METH LAB INDICATES BIG-TIME DRUGS HERE

Synthetic Drugs Costly to Society

The story was small but the subject tells of a major problem that has hit
the Lowcountry. Authorities uncovered a methamphetamine lab in rural Jasper
County a little more than a week ago. More than two dozen law enforcement
officers representing local and federal agencies descended on the
sophisticated lab in Grays. That no arrests have been made means that this
group may be able to build another lab, if not in this area, then in another.

Methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, is a
synthetic central nervous system stimulant that is classified as a Schedule
II controlled substance. It is dangerous, and it is distributed across the
nation under the names of "Crystal" and "Speed."

The drug is dangerous because of the medical and mental damage it can cause
in people, but it also is dangerous because it can earn people large sums
of money. The cost varies across the country, but the Southeast is one of
the pricier regions. The DEA estimates that it sells for $3,500 a pound in
California and Texas, but jumps to $21,000 a pound wholesale in the
Southeast and Northeast. Retail prices can earn a dealer nearly $100,000 a
pound in some areas.

The Beaufort County Drug Task Force reported this summer 324 drug-related
charges during the first six months of 2003. Those arrests were for pretty
mild drugs in contrast to the methamphetamine and amphetamine-type
stimulants that the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime calls a world scourge.
According to news reports, 161 of the local arrests were for simple
possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor offense. The next largest offense
involved about one half the arrests for marijuana, but it involved a much
more dangerous drug: crack.

As has been said here before, the numbers might indicate a lot of
recreational use, but they show a growing problem. It will only get worse
as the county's population increases, and it is expected to double in the
next quarter century.

Take a look at the statistics released by the county's Drug Task Force for
the first six months of 2003:

. 76 charges on Hilton Head Island;

. 79 charges on St. Helena and Lady's islands;

. 57 charges in Beaufort;

. 50 charges in unincorporated Bluffton; and

. 7 charges in Bluffton.

The case in Jasper County indicates that the numbers above may be the last
time the county -- the Lowcountry -- sees a widespread use of organic drugs
for recreational use. An Associated Press story on Nov. 12 said that drug
agents see no end to the more addictive drugs, especially
methamphetamine's, eastward migration.

In addition to cost in medical and mental problems of taking the drug, the
migration means taxpayers will pay hefty costs for cleaning up the homemade
labs -- like the one in Jasper County -- where hazardous chemicals are
mixed and cooked. The DEA spent $22 million last year cleaning up labs.

Who is using the drug? According to the AP story, most homemade
methamphetamine is used by white people, but according to an assistant U.S.
attorney, organized Mexican and Cuban drug gangs are importing large
quantities to northwest Georgia.

These are just some of the costs, though. In terms of the toll on
individuals and families, it will be incalculable.