REPORT SAYS METH TOLL MOUNTING

Indiana Cases Up 200% Since 1999

The number of methamphetamine cases in Indiana has risen nearly 200percent
since 1999, and the state is paying the price - at least $100million a
year, according to a report released yesterday.

But reversing the trend will require a combination of education, treatment,
new procedures and new restrictions on the sale of key ingredients, the
Methamphetamine Abuse Task Force contended.

The task force was created by the General Assembly this year to develop
ways to combat the drug's spread. Drug laboratories have been found in all
but one Indiana county.

The findings, contained in a 16-page report, will go to Gov. Joe Kernan and
state legislators, said 1st Sgt. David Bursten of the Indiana State Police.

The report lays out the need for action.

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that is injected, snorted
or smoked. Most of its ingredients can be bought at hardware and grocery
stories.

The drug has spread in epidemic proportions in Indiana in recent years,
leading to a strain in local budgets, crowded jails and overworked police
departments.

It has had social consequences too, with communities seeing a surge in
children needing state services and people needing drug treatment.

Vigo County Sheriff Jon Marvel said he has seen the drug's impact on his
community.

His jail budget has risen from $812,000 in 1998 to $3.5million this year,
largely because of meth. And 85percent of the 302 county jail inmates face
meth-related charges.

The report suggests creating a Methamphetamine Watch Program statewide to
train retailers, health department workers and others working with the
public to help them identify and report meth users.

Some of the recommendations can be implemented without significant expense,
said state Rep. Trent Van Haaften, D-Mount Vernon, a task force member.

An example is requiring retailers to place cold medicines used to make meth
behind the counter as is done in Oklahoma, Van Haaften said.

That's an "immediate impact without having a fiscal impact," he said.