Law enforcement braces for meth comeback

PHOENIX — Arizona police are preparing for what may be the largest rise in methamphethamine labs the Valley has seen as a result of Mexico banning the sales of pseudoephedrine.

Pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in meth, can be found in cold medicines such as Sudafed. The last day that pseudoephedrine was legal to buy in bulk in Mexico was August 31, 2008. Since then, there has already been a steady rise in meth lab activity locally, police say.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Sgt. Tim Lockwood, a special investigator for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, says there were 26 lab raids so far this year. But the number is increasing.

“Mexico has been the source of the majority of methamphetamines in the United States, they have labs that produce more then 100 pounds a day,” says Maricopa County Sheriff’s Sgt. Don Sherrard, HIDTA supervisor.

With pseudoephedrine now illegal in Mexico, Mexican drug dealers and producers will have to come into border-states to purchase the ingredient or buy large quantities of meth.

“The demand is the same, but the supply has changed,” Sherrard says.

The U.S. has tried to regulate pseudoephedrine by making Sudafed an over the counter drug, according to the 2005 Combat Meth Effort Act (CMEA). Sudafed can be purchased in weights of 3.6 grams a visit or 9 grams a month. It takes 8,000 grams of pseudoephedrine to make one pound of meth.

Although the regulations are there, Lockwood says, it is not stopping the production of meth.

“People will go from store to store and buy the limit of Sudafed at each one,” he says, a practice he called “smurfing.”

Amy Rex, project director for the Arizona Meth Project, says, “There needs to be more information shared along with databases to help prevent these purchases.”

Methamphetamine is a highly toxic and addictive drug, made with acetone, Drano, pool acid and brake cleaner, along with other dangerous chemicals.

“You can have every ingredient, but without pseudoephedrine you can’t do it,” Sherrard says.

In 2007, a survey done by Roper for the Arizona Meth Project found that 1 in 6 young adults aged 18 to 24 years had tried meth. Among teens aged 12 to 17 years, the rate was 1 in 25.

Meth costs about $1,800 per pound to make and sells on the streets for about $17,000 to $21,000 per pound.

“It’s not a very difficult process to make meth. If you can follow instructions and read, you can do it,” Sherrard says.

What used to be considered a rural drug is now making its way into the city and there are warning signs if your community may have a Meth lab. Be aware of abnormal traffic to houses, especially at night, discoloration of pavement or soil from chemicals and odors resembling cat urine.

Sherrard said there are 6 to 7 pounds of solid and liquid waste after a batch of meth is produced, so be observant to toxic and chemical waste.

“This is a drug that cuts across all social classes. With the economy down meth may become a drug of choice,” Rex says.

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