METH IS A RECIPE FOR DISASTER

A light bulb without a filament or a small piece of burned aluminum foil
might appear at first glance to be harmless trash. The same goes for
carelessly discarded empty Red Devil lye cans, unused match books, charcoal
starter containers or camera batteries.

All of these are items that could easily be part of household trash. They
can also be signs of the use or manufacture of methamphetamine, a
dangerous, illegal drug now being manufactured and used in Eufaula and
Barbour County.

An expert on the manufacture and devastating effects of methamphetamine
presented some frightening facts to the 58 people who attended a community
awareness program at the Bevill Center Monday night.

Tom Halasz is a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, an
agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. He shared his expertise with an
audience that included concerned parents, teachers, students, interested
citizens and representatives from law enforcement agencies.

Closer examination of the light bulb without the filament shows a hole in
the bulb. It had been made into a pipe to smoke meth. The piece of aluminum
foil is another smoking device, used to "chase the chicken," by using a
straw to inhale heated meth as it "danced" around on the piece of foil.

The unused matchbooks are full of matches, but the "strike" strip is gone
because it is red phosphorus, one of the ingredients used to make
methamphetamines. The camera batteries have been cut open to retrieve the
lithium, which will ignite spontaneously on contact with water.

Halasz demonstrated with a table full of common, everyday household
products being used every day in the manufacture of the drug. Meth "cooks"
take the items and extract from them the chemicals used in the manufacture
of methamphetamine.

All the products can be easily purchased at large discount stores, large
drug stores, hardware stores and auto supply stores. Halasz said
methamphetamine used to be manufactured in large labs with real lab
equipment. However, in 1990, Congress passed the Pre-Curser Control Act,
requiring the seller to take an identification and call the Drug
Enforcement Administration before the sale of certain chemicals. While the
law was effective in stopping bit lab production of methamphetamines, it
drove the producers to make-shift labs in kitchens and garages, and the
dangerous chemical extraction process they use today.

The chemicals are extracted from ordinary products, and the lab equipment
is put together from things like Mr. Coffee glass pots, "grandmother's
canning jars," plastic gasoline cans, discarded propane tanks and pieces of
cut-off garden hose.

Almost every chemical used is hazardous, especially under the wrong
conditions. Red phosphorus is extremely difficult to extinguish if it
catches fire. The lye in Drano can cause severe burns to the skin.
Anhydrous ammonia, often stolen from farmers, is pure ammonia. It is an
extreme irritant to the respiratory system. It expands when closed up and
is also flammable.

Iodine in pure form is available from farm supply stores for disinfecting
hooves and feet of livestock, but it is also extremely toxic.

The list goes on. It's no small wonder that 15 percent of meth labs
discovered by law enforcement are found because they blow up and start a
fire. The majority of the ingredients are flammable, and often the meth
cooks are people who are users of the drug.

In addition to the highly flammable nature of the mixture, the fumes can be
deadly.

Meth Abuse Spreading

Halasz said abuse of methamphetamines has been a problem in California and
Texas for years. Now "we are seeing a tremendous increase" across the
heartland, or mid-section of the country. The Southeast now is on "the
fringe" and can expect the abuse to increase.

The evidence of growing methamphetamine use in Barbour County is clear.
Four labs have been discovered in the county this year. Two of them were
near downtown Eufaula. One resident expressed her concern about the
discovery of two labs in and near residential neighborhoods, and asked what
citizens could do.

Signs Of Meth Labs

Halasz said signs that might indicate methamphetamine production at a
location could be suspicious or strong chemical-type odors, or suspicion
that common household products or chemicals are being used for something
other than their intended use, such as a lot of empty solvent cans.

If people are coming outside a residence to smoke, that "might mean their
wife doesn't want them smoking inside." But it could also mean they know if
they smoke inside they could blow up the chemicals they are using to make
meth, Halasz said.

Discovery of a large number of empty blister packs that contained common
antihistamine tablets sold over the counter could also indicate a meth lab.
Pseudo-ephedrine, the basic ingredient of antihistamines, is one of the
main chemicals extracted for meth production. It takes 2,000 decongestant
pills to make four ounces of meth. But Halasz says since people on a meth
binge may go days without sleeping, they have plenty of time to punch the
pills out of the packs.

Dangerous Disposal

The main concern of meth cooks is not to get caught, so they don't care
about safe chemical handling in disposing of their waste chemicals, Halasz
says.

"They (the chemicals) can get in the ground water, in soil and in the
buildings they occupy. They permeate the carpet and the dry wall."

Since a lot of rental property is used for meth labs, the owners get left
with the clean-up bill and insurance won't cover damages where criminal
activity was involved.

"This can be costly-more costly than the property is worth," Halasz said.

Law enforcement is mandated to remove the chemicals and any contaminated
debris such as jars, filters and paper from a meth lab. Fortunately for
local authorities, the DEA has a funding mechanism to pay for the hazardous
waste chemical clean-up.

"But we don't remove the contamination to a house or to ground water."

Halasz said meth is manufactured in residences, outbuildings, motel rooms
and vehicles that often keep moving as the meth is being cooked.

Part II of Halasz's presentation will cover the effects on abusers of
methamphetamines, Ecstasy and GHB, the "date rape" drug. It will appear in
the next issue of The Tribune.