THE HAZARDS OF METH AFFECT WHOLE COMMUNITY

As the use and manufacture of methamphetamine in Sevier County grows,
so do the hazards associated with the drug.

The hazards of methamphetamine include dangers to the community in
general, the officers busting the labs, health personnel, the
environment, and to the meth makers, meth addicts and their families.

Crime factor

As with other drugs, meth manufacturing and use often leads to other
crimes, so as meth use rises, so does the potential for an increase in
other associated crimes.

Methamphetamine users experience an intense "crash" after the drug
wears off, and will often turn to crime to fund their habit, according
to law enforcement officials.

Sevierville Police Detective Kevin Bush said he had seen more violent
crime and burglary in connection with methamphetamine and Oxycontin (a
highly addictive prescription pain killer) than with any other drugs.

Fenton Ray Hobbs, also known as Stephen Mullican, was charged with
robbing Sevier County Bank on Sept. 26, and was later arrested by
police at a location where officials found an alleged meth lab. His
case is to be tried in Knoxville on Dec. 16.

The Sevier County Sheriff's Department has also located stolen items,
including stolen vehicles, at the site of meth lab busts.

In addition to thievery, meth addicts can become paranoid, delusional
and otherwise exhibit psychotic behavior, experts say, which can lead
to erratic and violent criminal behavior.

Health personnel

Health care and rescue personnel must also beware when handling meth
users.

Health care workers are often sickened by the stench of the chemicals
used to make meth on users' clothes and their bodily fluids, said Dr.
Barry S. Wagner, director of medical recruiting at Emergency Coverage
Corp. in Knoxville during a panel discussion at the Methamphetamine
Response Conference in Nashville earlier this week.

Emergency room personnel should immediately undress a meth user and
then bag and burn the clothes at a secure site, Wagner said.

He said meth users can be homicidal while high and suicidal when
coming down off the high.

"The tendency for violent behavior among meth users is 100 times
greater than with angel dust," Wagner said. Angel dust is a slang term
for the horse tranquilizer PCP, which causes hallucinations and is
notorious for causing violent behavior in its users.

He reported that emergency room staff members have been attacked by
meth addicts, and have even had knives thrown at them.

Wagner advised health care personnel to at least wear a small
respirator when treating meth users, though it is not known just how
effective this would be.

Dangers of the bust

Law enforcement personnel who investigate methamphetamine cases also
find themselves in danger - both from the chemicals in the lab and the
meth producers, who are often heavily armed.

Some meth producers have even been known to booby trap their labs with
dynamite and jugs of gasoline equipped with blasting caps, police say.

Those who are high on meth can react violently during a bust. Meth
users will hallucinate and become very dangerous when they see law
enforcement personnel, according to officials.

Officers have to storm the meth lab with guns, and in the confusion,
people can get killed, even by friendly fire.

Scott County Sheriff's Sgt. Hubert Yancey, 35, was killed last Friday
night when he and Drug Officer Marty Carson, son of Scott County
Sheriff Jim Carson, entered a mobile home near Oneida where meth was
being made.

His partner was already on the scene and mistook him for someone else
who might pose a threat, accidentally shooting him in the upper chest,
above his protective vest, with a shotgun.

The chemicals used to make meth are also very dangerous and present a
hazard to humans and the environment in general.

Gases resulting from a cocktail of chemicals used to make the drug,
such as phosphine gas and anhydrous ammonia, can cause flash fires and
explosions.

SCSD Detective Jeff McCarter said meth producers try to stay mobile
and to ventilate well.

The reason is, labs can be easy to detect due to the strong chemical
smell. Also, if the place where it is cooked is not ventilated well,
those in the area could suffer great physical harm.

Four SCSD detectives and all drug task force agents have been trained
to go on site and handle methamphetamine lab cleanup.

SCSD Detective Matthew Cubberley described the care officers have to
take in investigating a lab.

Officers must first assess the situation to determine if the lab has
explosive gases and if there is enough oxygen to breath.

Then, when dealing with the lab they must dress in chemical suits and
gas masks designed to protect them from substances like acetic acid,
ammonia and carbon dioxide.

Police officers from Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are all
trained to detect where meth is being cooked and how to contain the
area until help from federal officials arrives.

How meth affects children

Meth cooks and abusers endanger the lives of everyone around them.
Many times, children are found in homes or with adults who are cooking
and using meth.

The Tennessee Department of Children's Services reported placing 600
children in foster care since Jan. 1, 2002, because their parents were
using or manufacturing methamphetamine. This does not include children
who were placed in the custody of relatives.

In McMinn County alone last year, 18 children were removed from their
homes and another 49 were placed with relatives, Judge James Watson
said at the meth conference earlier this week.

Other meth addicts willingly give up their children.

Local child protection officials say finding foster parents in Sevier
County is not yet a major problem.

Stiffened laws require that when child is found around a lab, he or
she is taken to the hospital and then to the Department of Children's
Services.

"(Users) get so messed up they just leave it laying around," said
Sevierville Police Detective Kevin Bush.

Innocent children are often the victims of such carelessness -
children of all ages who are exposed to meth and its making are
suffering from an array of health problems, according to health
professionals.

Who's paying?

The clandestine locations where meth is cooked become hazardous waste
sites because of the abundance of dangerous chemicals. Meth producers
often dig holes on their property to dump and hide the leftover waste.

The average cleanup cost of a meth lab is around $3,000, said SCSD
Det. Matthew Cubberley. However, it is the federal taxpayers who have
to foot the bill, since local governments cannot afford it. Millions
of tax dollars have been spent on the environmental cleanup of meth
labs, according to officials.

One pound of methamphetamine can yield from five to six pounds of
hazardous waste, said Gentry.

The DEA is the federal agency responsible for cleanup. The DEA
contracts companies to come to the site to clean up the hazardous waste.

Officials warn those who rent houses and cabins to beware who they
rent to. If someone cooks meth on your property, personal costs for
cleanup after the DEA is finished can be very expensive.

There are companies out there who are willing to test properties and
take the steps to clean them up, but the costs are heavy.

No matter who is paying, the cost in lives affected, property damaged
and security threatened is immeasurable.

Legal consequences

Several cases are in the Sevier County court system right now
involving methamphetamine production. In addition to the related
physical hazards, those convicted of producing meth can expect to face
two to six years in prison if they are a first offender, according to
Attorney General Al Schmutzer Jr.

If there is proof that 100 grams or more have been produced, the case
can become a Class B felony that could result in eight or more years
in prison.