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Recent seizures of two methamphetamine laboratories in Kosciusko County have brought what police believe to be an increasing problem into the public eye.
But why is methamphetamine, or meth, a problem?
Not only is the home-manufactured drug highly addictive, but also the production process is quite dangerous, officials say.
About 100 law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical service personnel attended a training session Wednesday at Center Lake Pavilion to learn about methamphetamine, its dangers and warning signs indicating use and/or production of the illegal substance.
The session was presented by members of the Indiana State Police Clandestine Lab Team, the only law enforcement officials training in actually seizing a meth lab.
Meth is produced by combining various household substances that can be purchased over the counter and that, in small quantities, wouldn't raise suspicion.
Many of the large chain stores limit the quantity allowed to be purchased of the needed ingredients in an effort to help law enforcement deter methamphetamine production. Some of the ingredients are quite flammable and even explosive. Often, the expensive ingredients are stolen, rather than purchased.
Why is meth so bad?
"It makes cocaine look like candy, basically," said an undercover detective with the ISP Clandestine Lab Team.
Gram for gram, meth costs about the same as cocaine, but the "high" gotten from using meth is much greater than cocaine so many users/abusers are switching, police said. "It's more bang for the buck," the detective said.
Meth can be snorted, smoked, injected, eaten or sucked on - "it doesn't matter ... as long as it gets into the blood stream, you'll get high off of it." However, snorting is not favored because of the residual chemicals left in the final production stage, and injecting isn't as popular because of the AIDS risks associated with using needles.
One of the problems with meth use is that all the users want to do is get high and stay high and, because of the paranoia use of the drug creates, other crimes can be committed that are traced back to meth use. This includes child abuse, domestic violence, murder and suicide.
Police classify methamphetamine as a white rural-area problem and said meth accounts for about 90 percent of all drug cases in many Midwest communities. Locally, Noble and LaGrange counties have seen the greatest amount of methamphetamine lab seizures and arrests.
Short-term effects of meth use include increased alertness, an intense high, an increased heart rate, aggressive behavior, loss of appetite and paranoia.
Long-term effects include depression, hallucinations, kidney/lung disorders, liver damage, brain damage and stroke.
Meth abuse indications include dilated pupils, weight loss, central pallor, sweating, body odor, bad teeth, scars and/or open sores (called crank bugs because of the paranoia that makes users think they have bugs crawling on them or under their skin).
Instructors in this training warned officers not to trust meth users "when you're dealing with them or interviewing them. They don't feel pain. They don't feel gunshots."
Typical meth "cooks" are white males 25 to 45 years old with a history of drug and/or alcohol problems, low-income, low-education, living in a rural location and often jobless.
The increase in meth labs can be expected to continue, police said, with each cook teaching about 10 people annually how to complete the process.
As of noon Tuesday, officials said, 244 meth labs have been seized this year in Indiana and ISP predicts the year will end with a total of between 600 and 700 seizures.
All of the solvents used in this process are flammable, which creates the fire danger, and the waste projects are considered biohazards.
A display of meth ingredients was provided during the training session so that emergency personnel would know what to look for. A person found with two or more necessary ingredients can be charged with production of methamphetamine.
Another problem is that meth can be cooked anywhere and it has been done in houses and mobile homes, hotel rooms, wooded areas, vehicles and trailers, attics, pole barns or many other locales.
Residents who suspect a meth lab might be cooking in the area should know that the production creates a terrible ammonia-based odor. "This stuff stinks," an officer said. "You can't mask these smells ... they're strong."
Suspected meth labs should be reported to local authorities, who, in turn, will pass the information on to the ISP Clandestine Lab Team.
The Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department can be contacted at 267-5667, the Warsaw Police Department at 372-9511 and the Kosciusko County Special Operations Team (drug task force) at 372-2494.
