METH LAB BUSTS ON DECLINE IN STATE

The number of methamphetamine labs reported to the Washington
Department of Ecology has declined for the third year in a row, both
statewide and in Clark County.

A change in the law in Canada, making it harder for crooks to buy
large amounts of a chemical used to make meth, may explain some of the
decline, police say.

In Clark County, 15 meth labs were reported in the first six months of
this year, said Mary-Ellen Voss, a spokeswoman for the ecology
department's chemical spills program.

In the same time period, 21 were reported in 2003, 24 in 2002 and 26
in 2001.

Statewide totals show the same trend, with 714 labs reported in the
first half of this year, down from a peak of 1,041 in the first half
of 2001.

"The highest years were 2001 and 2002 for most everybody," Voss
said.

The counties with the most meth labs are Pierce, King, Snohomish and
Thurston, Voss said.

John Fairgrieve, a Clark County deputy prosecutor who heads the felony
drug unit, confirmed the decline in meth lab busts here. But he said
he's not sure why it's happening since there's been no significant
increase in prison sentences for cooking meth.

The first time someone is convicted of cooking meth, if the person has
no more than two previous felony convictions, the sentencing range is
about four to 51 1/42 years, Fairgrieve said.

One factor in the decline of meth labs here may be Canada's crackdown
on the legal export of large amounts of pseudoephedrine, an ingredient
in over-the-counter cold pills that often is used to make meth, said
Cmdr. Keith Kilian of the Clark-Skamania Drug Task Force.

Until about 18 months ago, Kilian said, meth cooks could legally
purchase bottles containing thousands of pseudoephedrine pills in Canada.

Since the Canadian supply dried up, operators of large meth labs are
getting their pseudoephedrine in Mexico, where it arrives from Asia.
Those cooks may have moved south to be close to the supply, Kilian
said.

However, that wouldn't explain the decline in numbers of small meth
labs, generally producing only an ounce or two at a time, that are
typical in Clark County, Kilian said.

Police sometimes call such modest operations "box labs" because the
chemicals and gear often are found in cardboard boxes, perhaps in the
trunk of a car.

Kilian said he doesn't know why police are busting fewer small labs,
"unless they're out there and we're just not finding them."

It's possible small operators are simply more cautious than in the
past, Kilian said.

Kilian declined to say how many undercover detectives work in the task
force, but said the number hasn't changed.

Another possible explanation for the decline of meth labs here is the
fact that meth use and manufacture began on the West Coast but, in the
past several years, has spread to Midwestern and Eastern states. Some
former West Coast cooks may have moved East, looking for areas where
police have less experience with busting meth labs, Voss said.

Chemicals that are combined with pseudoephedrine to make meth are
hazardous and even deadly, Voss said. They include red phosphorus,
sodium metals, iodine, acids, sodium hydroxide, flammable solvents,
anhydrous ammonia and lithium.

Many such chemicals, including over-the-counter cold pills containing
pseudoephedrine, can be purchased legally in stores.

In response, officials are asking retailers to limit the amount a
person can purchase, train employees to report suspicious characters
and display such products where they can be easily monitored.

The Meth Watch Program, which started in Kansas and is being
increasingly used in Washington, focuses on retailers such as
pharmacies, supermarkets, hardware stores and feed stores, Voss said.

Meth Watch is a voluntary program aimed at curtailing theft and
suspicious sales of pseudoephedrine and other household products that
can be used to make meth, according to its Web site,
www.methwatch.com.

Although fewer meth labs are being discovered, meth remains Clark
County's worst drug problem as reflected in charges filed for
possessing and selling the illegal stimulant, Fairgrieve said. "Meth
probably takes up 75 percent of our caseload."