RISING METH PROBLEM TOPIC OF POLICE SUMMIT

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana State Police are expecting to dismantle 800
clandestine methamphetamine labs, nearly 20 times the number of labs
dismantled in 1998.

Because of the increase in methamphetamine manufacturing statewide, the
state police and the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute on Thursday hosted
a summit to address the increasing problem and ways to combat it.

The Summit on Methamphetamine was designed to educate law enforcement
officers unfamiliar with the signs of meth production.

Auburn Police Chief Marty McCoy and three officers from his department
attended the summit to learn more about meth.

Only three labs were dismantled in DeKalb County last year, but McCoy said
he knows the problem is coming.

"All the information we're getting, it's only going to increase, and the
education of our officers is going to be important to try to combat that
increase," McCoy said.

McCoy and his officers were among a crowd of nearly 500 people. Attendees
represented not only law enforcement but fire departments, social service
agencies, schools, the media and other organizations that police believe to
be keys in the fight against meth.

Asa Hutchinson, administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, was the
keynote speaker. Hutchinson told the crowd he was using his visit to
Indiana as the kickoff for a 32-state tour to spread the word about the
increasing meth problem.

On his way to Indiana, Hutchinson said he ran into columnist George Will,
who commented that Hutchinson is the only person in the United States, next
to Secretary of State Colin Powell, who has a hopeless mission. Powell was
in the Mideast in an attempt to soothe tensions between Palestinians and
Israelis.

Hutchinson said he knew his friend Will was kidding.

The job of eradicating drugs may seem hopeless, he said, but Hutchinson
likes to travel the country to remind those on the frontlines of the drug
war that it is not.

"I think it's always important to remind ourselves to take a look at the
picture as to where we're moving in the anti-drug arena and remind
ourselves of the progress we've made," he said.

In the last 20 years, drug use has dropped by 50 percent. That means there
are 9 million fewer drug users than there were 20 years ago, he said.

Hutchinson applauded the statewide conference as a way to heighten
awareness about the meth problem in an effort to reduce methamphetamine
production and use.

Several presenters stood before those in attendance Thursday to tell tales
of the horrendous damage meth can do to lives, families and the environment
- - the by-products of the manufacturing process are hazardous waste.

The presenters also offered advice on what communities can do to combat the
problem.

Last year in Indiana, the state police clandestine lab team dismantled 681
labs where common household products were being used to produce meth, a
central nervous system stimulant. A total of 32 of those labs were taken
down in several northeast Indiana counties surrounding Allen County.

So far this year, more than 200 labs have been raided. In 1998, a mere 43
labs were found and dismantled.

The people charged with ridding the streets and rural areasof this drug
believe community education and prevention are important steps in the process.

In Vigo County, where the state police dismantled the most labs last year -
104 - officers say that education has paid off by way of tips about
suspected labs.

Attendees to the summit were given educational materials and were urged to
take those back to their communities to spread the word about signs of meth
production.

Some indicators that a lab may be in operation include:

- Someone who is buying large quantities of cold medicine containing
ephedrine or pseudoephedrine.

- A large number of discarded chemical containers, such as those for
brake fluid, drain cleaner and starting fluid.

- Thefts of anhydrous ammonia from tanks located on farm land or at farm
supply cooperatives.

- A strong chemical or ammonia smell.

- Groups of people smoking outside a house, especially in winter.

Meth is manufactured with items that can be legally purchased at any
retail, hardware or convenience store.

Jane Clark, a Lebanon mother whose 23-year-old son, Matthew, was killed
when a meth lab exploded last year, said at the summit the disappearance of
such items as coffee filters and spoons can be an indicator. She didn't
know that last year when her son was released from prison and was living
with Clark and her husband, David.

Matthew loved drugs, she told the crowd. He freely admitted to anyone who
asked that he consumed drugs because he liked the way they made him feel.

In late November 2001, an operating meth lab Matthew was at exploded and he
suffered burns over 98 percent of his body. He died several days later.

Looking back, Jane Clark said she wishes she would have known what the
disappearing coffee filters and spoons meant.

"Maybe if I had, my son would still be here," she said.

Treating a meth addiction is difficult because meth is different from other
drugs. The high it produces is several times greater than that of cocaine,
and the drug causes the user to stay awake for days at a time. When the
drug does wear off, the user can sleep for days.

Meth plays on the central nervous system and, unlike most drugs, takes 90
days to leave the system, said Gus Matthias of Sunrise Counseling Centers
in Bloomington. Most inpatient or intensive outpatient treatment programs
last only 30 days, he said.

Because of what meth does to the brain, cravings are intense, Matthias
said. It can take 11 years or more before all of the effects of meth leave
a person's system.

With information distributed at the statewide conference, Auburn's McCoy
said he hopes to educate the rest of his department and begin community
awareness programs.