EFFORTS TO CHOKE OFF METH CITED

Chuck Sasse's customers typically comb their hair and wear cowboy boots and
jeans when buying small supplies of crystalline iodine to treat hoof ailments.

So the Olathe retailer became suspicious when unkempt strangers began
asking to purchase large quantities of the medication. It soon became
apparent to him that his new customers were not horse people.

On Tuesday, Sasse and five other persons were recognized by the Johnson
County Methamphetamine Prevention Project for their efforts to curtail the
sale of over-the-counter ingredients used to make the toxic and highly
addictive drug.

The others recognized were Currie Myers, former Johnson County sheriff, for
his education efforts to halt the spread of methamphetamine; and Chris
Cahill, Will Baker, Jayme Williams and Dawn Sellman, of Target, for their
efforts to limit the one-time purchases of over-the-counter ephedrine
products and for meth education efforts.

About 35 local retailers and government and law enforcement officials
attended Tuesday's recognition breakfast at the Kansas State Research and
Extension office in Olathe.

"I know meth exists close to home here in Johnson County," Sasse, a
veterinarian who owns Lloyd's Dog & Horse on Santa Fe Street, said after
the ceremony. "I just rebelled that they (meth dealers) were using products
from my business to cook it."

His anger put him in league with federal Drug Enforcement Administration
agents who conducted sting operations from his store to put some of his
customers in jail.

Kansas ranks fourth in the nation in meth-lab seizures. From 1997 to 2003
the state saw a 103 percent increase in treatment admissions for meth
addiction. National studies show that as many as one-third of all high
school students have sampled methamphetamine.

Methamphetamine is a synthetic, nervous-system stimulant that can easily be
cooked in a bathroom, a car trunk or a ditch, using ingredients found at a
grocery store.

Tuesday's recognition was an effort to spotlight local efforts to fight the
use, distribution and manufacture of meth in Johnson County. Preliminary
results show the effort may be paying off.

The number of today's high school seniors in Johnson County who say meth is
readily available dropped by 48 percent from five years ago. The more
difficult it seems to get the drug, abuse counselors say, the easier it is
to deter exposure to it. The number of those who report using the drug in
the past 30 days also has dropped by the same percentage from levels
reported before the project began, officials said.

The problem is growing in Kansas, while nearby states, such as Nebraska and
Missouri, have begun to clamp down on the sale of the over-the-counter cold
medication used to produce methamphetamine. Reports show meth makers in
neighboring states are sending couriers to buy ingredients in Kansas, where
the sale of the items is not controlled.

Efforts are under way in the Johnson County district attorney's office to
draft a resolution requiring retailers to limit the bulk purchase of items
such as Sudafed that contain pseudoephedrine, an active ingredient in the
creation of methamphetamine.

Sasse, the veterinarian, said people frequently came to his store asking
for meth ingredients.

"If we don't recognize them as a horse owner," he said, "we say, 'Hey, we
don't have it.'"

To reach Finn Bullers, Johnson County government reporter, call (816)
234-7705 or send e-mail to fbullers@kcstar.com

Signs of meth use

- - Euphoria, hyperactivity, restlessness, dilated pupils, compulsive
behavior, inability to concentrate, teeth grinding and jerky movements.

To find out more about efforts to combat methamphetamine use, contact:

- - Janine Gracy, director of the Regional Prevention Center, at (913)
715-7880 or send e-mail to janine.gracy@jocogov.org.

- - Karen Elliott at the Kansas State Research and Extension Service, 13480
Arapaho Drive, Olathe, (913) 764-6300