MISSOURI NO. 1 IN METH BUSTS

The results are still being tallied, but it looks like Missouri is No. 1 in
methamphetamine seizures for 2003.

In a news release issued by the Missouri State Highway Patrol on Friday,
2,860 meth lab seizures were reported last year, a 4 percent increase from
2,743 seizures in 2002.

Although final numbers are still being tabulated from all 50 states, the
highway patrol expects Missouri will lead the nation once again in meth lab
seizures.

"These criminals are a real threat to the safety and well-being of our
communities, but Missouri law enforcement have them on the run," Sen. Kit
Bond, R-Mo., said in a statement. "Our law enforcement officials are on the
front lines, and I will continue my efforts to get them the equipment,
clean-up funds and manpower they need to get the job done."

Despite an increase in state funding to combat meth labs, Boone County
officials have seen a rise in area meth labs.

"It's not surprising because we here in Boone County have seen a pretty
significant rise in the number of meth-related arrests and meth labs
seized," said Capt. Kevin Merritt of the Boone County Sheriff's Department.

In Boone County, 10 arrests for meth labs and eight arrests for meth dump
sites have been recorded since November 2003.

Capt. Christian Ricks of the Highway Patrol said Missouri is one of the
most aggressive states when it comes to pursuing meth producers. Ricks said
the state is a hotbed for meth production due to the number of areas that
are difficult to patrol, such as rural areas.

He also said the close mingling of rural and urban territory in many
portions of Missouri contributes to the meth problem because low-income
citizens can enter the backwoods and create homemade meth there.

The grassroots operations of many of the meth manufacturers also pose a
problem to law enforcement officials.

Unlike California, No. 2 in meth lab seizures, the meth labs in Missouri
are not part of a larger drug trade. Rather, they consist of a series of
small-time operators, usually meth addicts themselves, who use rental
property, leased areas or mobile property as their bases of operation,
Ricks said. They can set up their meth labs cheaply due to the ease and
wide availability of meth ingredients, he said, many of which are available
as over-the-counter items in pharmacies.

Sheriff John Jordan of the Missouri Sheriffs' Methamphetamine Relief Team
said that in the past many meth labs have gone unreported. Jordan said
reducing meth is manpower-intensive, and the chief factor in fighting the
problem effectively is more personnel being allocated to fight meth.

"The big thing is getting people not to use it," Ricks said. "If there is
not a demand for the product, the product goes away. We've spent a lot of
time and money in education trying to educate young people not to become
involved with drugs. People have to just quit wanting to take drugs."