CAREFUL BEFORE YOU CHECK IN

Seven Mile Ford - Careful before you check in.

Methamphetamine makers love to manufacture their drug in motel rooms, where
they don't have to worry about toxic residue or property destruction,
police say.

"They don't want to do that in their own back yard," said Sgt. Michael
Conroy of the Virginia State Police. "But they're not worried about
polluting someone else's."

Monday's explosion of a suspected meth lab that wrecked a local motel shows
one more of the drug's dangers, he said.

"You're mixing flammable chemicals, then you're trying to cook it, and most
people who are doing this are already on the stuff," the sergeant said.
"It's a disaster waiting to happen."

The problem keeps spreading across Southwest Virginia, he said.

"We're really just at the infancy of this problem," Conroy said. "We're
seeing a trend in Southwest Virginia that has been escalating."

Police discovered 34 suspected labs in the state in 2003. That figure
skyrocketed to 81 last year, and Conroy believes the count will keep rising.

"We're still at such low numbers compared to Tennessee," he said, pointing
out that authorities discovered more than 1,000 suspected meth labs in the
Volunteer State last year. "Meth started in California, and it's been
moving east. It's a national trend."

Smyth and Washington counties led Virginia in meth production last year,
according to police figures.

Monday's explosion marked the seventh meth lab report in Smyth County this
year. Police confiscated 21 suspected labs in the county last year.

Washington County deputies have shut down four labs this year and set a
state record last year with 24, Sheriff Fred Newman said.

"Last year we did have a couple of labs in motel rooms," he said. "It's a
health hazard that gets in the carpet and just lingers."

Signs of a potential meth lab include strong chemical odors and large
amounts of cold or sinus pills, matches, coffee filters and other household
items used to make the drug.