STATE REELING FROM CONSEQUENCES OF METHAMPHETAMINE PRODUCTION

WASHINGTON -- Only a small portion of the nation's methamphetamine is
produced in makeshift labs such as those found often in Oklahoma, but such
operations have created a huge problem for law enforcement, communities and
the environment, witnesses told a congressional panel Friday. The
proliferation of clandestine labs "has hit rural areas particularly hard," a
Drug Enforcement Administration official said, and those areas have scarce
resources to pay for the associated problems.

Those problems include cleaning up the toxic chemicals used to make the
drug, other crimes connected to its use and production and the toll it takes
on people, particularly children whose parents make the drug or use it.

"The array of meth-related problems, from small labs nationwide to so-called
super labs in California, to the environmental consequences, to the social
toll and cost of addiction, clearly are a significant national problem that
requires increasing federal attention," said Rep. Mark Souder, R-Indiana.

Souder, chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on Criminal
Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources, held a hearing Friday with fellow
lawmakers and law enforcement officers.

Rogelio E. Guevara, chief of operations for the DEA, presented a chart
showing Oklahoma had 668 incidents related to meth labs in 2002 -- including
seizures or accidents. The Oklahoma data, based on reports to the El Paso
Intelligence Center, counts two "super labs," where large quantities of the
drug are produced.

Guevara, in his written testimony to the subcommittee, said an operation in
Oklahoma City called Norma's Enterprises bought more than 14 million tablets
of pseudoephedrine with the intent of providing it to meth operations. He
said the owner, Norma El-Samad, was sentenced to 97 months in prison.

His testimony also cited an Oklahoma case to illustrate the environmental
hazards: police, he said, found an old mine sinkhole in Hockerville last
year that had waste from 200 meth lab operations.

"After responding to the scene, DEA cleaned up the hazardous waste from the
site," Guevara said. "However, DEA is not equipped to clean up the
contaminated soil or assess any potential problems associated with
contaminated water in the area."

Unlike marijuana, cocaine and heroin, methamphetamine is totally synthetic
- -- no plants are used in its production -- and most of the ingredients can
be bought at retail stores. It can keep a user awake for hours, and
long-term use causes serious psychological problems, officials said.

Rep. John Boozman, R- Arkansas, said his state has the highest number of
meth lab seizures per capita in the nation.

"In 1994, a total of six meth labs were seized in Arkansas," he said. "In
2002, 955 labs were seized. And, today, law enforcement officials have
busted 25 percent more labs than they did this time last year. You can
clearly see that the meth problem in Arkansas has escalated and reached
epidemic proportions."

John C. Horton, who handles state and local affairs for the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy, said at least 80 percent and
possibly as much as 95 percent of the methamphetamine distributed in the
U.S. is produced by Mexican organizations, some of which operate in
California.

In order to cut the flow of the drug, he said, "we're going to have to go
after the major organizations."

He said the government also must cut demand, get treatment for addicts and
put "meth cooks" in prison.

Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, said rehabilitation for addicts is necessary but
that "users will tell you that they need to be arrested."

"They know how addictive this drug is and how destructive it is," Case said.