OFFICIALS: METH PROBLEM MUST BE SOLVED AT LOCAL LEVEL

LEXINGTON -- Kentucky's methamphetamine problem will continue to grow
unless the battle is intensified at the local level, state and federal
officials said Wednesday.

"All of the federal resources we receive are a huge help in our continuing
fight against methamphetamine," said Steve Pence, U.S. attorney for the
Western District of Kentucky.

"But we also have to have state law enforcement and local sheriff's offices
and police departments and even the residents in high-intensity communities
participate at increasing levels if we really want to get a handle on this."

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, methamphetamine has
become the No. 1 drug problem facing rural America, rivaling club drugs
like Ecstasy and cocaine in the nation's urban centers and crack cocaine in
the northeast.

Some call meth the poor man's cocaine because it is a highly addictive
stimulant that produces a euphoria similar to cocaine, but lasts longer --
six to eight hours compared with 20 minutes to an hour for cocaine.

Since it can be produced simply using a number of easily obtained
ingredients, including cold medicine and lithium batteries, illegal
production laboratories frequently pop up in homes as well as motels, vans
and backyard sheds.

Production and use of methamphetamine has skyrocketed during the past
several years throughout the Midwest, including Kentucky. Last year, 160
clandestine meth labs were raided by law enforcement agencies in Kentucky,
more than double the number in 2000.

"Methamphetamine certainly is a significant problem in Kentucky and is
continuing to expand as a significant problem in the United States," DEA
Administrator Asa Hutchinson said.

"There was a 100 percent increase in the number of meth labs seized in
Kentucky during the past two years. That reflects a serious problem but
also reflects effective law enforcement work and community support in
addressing the problem."

Hutchinson, in Lexington to speak at a two-day summit on fighting
methamphetamine and OxyContin abuse, said he plans to visit cities in 32
states in an effort to inform communities of the dangers inherent in meth
production and use.

"We have had significant amounts of success when it comes to fighting
overall drug use in this country," he said. "We've reduced overall drug use
by 50 percent in the last 20 years.

"But there is still danger lurking in the heartland of America, and that is
the danger posed by methamphetamine. We're asking businesses, educators,
community leaders and policymakers to ask themselves what more they can do
to help fight this problem."

Hutchinson said the DEA has trained more than 130 Kentucky police officers
at a cost of more than $2,000 per officer and has provided more than
$250,000 in equipment to state law enforcement agencies to aid the fight
against methamphetamine.

"But more has to be done because there is a double hit in Kentucky," he
said. "In addition to the lab problem here, a lot of methamphetamine comes
across the United States from California and makes its way through and into
Kentucky."

Although Kentucky's methamphetamine problem first emerged in the western
part of the state, it has steadily moved east and is beginning to catch
OxyContin, a powerful painkiller prescribed to cancer patients, as a drug
of choice among residents.

"It's simple to make, and the potential for profit for those who produce
the drug is hard to pass up, especially for those in the poorer sections of
eastern Kentucky," said Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, U.S. a for the Eastern
District of Kentucky.

"Only $75 worth of meth ingredients yield more than $200 in profit. On the
OxyContin side, a $100 doctor visit and a $200 prescription can bring in
more than $10,000. That's a pretty good return on an investment."

Despite all of the federal help and monetary aid the state has received,
it's going to take a larger commitment from people in law enforcement,
prosecutors' offices, in the health and social services fields and the
residents themselves to curb the problem, Pence said.

"It's a problem that's not just a law enforcement problem," he said. "It's
a problem we have to take into the places where the meth is being produced
and sold. We have to make people aware of how significant the problem
really is and get them involved in trying to stop it."

Hutchinson said the FBI's recent decision to reallocate many of its agents
and resources to fight the ongoing war on terrorism will not hinder the
nation's fight against illicit drug use.

"There will be an impact, no doubt," he said. "But the DEA is developing a
plan that will reallocate our resources and help fill the gap that is left
by the FBI's reorganization."