them to and from
school. Noxious fumes seep into furniture, walls, carpets, clothes, even kids.

Byers said Rutherford County removed 24 children last year from homes with
meth labs on the premises.

"We have to decontaminate them before we can even remove them for transport
to a medical facility," he said.

And there's no telling what still-hidden, long-term health effects may show
themselves in the future, he said.

"It's going to cripple us on our healthcare," Byers warned. "(Meth
abusers') health is pitiful."

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) provides a list of long-term
side effects common among chronic meth users. They include lung and nerve
damage, heart disease, kidney failure, extreme weight loss, stroke, and
seizures.

Another ailment quickly gaining notice and bloating law-enforcement budgets
is "meth mouth," a condition that rots the teeth of meth users for reasons
that are still not quite clear to dental health experts. One theory
suggests the cotton-mouth that affects most users deprives their mouths of
saliva that might otherwise cleanse the mouth of enamel-eroding bacteria.

Often, polluted homes must be de-contaminated as well, Byers said. And
since most meth cooks are renters, the contamination they leave behind
becomes a problem for landlords. That is having its own effect on local
economies. "When we find a lab we're required to notify the health
department within 24 hours," Byers said. "And the land owners aren't
allowed to rent again until the health department clears it." Cooper said
the risk to landlords has come to his attention. "We've already had many
cases where land owners rent out property and lose the entire value of the
land because of contamination from these labs," Cooper said.

Added to the increased costs in health care, displaced children, law
enforcement personnel, toxic cleanup, crime lab resources, land values, and
property crime losses, is another less obvious expense: an extreme drop in
the property forfeiture revenue many narcotics agencies have grown to
depend on to fund their operations.

"When cocaine was the 'career' of choice for drug dealers," Byers said, "it
was not unusual to seize thousands of dollars at a time; homes, cars,
trucks - you name it. When we go to make meth arrests we're going after
people who live at the end of dusty old dirt roads in run-down trailers."
McDowell's Sheriff Turner lamented much the same.

"These people don't have anything in terms of money, or anything of value,"
he said. "Plus, the scene is contaminated. It's a terrible, terrible drain
on our manpower."