CRYSTAL METH: 'POOR MAN'S COCAINE'

Methamphetamine is nicknamed the "poor man's cocaine" because it is a cheap
drug made of easily available ingredients, said one professor.

"One of the reasons for its popularity is that it's relatively cheap to
produce," said Robert Walker, an assistant professor in UK's Center on Drug
and Alcohol Research.

Methamphetamine is a form of amphetamine with a high that can last four to
six hours. Walker said slight changes in a drug's composition affect its
potency. "The main change is with the half-life, or how long it lasts in the
system. Methamphetamine has a longer half-life and so it has a longer high,"
he said.

It causes increased heartbeat and breathing, and erratic behavior; it can
also lead to cardiac arrest, he said.

"It gives you racing thoughts, and people can get out of control," he said.

The process of making meth is a dangerous one, Walker said. The ingredients
must be heated and mixed, but heating certain chemicals can cause an
explosion, he said.

"Ammonia, one of the ingredients, is very volatile, especially when heated.
It was part of the bomb used in Oklahoma City," he said.

Most of the ingredients in meth -- such as ephedra, a weight-loss drug --
are easy to get, he said. One of the ingredients in meth is pseudoephedrine,
the active ingredient in Sudafed decongestants.

"It's an effective decongestant, but if you buy and take enough, it can be a
danger," he said.

Some local pharmacies restrict the sale of decongestants containing
pseudoephedrine. The Kroger Pharmacy on Euclid Avenue limits customers to
two boxes per visit.

"Of course they can keep coming back, but if we keep seeing them, then we're
going to get suspicious and say something to them about it," said Abby
Patman, a pharmacy intern and a second-year pharmacy student.

The Wal-Mart Supercenter on Nicholasville Road limits customers to three
boxes. "But then you can use anything with Sudafed, so it's hard to
control," said Greg Sanders, a pharmacist at Wal-Mart.

Walker said that although meth is easy to produce, other illegal drugs are
more popular in Kentucky.

"Among the people that come for public drug treatment, there are much lower
rates for methamphetamine use than for alcohol or Oxycontin," he said.