METH ARRESTS ON THE RISE IN CLINTON COUNTY

CLINTON, Iowa -- Felony arrests for manufacturing the drug methamphetamine
are on the rise in Clinton County, pushing the county jail over its capacity
limit and causing alarm in the community.

"It's shocking the number of young people being lured into the use of meth,"
Clinton County Attorney Mike Wolf said. "And I don't see any end in sight, I
really don't."

Law enforcement officials want the public to be aware of how fast the drug
is spreading, and how physically and mentally damaging it can be to users. A
community meeting will be held today at Lyons Middle School to address the
issue.

The drug's popularity can be seen in court records, which show more drug
cases involving meth each year.

Wolf said that in 2000, Clinton County had two methamphetamine convictions.
The drug's popularity grew, with the county pursuing 15 meth cases in 2001.

Last year, that number doubled to 30 meth cases in the court system, and
Wolf expects the number to double again this year.

On Friday, 15 people were in Clinton County Jail awaiting trial for meth
charges and pushing the facility's occupancy into the 60s. The jail was 11
people over capacity as a result, Wolf said.

Why is this happening?

"It's because of easy access to ingredients and the number of persons who
are now aware of the way the ingredients can be used to manufacture meth,"
Wolf said. "This is the first drug we've seen where people escalate it up to
the felony level so quickly, for manufacturing it."

The felony charge of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine carries a
$130,000 bond. Many inmates cannot afford to pay that amount to get out of
custody while they wait for trial.

Instead, they wait in jail as they shake their strong meth addiction, which
causes severe physical and mental damage to the user. Wolf said their bodies
are in great need of medical attention, with many instances of heart,
kidney, liver and mental problems.

"The negative effects of the usage of this drug has been added to our
vocabulary in the past few years," said Richard Grugin, principal at Lyons
Middle School. "The negative effects of its usage are so scary, and I have
great concern about how younger people are becoming involved with this
drug."