FORUM FOCUSES ON SPOTTING ILLEGAL METH LABS

The potential dangers of an illegal lab manufacturing methamphetamine
inside the apartment next door, or in a home in the neighborhood, will be
the focus of an upcoming meth forum on the city's north side. The free
forum, which is being co-sponsored by the Central Park Neighborhood
Association and Neighborhood Alliance, will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at
the Conner Center at Bishop John Carroll School, 1100 NW 32.

Rebekah Zahn, executive director of the Oklahoma City-based Neighborhood
Alliance, said the terrible danger that kitchen meth labs pose to
neighborhoods and property owners has prompted her organization to provide
information to help residents and property owners identify one in their area.

Zahn said guest speakers at the meth forum will include Pam Stillings of
the Oklahoma County District Attorney's office and Mark Woodward, spokesman
for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control.

Woodward will provide tips on identifying a possible methamphetamine lab in
the neighborhood, and Stillings will discuss potential penalties involved
for those convicted of manufacturing a controlled dangerous substance or
possession of illegal drugs and illegal drug paraphernalia. Stillings also
will address the potential liabilities of renting property to people who
engage in such activities.

Central Park resident Karen Bacon, the forum's organizer, said she hopes
the program will make her neighbors more aware and more vigilant about meth
labs.

"A lot of people don't think they have meth labs in their neighborhoods,
but they do," Bacon said Tuesday. "The police are finding them everywhere."

Among those urged to attend the meeting are Central Park residents, as well
as officers and board members of nearby neighborhood associations, Bacon said.

Woodward of the state's narcotics bureau said the deadly illegal substance
known as crank, methamphetamine or simply meth, is a stimulant with effects
that last up to 18 hours. It can be swallowed, injected, snorted or smoked.
The most common use is injection by hypodermic needle.

Woodward said small home-based labs used to make meth are a growing
problem, hitting rural and urban areas of Oklahoma.

Meth lab seizures have increased steadily from none as recently as 1993 and
34 seizures in 1995 to last year's 1,193, making Oklahoma No. 3 in the
nation, behind California and Missouri, Woodward said.

"But, if you break it down to meth lab seizures per-capita, Oklahoma is No.
1 in the nation," he said. "That's not something we want to brag about."

The number of meth lab seizures for 2002 promises to exceed last year's
record, he said.

Woodward said he is part of an effort by law enforcement officers and drug
enforcement units to begin informing the public on how to watch for meth labs.

"I already have eight speaking dates lined up in the next couple of weeks,"
Woodward said.

Among the telltale signs of a meth lab are sour odors, sometimes smelling
like ammonia, ether, acetone, paint thinner or fingernail polish remover,
Woodward said.

These odors can be harmful because the chemicals used to make meth are
toxic and potentially explosive.

The Ottawa County sheriff became embroiled in a court case last month after
refusing to store materials seized from methamphetamine labs in his
department's evidence room.

As an investigator from the sheriff's drug unit testified, "If one of the
containers had a leak and exploded, a four-block radius around the
courthouse would go up in smoke and flames."

Woodward said undercover officers must wear protective suits and masks when
dealing with toxic chemicals from methamphetamine labs.

Law enforcement officials also are no longer surprised to find toys or to
see children when they raid a home meth lab, he said.

More than half of all children found in homes busted for methamphetamines
test positive for the drug or the chemicals used to make it, he added.

"A lot of times when someone reports a meth lab to the police, they're
saving a child," Woodward said.

For more information about holding a meth forum in other residential areas,
call the Neighborhood Alliance at 528- 6322.