METH SURGE THREATENS TO ENGULF WISCONSIN

Rampant methamphetamine addiction has overwhelmed law enforcement and drug
treatment facilities in Northern and Western Wisconsin, and the burgeoning
epidemic will likely overrun the entire state in the next three years.

In an alarming series of testimony before the state's Criminal Justice and
Homeland Security Committee at the Capitol Wednesday, state police,
district attorneys and other experts detailed the skyrocketing increase in
the illegal use and abuse of methamphetamines and the difficulties many
communities face in combating the problems. Many who gave testimony said
the Wisconsin Legislature must take action swiftly.

Meth, Violence Spreads Over the River and Through the State

The source of Wisconsin's meth problems lies just across the Mississippi River.

"We are experiencing it coming through the Minneapolis-St. Paul drug
corridor," said Dr. Shawna Kovach, director of the L.A. Phillips Treatment
Center, which is located near Eau Claire.

Eau Claire Police Department Police Chief Jerry Matysik said the Twin
Cities are a major point of meth distribution.

"Much of it is imported from large 'super labs' from gangs in Mexico,
Southern California and Arizona," Matysik said. He added, however, that
incidents of homemade meth labs are also drastically increasing in the state.

Although a new phenomenon in Wisconsin-St. Croix County District Attorney
Erik Johnson said his county, which borders Minnesota, has been dealing
with methamphetamine abuse for five or six years-it has quickly spiraled
out of control.

Kovach reported a statewide increase of almost 450 percent in criminal meth
cases in the past five years (see chart, p. 1).

Lawmakers gasped when Matysik said meth cases in the small city of Eau
Claire have increased from nine to more than 80 in just the past two years.

"Within two to three years the epidemic will reach the levels in Madison as
it has in Northwestern Wisconsin," said Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, who
chairs the Criminal Justice and Homeland Security Committee.

With the spread of meth into Wisconsin comes an increase in violence.

"The addiction is so high that [users] will do anything to get it," Kovach
said.

"This is the largest problem, by far, that we have as law enforcement in
our region," Matysik said. "We are being so overwhelmed with violence and
crime and gun crime all related to methamphetamines. It's extremely
frightening."

A Destructive Addiction

"[The addiction] destroys you from inside out," Kovach said. She said
methamphetamine addiction often leads to problems including cardiac arrest
and brain damage as well as psychological disorders like anorexia, bipolar
disorder, depression and paranoid schizophrenia.

"This is not a drug that can be experimented with without consequences,"
Matysik said.

The drug is derived in part through the use of ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine, common ingredients found in over-the-counter cold
medications. It comes in a variety of forms, including powders, crystals
and tablets. Suder said he was surprised both at how easy methamphetamines
are to make and how terrible the resulting addiction becomes.

"The horror stories are eye-opening," he said.

Current Treatment Options Limited

Kovach explained that methamphetamine addiction is far more difficult for
communities to deal with than other types of drug addiction.

"The types of treatment that this type of user needs is much more
substantial than anyone can and is offering at this time," she said. Meth
users require a detoxification period of 90 to 120 days before treatment
can even begin, and with such a rapid increase in the number of cases,
local communities are struggling to provide the resources to track and
treat criminals and clean up meth labs.

"It's a huge financial strain," Suder said. "Statewide resources are being
siphoned off to fight it."

Often communities are finding the easiest way to control known meth addicts
is to simply incarcerate them.

"I'm not a great believer in imprisoning your problem," Johnson said. "It's
not an ideal situation. It's costly, but it's something that we know works."

Meth Legislation Difficult

The process of strengthening Wisconsin's methamphetamine laws will not be
easy. While Suder said penalties for meth use were strengthened two years
ago, the goal now will be to reduce access to ephedrine-based products such
as cold pills and to better track meth addicts who are buying them in large
quantities. One way to do this could be to put cold medications behind the
counter. However, Mike Bettinga, ShopKo's senior vice president of retail
health, told the lawmakers that this would be "unnecessarily burdensome on
the pharmacy community" as well as on consumers.

Until further legislation is approved, Johnson said the entire state must
recognize the methamphetamine crisis now and start taking preventative
measures, even if their corner of the state does not have problems at present.

"It's been somewhat frustrating for us," Johnson said, referring to the
people of Northwestern Wisconsin who have been trying to alert the rest of
the state. "There's no way you're not going to have a problem in the future."