METHAMPHETAMINE USE GROWING

The addictive drug can be made from household chemicals

The deadly drug being favored by a growing number of Floyd County drug
users can be made with items found in most medicine cabinets or kitchen
sinks, law officials said.

With names like chalk, glass, ice and speed - plus comical ones like zip,
hydro, ice cream and pepsi - methamphetamine is expected to soon outsell
crack and coke (cocaine) in Floyd County.

Popular in the '60s, the drug has reappeared on the radar of police and can
be found in both urban and rural Floyd County, officers say. Not only are
its chemical effects harmful to the body, said one local drug enforcement
officer, but the production labs that crank it out literally are bombs
waiting to go off.

Methamphetamines are synthetic stimulants, or amphetamines, produced and
sold illegally in pill form, capsules, powder and chunks. When used legally
by physicians they treat attention deficit disorder.

But the same $20 that can buy an hour high from crack rock, said Barry
McElroy, assistant commander of the Rome-Floyd Metro Task Force, people can
purchase a high that lasts as long as six hours.

The chemical possesses stimulant properties similar to adrenaline. Like
adrenaline, methamphetamines stimulate the central nervous system and are
extremely addictive.

While some meth dealers smuggle it from Mexico, others cook their illegal
stew in kitchens, campers or the trunks of their cars - "wherever they can
put a heating element," McElroy said. The drug-making process is similar to
that used by moonshiners of old, who would cook down an innocent food
commodity and turn it into something criminal.

Methamphetamine can be made from drain cleaner, Red Devil lye, ephedrine
cold medicine, diet pills, energy boosters or paint thinners.

McElroy said recipes for making the drug are easy to find, either from the
Internet or fellow cooks. The investigator said families and parents have
no clue about how easy it is to manufacture the drug.

In the past six months, he said, the local task force has invaded three
labs - a fraction of the activity reported in surrounding counties such as
Whitfield and Gordon. McElroy said Floyd County is on the verge of an
invasion of the drug - "it's really coming on strong and fast."

Rome police said they stumbled onto a rolling meth lab last week located in
the vehicle of an alleged shoplifter who was stealing suphedrine from an
East Rome grocery store.

"They basically roll around until it's done cooking and then they get out
and do their thing," McElroy said.

The reactions that take place at the hands of untrained chemists make for a
powerful bomb if the cooking goes awry. The broth cooked off also is toxic
and often is poured in the cook's backyard, down the sink or into the water
supply.

"The type people we're dealing with have an average sixth-grade education,"
he said. "These are the people who are mixing and distilling dangerous
chemicals."

According to national drug enforcement officials, some of the clues that
point to a meth lab in a neighborhood include: unusual strong odors (like
cat urine, ether, ammonia, acetone), homes with windows blacked out or
renters who pay their landlords in cash. Other clues are increased traffic
at unusual times and excessive trash, including large amounts of antifreeze
containers, lantern fuel cans, red-stained coffee filters or duct tape.

A few pointers that can tip families off to meth use by loved ones are
acute changes in behavior, poor sleeping habits or paranoia.

Methamphetamine is similar in appearance to cocaine but is coarser and
often seen as brown, white, pink or green, McElroy said.

Aside from a more enduring high, the officer said, the feeling is the same
as crack - "it kinda kicks you up."

But the fall, he said, is harder, resulting in "loopy" behavior and severe
withdrawal that leads to psychotic behavior.

The drug's rise in popularity also has resulted in fewer seizures and
forced more manpower and in-depth investigations by police.

McElroy said dealers have gotten smarter and meth isn't seen on the streets
as readily as crack. "A lot of the old timers who have been popped a few
times know how we operate and it's harder to get to them," McElroy said.

The task force said the amount of crack entering the community has almost
leveled off. But though it's still more popular, police said, crack will
soon be overshadowed by the drug called candy by meth users.