T.W. Budig
ECM Capitol ReporterMethamphetamine ó itís not like other drugs, a Senate committee was told last week.
Experts appearing before the Senate crime prevention and public safety committee on March 3 warned that methamphetamine (meth) presented a unique public safety concern.
The committee, chaired by Sen. Leo Foley, DFL-Coon Rapids, is considering several bills dealing with meth.
Paul Stevens, of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and a narcotics cop for 20 years, said meth is a ìdrug that grabs the heart and soul of people and wonít let go.î
Minnesota had 425 illegal drug labs reported to the Minnesota Department of Health in 2003. In 1999, only 18 illegal drug labs were reported to the department of health.
In the 2003 reports, law enforcement discovered children present in as many as 50 percent of labs busted ó and itís not unusual to find toxic chemicals hidden in childrenís rooms, Stevens said.
They apparently think the cops wonít look there, he said.
Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, Senate sponsor of one meth bill, recounted one Minnesota meth lab bust where children were found in a toxic filled residence.
The meth makers had been dumping hazardous waste ó about six pounds of toxic materials is produced for each pound of meth thatís cooked ó into the bathtub.
There were childrenís bath toys in the tub, she said.
ìThe kids are bathing in the tub thatís a hazardous waste site,î said Rosen.
No one knows what complications children growing up in such toxic households will face in the future, she said. Officials estimated thereís been at least 5000 residences in Minnesota that have been contaminated by meth, Stevens said.
Growth in use
Growth in use of the drug is rampant, explained Stevens.ìIt will be ten times worse in a year,î he said.
Meth cooks on average teach nine other people how to cook the drug, Stevens said.
And recipes can be found on the Internet.
As several witnesses testified, meth is made by readily obtainable chemicals as anhydrous ammonia ó plant fertilizer ó drain cleaner, gun cleaner, and over-the-counter cold tablets.
Bills proposed
In her bill, Rosen proposes tougher penalties for meth cookers, places limitations on the number of over-the-counter cold tablets that can be sold at one time, and also places restrictions on where the medicine in stores can be displayed.
Her bill, among other things, would require motor vehicles that had been used in the meth trade to note the hazardous contamination on the vehicleís title.
Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, wants to expand child endangerment law to include non-custodial adults, he said.
He wants other people involved in meth trafficking where children are endangered to feel the law.
ìOne half of meth labs have children in them,î he said.
Foley gave the bill authors a week to blend their bills together and return with a single bill.
ìThereís a lot of similarities in the bills and they all kind of fit together,î he said.
Foley speaks
Foley concurred with witnesses that meth presented a unique problem. People need to remember, too, that the materials used in making meth are lawful materials and have legitimate uses, he explained.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty in his supplemental budget has $800,000 slated for anti-meth initiative. Meth legislation is also found in the House.
Area statistics
According to Department of Health statistics, Anoka and Olmsted counties led the state in the number of reported illegal drug labs in 2003.
Chisago, Pine, and Dakota counties had between 11 and 20 clandestine drug labs reported to the health department last year.
Washington and Sherburne counties numbered among 20 counties that had between three and 10 illegal drug labs reported last year.
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