MARION COUNTY FIFTH IN METHAMPHETAMINE PRODUCTION IN IOWA

Between Jan. 1-Sept. 30, there were 48 clandestine meth laboratories
seized in Marion County. There have been at least five more since
then. This places the county in the top five of Iowa's 99 for total
lab seizures.

"Meth is just taking over society," said Sheriff Gary Verwers. There
were 906 total seizures in the state in this period of time. "It's
disturbing to me to see where Marion County ranks," Verwers added.

Methamphetamine is a stimulant which gives users feelings of euphoria
and alertness. Its effects are similar to cocaine, but due to its
inexpensive production, is stronger. It can be snorted, injected or
smoked.

The one ingredient meth must have, according to Marvin Van Haaften,
former Marion County Sheriff and current director for the Governor's
Office of Drug Control Policy, is pseudoephedrine. Other ingredients
can be changed, but without it, meth can not be made.

Pseudoephedrine is found in cold tablets such as Sudafed. It is a
synthetic form of ephedrine, a natural extract from plants.
Ephedrine's ability to stimulate the heart and central nervous system
made it popular for diet and energy pills.

Ephedrine also came with a list of known side effects. For this and
other reasons, the Food and Drug Administration placed a ban on diet
pills containing ephedrine alkaloids, or ephedra, which took effect on
April 12. Pseudoephedrine has been and continues to be regulated under
the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Though pseudoephedrine is available over-the-counter, pharmacists are
required to report any suspicious amounts of it being purchased. The
Iowa Pharmacy Board has placed regulations on importation and
wholesale distribution of drugs containing the ingredient. According
to Pharmacist Kathryn Wohlers, Medicap Pharmacy has never really had a
problem concerning the purchases. The pharmacy also does not sell the
products in bulk.

Verwers said that vendors who distribute products containing
ingredients for meth are "good" at reporting purchases which seem out
of the ordinary.

An officer with the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force
disagrees. Marion County has two officers assigned to the task force.
It is based in Polk County and covers Dallas, Warren and Jasper
Counties in addition to Polk and Marion. With the exception of Polk
County, which has more people involved, every jurisdiction dedicates
one officer or deputy to the task force full-time. The Marion County
Sheriff's Office and Knoxville Police Department each have someone on
the force. (The MINE officer requested not to be identified, so the
individual will be identified as "the officer" for the remainder of
the article.)

The officer is frustrated with businesses which, though they limit two
bottles a day per customer, sell bottles with large quantities. The
officer finds the bottles priced high and businesses are not reporting
suspicious purchases in search of the greater profit.

Van Haaften is for legislation making pseudoephedrine a Schedule 5
narcotic. If it was passed in Iowa, a prescription would be required
to purchase anything containing it. Van Haaften said that since
Oklahoma adopted a similar policy, which took effect July 1, there has
been a 50 percent drop in labs discovered.

Though the officer used the term "cook," heat is not required to make
the drug. Most of the time, it is made through a chemical reaction.
One of the things that disturbs the officer, as well as Knoxville
Police Chief Harvey Sprafka, is the danger of the chemicals being
mixed by people who don't understand what can happen.

"These people are not rocket scientists," the officer said. Sprafka
echoed the sentiment by saying that meth cooks and users frequently
are high school dropouts who may not have even taken chemistry courses.

A popular component of the meth lab, especially in Iowa, is anhydrous
ammonia. It is used by farmers and tanks of it are nearly everywhere
in Iowa. Van Haaften said that after five years of research, Iowa
State University has discovered an additive which, when added to
anhydrous, makes it useless in the production of meth.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has conducted 15 tests of the
additive. Normally, anhydrous is good for making meth 52 percent of
the time. When tested with the additive, between 0 and 2 percent reacted.

Department of Transportation officials are testing the additive's
effect on pipes. By next spring, Van Haaften hopes that anhydrous
ammonia will be useless in the production of meth.

The state has also received a $200,000 grant from Senator Charles
Grassley to set up an Iowa meth lab website. Van Haaften also hopes to
use some of the funds for new science-based Drug Abuse Resistance
Education training.

Even though authorities hope to take anhydrous ammonia out of the
equation in Iowa, they believe 80 percent of the state's meth is
imported from California and Mexico. Van Haaften said that oftentimes,
a Mexican will be given five pounds of meth and a map of Iowa. He or
she is told to go to marked cities to sell it.

Rather than risk buying meth on the street, many users go to the World
Wide Web for recipes. According to the officer, he's seen labs with
printouts from websites detailing how to make meth. There have been
computer systems seized for evidence which have been used for
downloading information and e-mail communication among manufacturers
and dealers.

A website discovered by the Journal-Express, which will not be named
in this article due to its content and any liability which may arise
from the actions by those inspired to visit it by reading it here,
gives detailed instructions on how to make methamphetamine. It is not
limited to meth; the site also describes how to cultivate drug-related
plants, how to pass a drug test and more. Owners of the site did not
respond to an e-mail request for an interview.

The officer said that meth knows no economic, ethnic, age or gender
boundaries. The officer has seen addicts as young as 11 years old to
grandparents in their late 50's.

"It's a constant battle," the officer said. "We're not going to win
this war on drugs."

The officer explained that the increased numbers in labs found doesn't
mean an increase in usage. The problem has always been here, it's just
that authorities are getting more aggressive and face tougher
regulations.

Sprafka said there are more victims due to meth than some may realize.
Citizens preyed upon for crimes addicts commit to support their habit
and children are feeling the effect. When a child is found in the
presence of a meth lab or drug use, child endangerment charges are
filed. Sprafka said 90 percent of child endangerment cases are
drug-related.

The officer said that children growing up around drugs are
desensitized to the danger and the fact that it is a crime.

"It's inevitable they're going to try it," the officer said. The
problem with trying meth, according to the officer, is that once one
tries it, he or she is hooked.

A woman in Alabama is trying to fight meth in her own way. Dr. Mary
Holley, an obstetrician from Arab, Ala., lost her brother to meth. She
started an organization, Mothers Against Methamphetamine.

Holley and other members go to schools, prisons and other places to
educate people about meth. There are new chapters of MAM springing up
across the country every week. Information on starting a chapter is
available on her website, www.mamasite.net.

"We're going to be there as long as methamphetamine is," Holley said.
She said she has gotten positive feedback from addicts and she has yet
to become discouraged.

Holley echoed the officer's statement that anyone can get addicted to
meth. She said her police chief's son, preacher's kids and other
people you may not expect have become addicts.

"You don't have to be stupid to get hooked on crystal," Holley said.
According to the doctor, one can suffer permanent brain damage
depending on how long the addict has been using. Babies born addicted
to meth can have holes in their brains. As they grow older, the brain
develops and their mental retardation can downgrade to attention
deficit disorder.

The officer said one of the problems MINE runs into is easy penalties.
Meth cooks are sentenced to long prison terms are often released after
serving only a few months. When they get out, they return to the lifestyle.

The officer said many times after a drug offender is sentenced, he or
she will approach and say something to the effect of, "I'll be out in
a few months." The officer then replies, "I'll see you when you get
back."

"Our officers are asked to investigate and see things most people
would not want to see," Sprafka added. "They are a credit to the
profession."

The officer wishes that a picture of a two-year old crawling on the
floor with a marijuana pipe in one hand while crawling to a syringe
could be shown to everyone involved in the war on drugs to further
illustrate the drug problem. The officer is busy, as at least four
people tried to reach the MINE worker in the under 60 minutes of the
interview.

Officers can also experience burnout. The officer has been on the job
since 1996 and has had to take time off to recover. Sprafka said the
hours the officer puts in are not evenly matched by the pay.

"They do an outstanding job," Sprafka added.