PANEL TOLD TRAINING, LEGISLATION MAY CURB GEORGIA'S METH PROBLEM

When Sgt. Wayne Franklin of the Houston County Sheriff's Office first saw a
methamphetamine lab in a car in 1999, the meth problem was so new in the
midstate that he had no idea what it was.

"It's a miracle that we didn't get blown up or killed in those first few
years," he said.

But the drug enforcement officer said Georgia has come a long way in
reacting to the drug since it first began appearing here. Methamphetamine
use has become prominent in the past five years, drug officials said.

"We're ahead of the game compared to other states, but there are a lot of
things we have to do, because it's going to stay," he said.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency recorded 28 meth labs in Georgia in fiscal
1999. In 2003, 701 labs were reported to the GBI. Based on numbers from
earlier this year, the GBI projects a 28 percent increase for 2004.

It appears that Georgia is taking notice. More groups have formed to deal
with the problem. Last week Gov. Sonny Perdue held a summit to talk with law
enforcement, prosecutors, social workers and others about solutions for the
problem he said was growing like kudzu.

Wednesday, a state House study committee, which is traveling to several
areas of Georgia, stopped in Forsyth to hear from several law enforcement
officials and others about the problem.

"Methamphetamine is getting attention in Georgia," said Paul Musik, special
agent in charge of GBI's Macon office. "It's hard not to give it attention.
With what we're seeing here, we're painfully aware of the problem."

Musik told the committee that he believes there needs to be more training.
He said he's heard of a law enforcement agent inadvertently tracking toxic
chemicals from a lab into his home because he was not properly trained in
dealing with meth labs.

He said because there is such a large difference in the 467 Georgia homes
the DEA paid to have cleared of chemicals and paraphernalia in 2003 as
compared with the 701 labs reported to the GBI, he suspects many labs that
need to be cleaned are not.

He said there needs to be a requirement that law enforcement agencies report
all meth labs to the state.

Musik said he believes the state is making progress, but things take time.

Georgia doesn't have a law, as some states do, that monitors or regulates
the sale of a cold remedy called pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in meth.

State Rep. David Graves, R-Macon, said he sponsored a bill that would put
the cold remedy behind counters. Following objections from businesses, the
matter is being studied, he said.

"Our hope is to come up with something that is the least intrusive to
businesses as possible but to stem the growth of meth labs as much as
possible," he said.

Monroe County Sheriff J.C. Bittick told the panel Wednesday that recent cuts
to the GBI have delayed some of his office's meth cases because it takes six
to eight months before the labs can make the necessary determination for
trials.

State Rep. Curtis Jenkins, D-Forsyth, said the House Public Safety Committee
will study the allocations given to the GBI.

But the General Assembly has already passed meth-related laws: It's now a
felony to own more than 300 pseudoephedrine tablets, or anhydrous ammonium,
with the intent of making of meth.

It's also a felony to make meth in the presence of children.

Work still needs to be done to spread public awareness, and there seems to
be a lack of treatment options, said state Rep. Barbara Massey Reece,
D-Menlo.

But since a June 20 meeting in northwestern Georgia, she knows of two
community task forces that have formed in Chattooga and Catoosa counties.

In Houston County, two groups are forming to deal with the problem.

Families Against Methamphetamine Abuse is a group for people with families
members who suffer from a problem with meth, said Jim Rockefeller, an
organizer of the group.

Another Houston County group, which includes law enforcement and
prosecutors, will look for local solutions, study the problem and try to
spread awareness, said Houston County District Attorney Kelly Burke.

He said Georgia has a lot to learn from other states.

"We don't have to reinvent the wheel," he said. "We can look at California,
Oklahoma and Missouri and see what they're doing."

The group Burke is involved with was formed last week as a result of the
governor's summit, he said. There are plans to hold a public meeting in
October.

The public still has a lot to learn to help fight the problem, he said. For
example, in some cases, neighbors have complained about strange smells
without realizing the odors were from a meth lab, he said.

The group will first work on a local ordinance requiring that houses
contaminated by meth labs be cleaned before they are lived in again.

He said there is no state regulation that deals with decontaminating houses
where meth labs have been removed.

Franklin said the situation has to change soon.

"If the people are slumlords, for lack of a better word, and they don't want
to spend $10,000 to clean up the property, what are we going to do?" he
asked.