METH USE ON RISE IN BLOUNT

Methamphetamine, or meth, is "man-made speed.''

It's an illegal drug comparable to cocaine that costs much less to make and
has ingredients that can be found at farmers' co-ops and drug stores.

While Blount County authorities have found very few clandestine meth labs
here, they expect the problem to get worse as the drug becomes more popular.

Capt. Ron Talbott leads the Fifth Judicial Drug Task Force, a division of
the Blount County Sheriff's Office. Agent Jerry Orr works with the task
force and is assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration in Knoxville.

"It's man-made speed is all meth is,'' Orr said.

Orr said the meth lab problem in Blount does not yet reach the level faced
by Morgan, Anderson or Roane counties.

"We have a few we've found; it's definitely on the increase,'' he said. "We
did two labs year before last, three or four labs last year, and it's a
problem that is going to increase. There's no doubt in my mind.''

Orr said what exacerbates the problem of meth labs is how easy it is to get
the ingredients. Also, individuals who aspire to become meth cookers are
going to other counties to learn.

While meth labs are becoming more prevalent, officers are not seeing much
meth being sold throughout Blount County, Orr said.

"As far as being able to go out and buy it from an individual, we're seeing
more labs, but we're not see a lot of meth on the street,'' he said.

According to Orr, the labs that have been found in Blount County are not
the sophisticated ones capable of making 5 to 10 pounds at a time. The labs
were the type that make an ounce or two at a time for personal use.

The recent surge in methamphetamine production began in California when
outlaw biker gangs cooked meth for profit, Talbott said.

"It snowballed and grew from there,'' he said.

Meth cookers travel to different jurisdictions visiting co-ops and discount
stores. They stay at cheap hotels or campgrounds, Talbott said.

"As they collect ingredients, they cook to satisfy their habit,'' he said.

"There's no rhyme or reason why it moves into a certain area,'' Talbott
said of meth use and production.

Labs can be in homes, in cars, or outside in a secluded area.

The captain said Blount County authorities and DEA agents have not
recovered any portable labs in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Dangers of use

Using the drug takes a severe toll on the user. Talbott said exposure to
the chemicals involved in making the drug carries its own dangers.

"A lot of cookers have burns. The cookers don't care; they're in it for the
purpose of having a high or making money,'' Talbott said.

Officers raiding a location where a lab is found often are walking into a
"ticking time bomb'' because of the chemicals they're exposed to in the
illegal labs.

"The biggest danger is the unknown,'' Talbott said.

Orr said the effects meth has on the cooker is the same effect it has on
officers raiding the lab.

"If they don't have a gas mask or filter system, when they start cooking
this stuff, ammonia will freeze up your lungs,'' he said.

Orr said use of meth can cause kidneys and other vital organs to shut down,
but doesn't mean an addict will quit using.

"All they look for is that high. They don't look at what it's doing to
their body,'' he said of meth users.

Cost of doing business

Talbott said the profit a cooker makes off methamphetamine is greater than
dealing cocaine because the ingredients for meth are substantially cheaper
than purchasing cocaine and distributing it.

It costs about $100 a gram to buy either cocaine or methamphetamine, he
said. There are 28 grams to an ounce. An ounce of cocaine costs about
$1,000. The substance can be ground out into grams and sold for $100 a gram.

Talbott said a meth cooker doesn't have the $1,000 upfront cost, and offers
the convenience of ingredients available for purchase at discount, drug and
farm-supply stores.

Punishment for being found guilty of possession of methamphetamine is the
same as with any Schedule II controlled substance.

With all meth cases, the agents will ask that the punishment be as
stringent as possible because of the toxins meth producers bring into the
community when they cook the drug.