METH TIDE KEEPS RISING

An ongoing national study shows Maricopa County neck-and-neck with two
California cities for the highest methamphetamine use in the continental
United States in what appears to be a continuing upward trend.

"Meth is getting close to surpassing marijuana as the drug of choice" in
the Valley, said Vince Webb, a professor of criminal justice and
criminology at Arizona State University and the coordinator of the Arrestee
Drug Abuse Monitoring, or ADAM, program in Maricopa County.

"We are not too far off, if this trends keeps going, that every other
person arrested in Maricopa County will test positive for meth."

Methamphetamine use in the Valley has more than doubled in five years and
at times this year even surpassed San Diego and Sacramento, Calif. --
historically, the two cities in the continental United States with the
largest methamphetamine use, according to ADAM program findings. Only
Honolulu has a higher rate of methamphetamine use.

The ADAM study shows methamphetamine use higher in certain sections of
Maricopa County, including areas of Scottsdale and other parts of the East
Valley.

Three years ago, Maricopa County tied with Des Moines, Iowa, for the sixth
spot in methamphetamine use in the continental United States, according to
the federally funded study based on voluntary drug testing of inmates at 35
jail intakes around the country. Those involved in the study say the
results mirror usage in the general population.

"I think if you plotted out all this data what you would see that the trend
of meth use in Phoenix has increased at a significantly faster rate than
other sites around the country," Webb said.

Law enforcement officers agreed with the study's findings, saying
methamphetamine use has reached epidemic levels and is bleeding into nearly
every aspect of crime. And, officials said, the problem goes beyond
habitual criminals.

"My personal opinion is that the majority of people who use it will never
have contact with law enforcement," said Maricopa County sheriff's Capt.
Don Schneidmiller, coproject director of the Maricopa County High Intensity
Drug Trafficking Enforcement Area task force.

Methamphetamine users can be single moms stretched thin or the trucker on a
longhaul route. They can be a strung-out street hood and the professional
who uses drugs on the weekend to blow off steam.

"They're using it thinking it's going to help them function -- that's the
scary part about meth," Schneidmiller said.

Methamphetamine is an addictive stimulant that can be smoked, snorted or
injected. On the street, it is called speed, crank, chalk and ice. A
"teener" -- one-sixteenth of an ounce -- costs about $75 to $100 on the
street and is the amount most commonly sold to casual users.

"This current drug trend has some staying power," said Jim Molessa, a Drug
Enforcement Administration agent working out of the federal agency's
Phoenix office. "It's not going to go away; it's not a fad."

Scottsdale police Sgt. Rob Hoskin oversees a new unit of officers dedicated
to catching the career thieves responsible for most property crimes. He
estimated that nine out of 10 of their suspects are methamphetamine users
funding their habits.

"The catalyst for these crimes, the underlying theme is methamphetamine,"
he said.

The drug is fairly easily manufactured. A small "shoe box" lab can supply a
single user's appetite and close circle of friends.

Schneidmiller said law enforcement agencies take down about 400
methamphetamine labs a year in Arizona, and his task force is responsible
for about 80 of those -- all in Maricopa County.

State and federal drug agents have concentrated on the Mexico "super labs"
and U.S. border areas that can produce large amounts of methamphetamine,
said Lou Giaquinto, assistant state attorney general.

Meanwhile, manufacturers of methamphetamine are constantly devising new
ways to foil police. Law enforcement, in turn, has to be just as crafty in
combating it.

At the street level, officers from local police agencies pull tours of duty
with Schneidmiller's federally funded task force. This is in addition to
drug enforcement during routine patrols or narcotics details.

In the courts, the Arizona Attorney General's Office has six prosecutors in
a special unit funded by the U.S. Department of Justice that targets
methamphetamine production and smuggling cases generated by the Maricopa
County task force.

The problem has prompted various laws. For example, a measure passed by the
Arizona Legislature that makes property owners responsible for paying for
cleanup costs on methamphetamine labs found on their property went into
effect July 1. An older law was revamped so parents operating a
methamphetamine lab also can be charged with child abuse if a child is
living under the same roof.

Giaquinto said such legislation and law enforcement is helping. Case loads
are increasing, with prosecutors putting more manufacturers and smugglers
in jail. What is needed is more funding, which could provide additional
resources such as more prosecutors, he said.