Meth's reach far, wide

Editor's note: This is the first in a five-part series on meth and its effects on life in the Valley.

December 20, 2005

MARY AMES\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - Like the rapid flow of people into and throughout the Valley, the rising popularity of methamphetamine production and use has seeped into life in the Mat-Su.

This blight courses around people who work, play and raise their families within all the accepted social norms, whether they know it or not. It can affect people who don't know of a single meth user.

Meth tears away the fabric of a community, according to Dennis Brodigan, chief of emergency services for the Mat-Su Borough.

&#8220Users are like records played at 78 rpm instead of 33,” Brodigan said. &#8220And the tentacles just go and go and go and go.”

Meth destroys the homes and hotel rooms where it is processed, steeping walls and carpets in a toxic soup of chemicals and rendering them unfit for occupancy. Meth jeopardizes the health and future of children who have no choice but to live with meth cooks, and endangers the lives of firefighters who venture into a meth lab while doing their jobs. Meth ravages the bodies and minds of people who use it, propelling many of them into committing other crimes and, in the process, clogging jail cells and court dockets.

What can be done to stem the meth tide? Police and prosecutors say limiting access to meth's active ingredient, pseudoephedrine, and requiring pharmacies to maintain logbooks of the names of people who buy medicines containing it would tear Mat-Su's meth scourge out by the roots, as claimed in Oklahoma and other states that have made these measures mandatory. Oklahoma officials say the number of meth labs there plummeted more than 80 percent when logbooks became mandatory.

Opponents, however, say there is no proof that the lower numbers of meth labs in Oklahoma are a consequence of the new laws. Drug companies, their trade associations and, in Mat-Su, Republican Sen. Lyda Green, say logbooks and restricting access to pseudoephedrine-based medications unfairly invade the privacy of law-abiding cold and allergy sufferers and force businesses to tangle with government-imposed restrictions.

Meth's pull has spillover effects

Methamphetamine is a potent combination of store-bought items. Its main component is pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient found in cold and allergy pills. Pure ephedrine is extracted from the cold pills through a process involving lithium batteries, starter fluid, rock salt, red phosphorus, coffee filters, acetone, muriatic acid, Red Devil lye, Xylol, aluminum foil and assorted kitchen glassware.

The euphoric feelings from meth are so powerful, Brodigan said, that when it begins to wear off, the brain craves more.

Meth users are often combative, hyperactive and paranoid, Brodigan said, and when emergency responders go to a case known to involve someone on meth, they let law enforcement officers take the first steps in.

When Russ Boatright, Palmer police chief, started working in Palmer in 1999, methamphetamine use was just becoming an issue. About two years later, when he became chief, meth had gained an astonishing amount of ground, he said.

&#8220Now, it's multiplied on itself,” he said.

Boatright attributes an accompanying rise in the number of property crimes - thefts, burglaries and check fraud among them - to the Valley's increased traffic in meth.

&#8220These crimes are kind of one step removed,” Boatright said. &#8220There's a significant increase, and it's widespread.”

At a recent traffic stop, a Palmer cop noticed a lot of new merchandise in the vehicle, he said. A search revealed the driver had stolen goods that traced from Circle City to Seward, and there was a drug tie-in, he said.

Some numbers up,

some down

People who check the Alaska State Troopers dispatch logs, page through court documents or sit in a courtroom in Palmer routinely see or hear about cases involving meth in some way - a lab being busted, someone caught with meth in their pocket or a pipe in their car.

That wasn't the case in 1997, when Palmer District Attorney Roman Kalytiak started working in the Valley as an assistant district attorney.

&#8220It was rare then,” he said, &#8220especially for distribution and production.”

Now, one prosecutor in the nine-attorney office handles nothing but drug cases, according to Kalytiak. &#8220Half the defendants in Superior Court are charged with drug crimes,” Kalytiak said. &#8220That doesn't necessarily mean more cases, but multiple defendants on cases.”

The nature of drug cases, according to Kalytiak, is that most of the prosecutor's time is spent responding to defense motions.

&#8220With most, the evidence is enough to convict,” Kalytiak said. &#8220The defense challenges the search warrants and the process.”

The numbers this year are down for the big meth-lab busts, though. There were 15 fewer busts in the Valley in 2005 than in 2004, according to Mike Ingram, a trooper investigator with the Mat-Su Narcotics Unit.

&#8220We have no hard, fast intell to say why,” Ingram said. &#8220All we have are the numbers.”

One reason could be that the methods of production and sale have changed.

There are lots of little mom-and-pop operations now, according to Boatright. They cook for themselves and a small group of people, he said, and sell a little to offset the costs.

&#8220The majority live day to day,” he said. &#8220And they don't take very good care of themselves at all.”

More cases of domestic violence, more assaults and more reports of erratic behavior are what Wasilla Police Chief Don Savage sees most affecting his force as the result of meth use.

An increase in libido that comes with meth use has resulted in an increase in the number of cases involving sexual abuse of children, according to Brodigan.

The youngest child Ingram recalled finding in a meth lab was about 5 or 6 months old, the oldest was in their early teens.

Sopping up meth's

mess

Left behind from cooking meth, both in large and small productions, is a toxic wasteland that requires thorough cleaning by a contractor knowledgeable about the process, according to Scot Tiernan, an environmental program specialist with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

DEC first got involved in meth cleanups because of outside contamination, Tiernan said. The combinations of toxic chemicals used in the production of meth are often poured down drains and contaminate septic systems, he said. Within the last couple of years, the state developed guidelines on cleaning up any illegal drug sites, inside and out.

&#8220A homeowner could do it,” Tiernan said, &#8220but we highly recommend using a contractor with experience and certification in the process.”

The chemicals and byproducts include phosphine gas and anhydrous ammonia, which can kill you in a matter of seconds, Brodigan said.

&#8220All the fumes are very toxic and permeate everything,” he said. &#8220Even afterwards, you're still breathing a dangerous level of fumes.”

DEC publishes a list of meth-lab properties on its Web site, www.dec.state.ak.us /spar/perp/methlab/methlab_listing.htm. According to Tiernan, law enforcement notifies DEC of the sites after a bust, DEC posts the property, notifies the owners and gives them four days to vacate the property.

&#8220They aren't supposed to rent to anyone until the property is cleaned,” Tiernan said. &#8220The property can be sold only if the buyer is notified.”

Eight of the 13 properties listed on the site are in the Mat-Su.

Anyone looking to buy or rent a place should do a very careful inspection, even if it isn't listed as a former meth lab, Tiernan said.

&#8220Just look for things that aren't quite right,” he said. &#8220Stains in the sinks and tubs, stains or a pink hue on the walls.”

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.

Next: Kids in meth homes.