Growth Of Methamphetamine Use New Worry For Region

GROWTH OF METHAMPHETAMINE USE NEW WORRY FOR REGION The Pittsburgh region has never been known for being on the cutting edge of trends, but that's not always a bad thing. Graphic: Meth lab incidents on the rise ( http://www.post-gazette.com/popup.asp?img=http://www.post-gazette.com/images3/20050731methlab-stats.gif ) Just ask area law-enforcement officials who are dreading the arrival of methamphetamine and its attendant health, crime, public safety and environmental ramifications as the highly addictive drug moves eastward from Western and Southwestern states. "This is one area where it's good to be behind," U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said, noting that while methamphetamine production and abuse are major problems in states such as California, Arizona, Oklahoma and Kansas, the Northeast drug market still is dominated by heroin and cocaine. Meth abuse in southwestern Pennsylvania appears to be so small that Pittsburgh police have not arrested anyone on the street in possession of the central nervous system stimulant, said police Cmdr. William Valenta Jr., head of the narcotics unit. By contrast, heroin accounts for 80 percent of all Pittsburgh police drug seizures, confirming it as the drug of choice here. Laboratories in region That's not to say meth use and clandestine laboratories aren't already here. Authorities raided a lab in a trailer in Cranberry on July 22. City police discovered a lab in February in the 500 block of South Graham Street in Shadyside. In November, a lab was dismantled in McKees Rocks, forcing the evacuation of 16 homes because of the potential explosiveness of chemicals used in making meth. A lab was hit in September 2003 in Brighton Heights. A month earlier, a lab was discovered in Coraopolis; a month before that, Stowe police stumbled upon one. And in March 2004, authorities broke up a methamphetamine ring operating in Westmoreland and Armstrong counties. Statewide, the Pennsylvania State Police Clandestine Laboratory Response Team has been activated 89 times this year. Capt. David F. Young, director of the state police Drug Law Enforcement Division, estimated a year-end total of 160 activations, continuing a recent tread of yearly increases. An activation includes raiding labs or dealing with dumps where meth waste products are left or areas containing chemicals that could make methamphetamine. The team was called out 128 times last year, including 106 times for meth labs, Young said. In 2003, the team responded 64 times, up from 34 in 2002. Young said that while the increases were dramatic, it was necessary to keep Pennsylvania's numbers in the context of other states' experiences. For example, he said, law enforcement counterparts in Missouri average 11 call-outs a day, or about what Pennsylvania averages in a month. Ohio and West Virginia are experiencing a higher occurrence than Pennsylvania, with 281 and 159 incidents, respectively, according to 2004 statistics from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. "Meth is on the rise," said Lt. Rick Zwayer, a spokesman for the Ohio Highway Patrol. "Our troopers are encountering it on more occasions." In West Virginia, state police are finding clandestine labs in homes, trailers and "just about anywhere you can cook that stuff," state police Sgt. Jay Powers said. What Pennsylvania police mostly are finding are labs designed to make small batches for personal use. They aren't discovering the "superlabs" of the West and Southwest, where Mexican drug rings produce large quantities for distribution throughout the United States. Mexicans taking over The shift of large-scale meth production to Mexican networks is a change. In the 1970s and 1980s, distribution was largely controlled by La Cosa Nostra and the Pagans motorcycle gang. In the early 1980s, Philadelphia was known as the meth capital of the nation. Methamphetamine availability in the Northeast, especially in rural areas, has increased over the past year, according to the 2005 National Drug Threat Assessment report by the National Drug Intelligence Center, headquartered in Johnstown. Nevertheless, the report said, availability remains lower in this region than in any other part of the country. Nationally, law enforcement agencies say, the threat associated with methamphetamine trafficking and abuse has increased sharply since 2002 and now exceeds that of any other drug. The NDIC said the percentage of state and local police that identified meth as the greatest drug threat in their areas had increased from 31 percent in 2002 to 36.2 percent in 2003 and 39.6 percent in 2004. Last year marked the first time that methamphetamine as a threat surpassed cocaine ( 35.6 percent ). Its ranking is much higher than marijuana ( 12 percent ), heroin ( 8.6 percent ) and Ecstasy ( 0.6 percent ). Highly addictive Methamphetamine can be smoked, inhaled or injected. It is a highly addictive stimulant, similar in effect to cocaine but longer lasting and much more intense, said Dr. Neil Capretto, medical director of Gateway Rehabilitation Center. Addicts sometimes go on binges lasting up to four days without sleep or food, are agitated and paranoid and can suffer from chemical-induced psychosis, all of which makes them potentially violent. And when addicts "crash," or come down, they can become profoundly depressed and even suicidal, Capretto said. "That's what traps them because what they know will get them out of that is more methamphetamine," he said . Nevertheless, about 20 of the 5,000 to 7,000 people Gateway treats a year are there for meth addiction. Most of them have been from Clarion, Venango and Crawford counties, Capretto said. "We've been lucky in Western Pennsylvania because the problem for the most part has missed us or has been minimal," he said. Part of the problem in stemming meth use is that it can be made from ingredients such as pseudoephedrine, found in over-the-counter cold and allergy medications. Other ingredients commonly used in meth recipes include hydrochloric acid, drain cleaner, battery acid, lye, lantern fuel and antifreeze, all easily obtainable. The mixture of such potentially volatile substances in confined spaces by untrained and often high or crashing addicts presents the potential for harming others, either through explosions or noxious vapors. That's why officers who raid clandestine labs are trained in handling hazardous materials and always have a chemist, firefighters, medics and other public-safety personnel on hand. "Unlike other drugs, this has the opportunity to impact the community worse then anything else," Young, of the state police, said. Buchanan, the U.S. attorney, said meth production was on the rise, particularly in the rural counties south of Erie. Several of the labs busted in the northern counties were set up by distributors, she said, not by those making meth for themselves. Of the Pittsburgh-area meth labs, Buchanan said, only the one found in McKees Rocks was capable of making enough for distribution. Despite the relatively small scale of the meth trade here, law enforcement officials are preparing for its growth. "We're pretty much ahead of the curve with enforcement, with training," Young said. "We probably are able to keep our numbers from getting out of hand as a result of paying attention to what happened nationally as a trend. "It didn't hit here first, so we had the luxury of seeing what happened out West." Pennsylvania is following other states in considering laws to battle the problem. Bills have been introduced in the Legislature to regulate the sales of cold medicines with meth ingredients. Buchanan will meet in Harrisburg Aug. 8 with U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-Venango, and her counterparts in Harrisburg and Philadelphia to discuss the growing threat. West Virginia began this month restricting the purchase of over-the-counter drugs containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine. They are not displayed openly, buyers must show identification and sign for the purchase, and the seller must report transactions to the state. The law is similar to one passed in Oklahoma, where the number of meth labs reportedly has been reduced by more than 60 percent since its passage. Oregon House members approved a bill this month that, if approved by the state Senate, would make the state the first to require prescriptions for medicine containing meth precursors.













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Pro-Pot 'Prince' Raided

PRO-POT 'PRINCE' RAIDED VANCOUVER ( CP ) -- Police raided a business run by the head of the B.C. Marijuana party yesterday, based on a search warrant requested by the U.S. government, which wants Marc Emery extradited to face charges related to the sale of marijuana seeds on the Internet and by mail. Emery, the leader of the party, was not at the store when it was raided, but U.S. justice officials said he was arrested earlier yesterday in Nova Scotia by the RCMP. Several officers, some in plain clothes, some in uniform, raided the marijuana seed and paraphernalia store on West Hastings Street in downtown Vancouver that is run by Emery, whom the search warrant also described by his alias "The Prince of Pot."

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Pot Store Raided At U.S. Request

POT STORE RAIDED AT U.S. REQUEST VANCOUVER ( CP ) -- Police raided a business run by a well-known pot activist yesterday. The raid was based on a search warrant requested by the U.S. government, which wants Marc Emery and two others extradited to face charges related to the sale of marijuana seeds on the Internet and by mail. Emery, who is leader of the B.C. Marijuana Party, was arrested earlier in Nova Scotia by the RCMP, according to U.S. Justice officials. Gregory Williams and Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek were picked up in Vancouver. Authorization for city police to conduct the raid was given under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act. Officers raided the marijuana seed and paraphernalia store in downtown Vancouver that is run by Emery, who the warrant also described by his alias "The Prince of Pot." Jeff Sullivan, chief of the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's Office, told a news conference in Seattle that the United States is seeking the extradition of Emery, Williams and Rainey-Fenkarek on charges of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, conspiracy to distribute marijuana seeds and conspiracy to engage in money laundering, after they were indicted by a federal grand jury in May following an investigation into the sale of marijuana seeds on the Internet and by mail.

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Meth Likely To Blame For Vandalism

METH LIKELY TO BLAME FOR VANDALISM Editor, the News: Re: Sick and tired of feeling unsafe in Ridge ( Letters, July 20 ). I would like to respond to a recent letter in your paper by saying that the author is seriously misguided in blaming vandalism and crime on people who've left welfare. We know that the majority of people who have left income assistance have done so for jobs or education. These are people who, through our employment programs, have worked hard to become independent. A job reinforces their self-esteem and gives them considerably imroved earnings upon which to build a stable future for themselves and their families. The crime problem this writer describes is more likely to be a result of drug addiction - most notably to crystal methamphetamines. This is one of the most potent and miserable scourges to move through our neighbourhoods in a long time. We must stand together and act with strength and purpose to fight this menace. Our government is totally committed to working with federal and provincial agencies across the country, along with every community in B.C., to implement a decisive, integrated strategy for addressing this problem. This strategy will involve aggressively fighting the production, trafficking and increase in crystal meth use, as well as exploring new ways to deal with street and property crimes committed by offenders to support their addiction. Moreover, the Premier's Task Force of municipal and provincial leaders continues to pursue a multi-level, coordinated approach to mounting sustainable, long-term solutions for homelessness, mental illness and addiction. Claude Richmond, Minister of Employment and Income Assistance














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Meth Task Force Confiscating Shopping Carts

Some creative methods have been used in the fight to get people off the streets and into addiction treatment facilities in Maple Ridge, one of which also returns shopping carts to the stores they came from. The Maple Ridge Crystal Meth Task Force, along with RCMP community policing and the municipal bylaws department, have taken the unpopular method begun by Kelowna RCMP earlier this year and improved on it. Kelowna, which caused a public outcry on account of its policy of seizing shopping carts - which cost more than $200 each - wheeled by the city's homeless. Maple Ridge has been doing the same thing, but is doing so with the general co-operation of the homeless in an effort to help them get into treatment. "Our goal is not to put them in jail," said Gord Robson, one of the founders of the meth task force. "In our imaginations, we declared them stolen vehicles." Using this approach, it has been possible to talk to Maple Ridge's homeless with several carts, and ask if they are aware they are possessing stolen property. If the person with the cart is defiant, the simple route is to ask them if they had permission to keep that cart. Most of the time, knowing the police would have a case, the cart would be relinquished. Const. Chuck Glover of the RCMP said the intent is not to bully or target the poor, but to help. Since Glover and the bylaws department have built up a rapport with many of the homeless, there is a window through which to communicate with them. Glover said most have cooperated. One man they approached last year had a train of carts. He complied with the request to give up the cart, and entered treatment. Glover stressed that about 90 per cent of the time, the carts collected had been abandoned. For example, he said employees from the bylaws department found about 10 carts the other day. For those that are still in the possession of a street person, Glover said it hasn't been difficult to convince them. "You go and explain it [the stolen property argument] to some of these people, and they say, okay, forget it, here you go," Glover said. Part of the reason for placing emphasis on shopping carts is to make it easier to bring them into treatment. One of the conditions of the Salvation Army Caring Place, for example, is no shopping carts. Individuals seeking help must come with just themselves. Occasionally, someone brings a cart, and the workers at the Caring Place ask the individual to take it away. Generally, they said there is compliance, but sometimes the centre has the carts removed. Glover said Kelowna's method - forcibly confiscating carts - is not the way to go. "Kelowna's doing it wrong," he said. "When we were dealing with it, we probably got double or triple the number [of carts] Kelowna did," he added. However, Const. Patrick Hughson, currently working as part of community policing, said he has been in charge of contacting the Kelowna detachment to find out how its approach works, to see if Maple Ridge might try something similar. "We're looking at every option, at other peoples' successes and failures," he said. "We want to look at other models, see how others are handling it." Glover said it was a tactic being used at the team's discretion, not all the time. "It was all meant to ultimately get them over to Barb [Wardrope] at the Caring Place, and get them into detox," he said. He said it is not an option that has been actively pursued by the three groups, but it is an option available to them if necessary. When the method has been employed, Glover said none of the street people were actually charged for stolen property, it was more a means to speak to them and convince them to give up the carts in an effort to get them help.

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View Royal Backs Meth Motion

VIEW ROYAL BACKS METH MOTION When Esquimalt Coun. Ruth Layne couldn't get her own council to support her she turned to her neighbours. And they did not let her down. After twice begging her Esquimalt peers to support a motion entitled Strategy for Reduction of Crystal Methamphetamine Use," Layne ventured north to View Royal to ask View Royal council to support the motion. Given the urgency of the matter, the UBCM took the unusual step of agreeing to a change in sponsorship. View Royal council gave unanimous support to the resolution. On July 4, Esquimalt council, in part citing issues with timing, blocked the motion by virtue of a 3-3 tie. A week later, Layne appeared again, this time with a supporting letter from the Crystal Meth Victoria Society - of which Layne is a founding director. Her press for action once again met with no support. According to a View Royal staff report, The rapid increase in crystal methamphetamine use is alarming." The report states that the number of Victoria teens seeking help with addiction problems has increased by 70 per cent. Layne said that she could not understand the reasons behind Esquimalt council's decision. Layne offered to speak to the resolution on behalf of View Royal or to work with View Royal council to ensure that the matter is properly put forward. With files from the Esquimalt News.















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It Shouldn't Surprise Anybody In The Least

IT SHOULDN'T SURPRISE ANYBODY IN THE LEAST TO LEARN THAT A GROUP OF NORTH SHORE RESIDENTS HAS FORMED A COMMUNITY SAFETY PATROL IN AN EFFORT TO TAKE BACK THEIR STREETS It shouldn't surprise anybody in the least to learn that a group of North Shore residents has formed a community safety patrol in an effort to take back their streets. This idea isn't new. Many communities have established, through their local police departments, official citizens' patrols, funded through the city, which sees civic-minded people volunteer their time to help make their town a bit safer. These patrols use clearly marked vehicles to roam the city day and night, acting as a second set of eyes for the overtaxed police force. Certainly, such endeavours have prevented burglaries, dissuaded parties in parks and forced the criminal element from streets used by families, kids and others who simply deserve the right to go about their business without being confronted by drugs, crime and violence. But they do much more. Seeing a Citizen's Patrol vehicle pass by a darkened parking lot, or cruise through a dank alleyway, can and does give members of the public some reassurance that others care about the town, and are donating their time to make it a worthwhile place in which to live. The North Shore patrol is in its infancy, but if those involved stick to the plan, results will be seen. Sure, these patrol members with their orange vests may simply succeed in pushing hookers, thieves and drug dealers to another part of Kamloops. So be it. Joe Sixpack in North Kamloops has lived long enough with multiple burglaries, with walking his daughter to school while playing hopscotch around discarded needles, with avoiding certain areas at night because they have been commandeered by society's lowlifes. Critics will point to a failure of the social safety net, to funding cuts and other decisions by government that have resulted in such deplorable conditions. Perhaps. But there's also something called personal accountability. And it takes much more than a decision in Victoria or Ottawa to prompt someone to continue robbing to pay for an addiction that was self-inflicted. Those busting their ass every day to raise a family and pay the bills shouldn't be held hostage by the poor decisions of others. March on, community patrol. Citizen patrols are a necessity


















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Judge Invalidates Warrant In Drug, Gun Case

JUDGE INVALIDATES WARRANT IN DRUG, GUN CASE Facing Up To 26.5 Years, Cedarburg Man Has All Counts Dismissed OZAUKEE COUNTY - Four felony drug charges and a felony firearm charge against a town of Cedarburg man were dismissed last week after a Washington County judge declared the search warrant invalid. Peter Huiras, 50, was charged with manufacture/delivery of marijuana, felony possession of marijuana, possession of cocaine, possession of hallucinogenic psylocybin mushrooms and being a felon in possession of a firearm following a search warrant executed at his home by the Ozaukee County Drug Task Force. Huiras was convicted of felony possession with intent to deliver marijuana in Waukesha County in 1990, making the firearm possession a felony. In his house, officers found 626 grams of marijuana, equipment for growing marijuana, 33 grams of mushrooms and a gram of cocaine in addition to a 20 gauge shotgun and shotgun shells. The house was searched after an undercover Sheriff's deputy observed a wooden box in Huiras' house containing approximately a quarter-ounce of marijuana. Huiras was defended in the case by his father's law firm, Huiras, Farrell and Antoine, S.C. Huiras' father is attorney and local philanthropist Ralph Huiras. Attorney William Farrell was his lead counsel and was assisted in the motion to suppress the search warrant by the Waukesha-based law firm, The Schroeder Group, S.C. The case was transferred to Washington County Judge Andrew Gonring. In the successful portion of the motion to suppress the search warrant, the attorneys argued that the warrant was overly broad in its scope of the area to be searched and in the items to be searched for and thus violated the Constitution's Fourth Amendment. "It is difficult to comprehend how the alleged observance of one-quarter ounce of marijuana permits a full-scale search for items that can only be described as associated with a broad-scale controlled substances manufacturing operation," the motion to suppress states. In its reply, the district attorney's office wrote that the warrant was valid based on the observed marijuana and that even if portions of the seized items were not properly authorized under the warrant, the remainder of the items were legitimately seized. Huiras' attorneys also argued that the warrant was invalid because the affidavits that spelled out the probable cause the warrant was based on were not signed and dated until after the warrant was executed. District Attorney Sandy Williams said the judge did not agree that the warrant was invalid on those grounds, however. Although the search warrant process relies on a certain amount of "form" language - "In ( the deputy's ) experience as a narcotics officer investigating the distribution and sales of illegal substances, ( the deputy ) has found that subjects involved in the sale and distribution of narcotics usually have evidence of the crime in their residence" - Williams said the ruling will not require the Sheriff's Department to reevaluate its warrant applications.


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