AUTHORITIES SAY METHAMPHETAMINE INVASION UNDERWAY

ABINGDON -- Three or four years ago, methamphetamine was someone
else's problem -- someone in some other part of the country.

Now, local police say, the meth invasion is under way, and the
prospect of stopping it doesn't look promising.

Methamphetamine made its appearance in the Mountain Empire around
2001. Since then, the number of busts involving trafficking and
production in the region has doubled each year, officials say.

"This is the worst drug we've encountered in terms of risks associated
with the flammability and combustibility of the gases and fumes
associated with the labs," said local U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration Agent Mike Cash.

According to the National Institute for Drug Abuse, meth -- also known
as crank, ice or poor man's cocaine -- is a highly addictive stimulant
that affects the brain and nervous system.

It was developed in the early 20th century for use in decongestants
and inhalers. It's usually an odorless white or beige crystalline powder.

The effects of the drug -- increased activity, decreased appetite and
a general sense of well-being -- typically last six to eight hours.

Local officials say meth has become such a problem in the area because
police have concentrated their efforts on cracking down on the
prescription painkiller OxyContin, and the fact that meth is made
easily with cheap, legal ingredients.

Richard Stallard, coordinator for the Southwest Virginia Regional Drug
Task Force, said meth is unlike the pills or cocaine he sees.

"At times, the source for other drugs may be sporadic," he said. "With
methamphetamine, you can go to a couple of variety stores and get what
you need to make it. There is no prescription required, no
sophisticated knowledge of chemistry."

Police say the number of meth labs seized is not overwhelming by
itself. But they worry about the associated dangers and the fact that
the number of labs is increasing exponentially.

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

Meth migrated across the country eastward and to this region from
southern California, according to the DEA.

According to the Virginia State Police, 19 labs have been seized
statewide this year. Of those, 16 have been found in Southwest Virginia.

Stallard said central and western Tennessee and western Kentucky are
swamped with labs and that the problem is growing here. Although the
spread may have been inevitable, he said, it may have been fueled by a
crackdown on OxyContin.

OxyContin, a narcotic painkiller, is still a widely abused drug in the
region, he said, but as police have made it harder for users to get
it, some have shifted to meth.

"As the federal government gets a hold on other drugs, people will
seek alternatives," prosecutor Hurt said. "In this case (with meth),
people can make the drug using legal products."

Stallard said other misinformation in the drug community contributed
to the spread.

"Almost all the people we went to who had methamphetamine labs have
got into using depressants," he said. "Somewhere along the line,
someone told them that you can get off (OxyContin) with
methamphetamine."

WEIRD SCIENCE

Stallard said that during a recent meth lab bust, a man told him, "I
don't know what we even do this for. Everything we put in that stuff
is poison."

Some of the ingredients found in meth labs include cold medicine,
brake fluid, camping fuel, nail-polish remover, ammonia, engine
starter and battery acid.

As if the chemicals weren't flammable and toxic enough alone, they're
mixed together and heated. They're often stored in unsafe containers
like milk jugs and open pickle jars.

The process can generate deadly gases, explosive fumes and hazardous
byproducts that are dumped out a window or flushed down the toilet.

METH'S EFFECTS

The drug itself is extremely toxic, according to the National
Institute of Drug Abuse.

Meth most commonly affects the heart and blood vessels. Effects
include rapid pulse, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and
irreversible brain damage caused by strokes. Overdosing can cause
fatal hyperthermia and convulsions.

Use over long periods can cause the lining of the heart to
swell.

Users who inject the drug risk damaged blood vessels and sores as well
as contracting diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS from
needle-sharing.

Because lead sometimes is used in making the drug, a bad batch of meth
can cause lead poisoning in those who shoot the drug.

Like most drug addicts, heavy users typically experience progressively
declining professional and personal relationships, experts say.
Paranoia and hallucinations associated with meth use can even persist
after a person has stopped using the drug.

AUTHORITIES AT RISK

Washington County sheriff's Detective Blake Andis said police raiding
meth labs must wear level-A chemical suits. That means being covered
from head to toe in plastic, heavy rubber boots and gloves and using a
self-contained breathing apparatus.

That still doesn't protect from the danger of explosion or fire, Andis
said. He said investigators are discovering that many house fires in
the area that previously had unknown causes were the result of
meth-lab mishaps.

Cash, the DEA agent, said even highly trained officers sometimes can
be hurt while investigating meth labs.

Several injuries have occurred locally when DEA agents have tried to
clean up labs. One agent was exposed to fumes that caused chronic
nosebleeds and burning of his eyes. Another stepped in a puddle of
acid that ate away the soles of his shoes, Cash said.

"The people who suffer the most are the kids around while their
parents are cooking and their family and friends who walk in," federal
prosecutor Eric Hurt said.

Although federal prosecutors are using new sentencing increases for
parents who make the drug around children, it may be little comfort to
the young victims, he said.

The immediate dangers of the ingredients are well-known, but the
long-term effects of being exposed to manufacturing aren't, especially
for children, he said.

Because the chemicals used in home labs often are unlabeled,
identifying a lab may be difficult for untrained responders. Andis
said that poses a particular risk to firefighters and emergency
medical teams.

Toxic fumes produced by the cooking process are heavier than air and
sink to the ground.

"A rescuer may walk in to a lab and not know it. They find someone on
the floor who has been overcome by fumes, and they bend over and it
hits them and then they're out," Andis said. "It causes a chain reaction."

AN EXPENSIVE DRUG

Meth's cost to society can be measured in ways other than health
risk.

A large majority of the time spent at the local DEA office is used
fighting the spread of meth. Cleaning up a lab and making the area
relatively safe can take up to two days.

Cash, the DEA agent, said chemists must be called in from the nation's
capital to analyze a site and that independent hazardous materials
contractors must be found to clean up a lab.

"Fees range from $3,500 to $10,000," he said.

Although those fees usually are passed on to the meth cooker upon
conviction, taxpayers must bear the cost of the staffing.

The drug also is clogging courtrooms. Some weeks, three-quarters or
more of the case load at the U.S. District courthouse in Abingdon can
be attributed to meth cases.

Federal prosecutor Jennifer Bockhorst said that without a doubt the
case load will continue to grow.

Police from across the region have organized to put a stop to the drug
before it spreads further. Two task forces have been established in
Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee, and local, state and
federal police are working together to bust labs and gather
information used to prevent new ones from springing up.

However, the fight is a difficult one.

Detective Andis said that in one case alone, a man arrested for
cooking meth admitted to teaching 20 more people how to make the drug
while he was free awaiting his court hearing.

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