Part 1 Of 2: Elusive Problem

USE OF EASILY MADE METH INCREASING FAST, KEEPING AUTHORITIES ON THE GO

The hodgepodge of chemicals doesn't look like a grocery list for an illegal
drug.

A flask, red iodine, packets of Sudafed, rock salt and distilled water
might be found in any household.

Lantern fuel and antifreeze are harmful products, but not uncommon in any
garage in the Chippewa Valley. But together the chemicals can make up a
clandestine lab for a powerful drug that is creeping into Wisconsin:
methamphetamine. "People who live in the Chippewa Valley have no idea of
the magnitude of the drug problem in the Chippewa Valley," said Jeff
Wilson, director of the West Central Drug Task Force. After about 10 years
with the Eau Claire County Sheriff's Department, Wilson has spent the past
31/2 years tracking drugs, arresting meth producers and cautiously studying
the discrete manufacturing centers where the powerful drug meth is created.
Yet the use of meth has not leveled off, nor does Wilson think it is close
to reaching its peak. "It's going to get worse," he said. "It's a
tremendous problem. "People involved in meth go through their entire day
wondering how and where they will get their meth that day. It becomes
them." But the addictions to meth are not dangerous just to the people
using the drug; it becomes a danger to people around the user too, said
Wilson, one of seven full-time investigators in the drug task force. "It
trickles down to the children," he said, his voice reflecting frustration.
"The environment they are living in is not what they should be in."
Although meth use is on the rise throughout the state, no area has been hit
harder than western Wisconsin, according to Tim Schultz, an agent with the
state Division of Narcotics Enforcement. What Wilson finds most perturbing
is the increase in Chippewa Valley residents who know how to make meth.
"You can always deal with people buying meth," Wilson said. "But people who
are making meth is a different story.

Now they are going into stores to steal ephedrine," one of the ingredients
in methamphetamine that is commonly available in over-the-counter
medications. Even though the combination of chemicals can turn into a
potentially explosive situation, people are learning how to make meth just
from watching others cook the drug, Wilson said. "They watch, and they know
what the ingredients are, and eventually, they try it themselves," he said.
Low cost, long rush Methamphetamine has been around for decades, but it
became a predominant drug in the 1980s as biker gangs in Mexico and
California started producing it in clandestine labs. The most common type
today has a variety of street names, including "speed," "crank," "ice" and
"meth." It is a potent stimulant with physical and psychological effects
similar to cocaine, including euphoria, increased alertness and a sense of
increased energy. Although the high from cocaine typically lasts 20
minutes, a high from meth can stretch eight to 12 hours, Schultz said. "You
get more bang for your buck," he said. Continued use of the drug, however,
leads to increased nervousness and difficulty sleeping, which in turn cause
irritability, paranoia and a tendency toward violence.

As use cycles into abuse, meth can lead to a risk of stroke, heart failure
and prolonged psychosis. Yet the highly addictive properties of meth,
combined with its increasingly easy availability and relatively low cost,
at about $100 a gram, have made meth one of the fastest-growing drugs in
the country. By the late 1990s, the Chippewa Valley was in the middle of
one of the Midwest's meth pipelines. "It comes here on the I-94 corridor
coming out of St. Paul," Wilson said. "A lot of what we see comes out of
Minneapolis or St. Paul." The counties closest to the Twin Cities have the
highest number of meth cases in the region, he said.

Growing problem Between 1999 and 2000, investigators submitted 40 meth
cases from St. Croix County to the State Crime Lab for testing.

In Dunn County, 10 meth cases were submitted during those two years. "It's
significantly more than it was last year," Wilson said. "The biggest case
in this area was in Dunn County in 1998. That's when we started to see
(meth) -- late 1997, early 1998." The number of meth cases in St. Croix
County began to skyrocket in 1999, St. Croix County Sheriff Dennis
Hillstead said. The area went from having virtually no meth cases to having
between 70 and 75 cases in 1999 and about 120 cases last year, Hillstead
said. Although there are still more arrests in the county for marijuana,
Hillstead said meth is a more serious problem because it is a more
dangerous drug, is highly addictive and is manufactured within the county.
St. Croix, Polk and Pierce counties are served by the St. Croix Valley Drug
Task Force, to which the St. Croix County Sheriff's Department contributes
two officers. "I have two people here who are doing nothing but drug
investigations, so it takes up a considerable amount of our time and
resources to deal with it," Hillstead said. For example, the Sheriff's
Department spent eight hours on Tuesday dealing with the components for a
meth lab discovered in a vehicle after a traffic stop. Hillstead said two
officers had to don hazardous materials suits to get rid of the chemicals.
Hillstead said one factor in the growing prevalence of the drug in rural
areas is the fact that, unlike cities, such places don't have
pre-established gangs and dealers to squeeze out a newer drug. Another
factor is the relative isolation of rural Wisconsin. "If you can go out in
the country and rent an old farmhouse and set up a lab in there, the
chances of someone detecting you are fairly small," he said. Use is
climbing Despite the warnings of the dangers of meth, national statistics
show the drug's use is climbing. According to the White House drug policy
Web site, about 4.3 percent of all Americans, or 9.4 million people, have
admitted trying meth at least once. Meth use is even more common among
teens and people under the age of 25, the report states.

Among high school seniors in 2000, 7.9 percent had tried meth once. "Over a
quarter (27.8 percent) of high school seniors said it was 'fairly easy' or
'very easy' to obtain crystal meth if they wanted some," according to
www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov. With such availability, drug task force
director Wilson said law enforcement officers need help from an observant
public to track down meth producers. Retailers should look for people
buying large quantities of meth-making materials, said Schultz, narcotics
agent. "If a person walks through with three boxes of Sudafed and several
lithium batteries that's a meth lab," Schultz said. "But does the clerk
know that? When you see combinations of this stuff, let us know." A tip
about odd activity in a neighborhood also could lead to a hidden lab. "I
would tell people to look at everything twice.

If something is out of place, it probably is," Wilson said. Tougher
enforcement The state Legislature stiffened penalties for producing meth in
recent years. Courts also are prosecuting offenders to the full extent of
the law, said Randy Romanski, a spokesman for the state attorney general's
office. Federal penalties for trafficking 10 grams of meth carry a
five-year prison sentence. Trafficking 100 grams of meth has a penalty of
10 years in prison. According to White House drug statistics, 2,847 people
were prosecuted on meth-related charges in 1999, the most recent statistics
available.

Most of the offenders were white (61.3 percent), male (83.8 percent) and
U.S. citizens (76.7 percent). The federal Methamphetamine
Anti-proliferation Act, passed last year, strengthened sentencing
guidelines, provided training for law enforcement officers, placed controls
on ingredients used in meth production and expanded substance abuse
prevention efforts. But because more people are learning how to make meth
and there's so much money to be made, Wilson said, combating meth is
difficult. Agents also primarily must rely on undercover work and
controlled buys, Wilson said. "We receive information through informants
and follow up on leads," he said. Officers also must work harder to educate
the public about the drug's dangers and the potentially explosive labs. To
make matters worse, a financial squeeze might limit the crackdown on meth
in St. Croix County. Federal and state grant money helped the St. Croix
County Sheriff's Department pay for a second drug investigator several
years ago. The grant recently was reduced by $30,000, meaning the position
will be cut in the middle of next year unless additional funding is found,
said Sheriff Hillstead. Romanski said Wisconsin began sponsoring training
sessions in 1998 that taught local officials -- from business owners to law
enforcement officers -- about the drug. The sessions teach people what
items to look for and how to develop a community response. "There has been
a lot of activity to heighten the awareness of the drug," Romanski said.
"It's so important for law enforcement to coordinate their efforts."
Leader-Telegram reporter Tom Giffey contributed to this report.

Meth Cases
The number of meth cases submitted to the State Crime Lab for testing in
1999-2000:
Barron 15
Buffalo 1
Chippewa 4
Clark 0
Dunn 10
Eau Claire 0
Jackson 0
Pepin 0
Pierce 15
Rusk 1
St. Croix 40
Trempealeau 2
Source: Attorney general's office

Editor's Note The prevalence of methamphetamine is increasing statewide,
but state drug officials say western Wisconsin is the hardest-hit area.
Today the Leader-Telegram starts a two-part series on the increase of meth
and meth labs in the area. Today Meth is becoming easier to make and easier
to buy, making drug agents' jobs increasingly difficult. Recovering addicts
tell of the life-threatening effects of meth. Monday - The clandestine labs
where meth is produced pose a danger to drug makers and drug agents. Area
officials work to raise awareness and communicate the dangerous realities
of street drugs such as meth.