METH: THE NEXT DRUG SCOURGE?

Methamphetamine is known as the "poor man's cocaine."

Cheaper to produce and creating a longer high, it also is highly
addictive.

"Once a person uses it for the first time, the potential for addiction
happens right then and there," said George Reitz, a prevention
specialist with the Franklin and Fulton County Drug and Alcohol Program.

The drug can be smoked, snorted, swallowed or injected. It comes in
powder and crystal forms.

Reitz said most of the meth that has been confiscated in the area has
been crystal meth.

At lower doses, meth makes the user feel energetic, alert and
powerful.

But at high doses, the user feels "wired" and can become wildly
unpredictable, he said.

"It will keep a person awake and alert for hours, sometimes days,
without sleep or food," Reitz noted.

After extensive use, the chemicals make the user feel like they have
"a million bugs crawling under their skin," Reitz said.

"That person will continue to scratch uncontrollably to the point
where they will actually dig down to the surface of their bones," Reitz
said.

That scratching is called "tweaking," a term also used to describe
people who use meth.

In addition, meth can destroy brain cells and internal organs;
increase heart rate and blood pressure; or cause stroke, heart attack
and seizures.

"It's a very serious drug," Reitz said.

Meth also is dangerous to produce.

Gas produced in the final stages of making the drug can seriously harm
the person making the drug, people living in the same house and even
people living nearby, according to www.streetdrugs.com

"People who go into dismantle (a lab) have to wear protective gear
because of the highly toxic chemicals," Reitz said.

They also have to be careful not to knock anything
over.

Meth labs are highly explosive.

In addition, cooks sometimes dispose of anhydrous ammonia in propane
tanks and portable coolers along roadsides.

Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Kenny Hassinger said a farmer recently
found coolers filled with the chemical in his fields and called
authorities instead of opening them.

If he had opened them, he would have "taken three steps and died,"
Hassinger said.

Meth Ingredients

Meth is relatively cheap to make - using readily available ingredients
such as drain cleaner, salt, rubbing alcohol and kitty litter.

The main ingredient in the powerful stimulant is ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine, a nasal decongestant found in some cold and allergy
medications.

Just $100 worth of household products can produce $3,000 to $4,000
worth of meth, Hassinger said.

The drug currently sells for about $60 to $100 a gram, compared to
$100 per gram for cocaine.

Many states have been limiting the sale of over-the-counter medicines
to try to slow the spread of meth.

In Pennsylvania, state Sen. Richard Kasunic is preparing to introduce
a bill that would restrict buyers to nine grams of medication a month
and would require retailers to keep a purchase log with the buyer's
name, address, date of sale and amount sold.

"We would like to see passage of this. It's an increasing problem ...
and we believe we can curtail that," said Steve DeFrank, Kasunic's
chief of staff.

DeFrank said the nine gram limit is a fairly high dosage - enough for
allergy sufferers to take medicine daily.

Cold and allergy medicines also would be kept behind the
counter.

Maryland Sen. Lisa Gladden has introduced similar legislation that
would keep the medications behind the counter and restrict sales to
adults.

Several major retailers - including Wal-Mart and CVS Pharmacy -
already voluntarily limit the sale of products containing
pseudoephedrine.

"Restricting ephedrine can help," Reitz said.

The Spread

The battle against methamphetamines is quickly moving toward
south-central Pennsylvania, Hassinger said.

It is a bigger problem in the northern and western part of the state,
but in the last six months, the drug has started to move into
Huntingdon, Franklin and Adams counties.

"It's moving from the West Coast right over to the East Coast at an
alarming rate," Hassinger said.

Meth labs "have been working their way into the area," Reitz
agreed.

The number of meth labs seized has doubled each year since 2000,
Hassinger said. Last year, more than 100 meth labs were busted
throughout the state.

The Chambersburg meth lab was the 32nd this year, and the 33rd was
discovered soon after, Hassinger said.

"We're in a prime location - close to Interstate 81 and 70 and the
(Pennsylvania) Turnpike. Franklin County's a very centralized area for
a lot of drug trafficking," Reitz said.

Authorities in Greencastle and Waynesboro said they haven't arrested
anyone in possession of the drug.

Because meth labs use common ingredients, it is sometimes difficult
for law enforcement and the public to spot them.

"It's here. Just right now, it's somewhat undetected," Hassinger
said.

Hassinger and his team currently are working on educating local
authorities and emergency responders on meth labs.

They have done one class in Adams County - where two meth labs have
been found - and are scheduling a second. Hassinger said he plans on
holding a class in Franklin County in the summer.

Hassinger said he doesn't doubt that meth is moving into the area.

"It's not going away, I can tell you that," he said. "I would
anticipate that within the next year, you're going to see ... an
increase in the number of labs. There's not a fence that's blocking us
in."