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Thursday, September 2, 2010
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New meth formula avoids anti-drug laws
Published September 8, 2009
An Associated Press report last month about a new formula for methamphetamine is nothing new to Sand Mountain’s top law enforcement officers.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Marshall County Sheriff Scott Walls said.
“That’s all we’re seeing now as far as labs go,” Albertville police Chief Benny Womack said. “It’s much easier and quicker and doesn’t get as much attention. Somehow or another, these guys are better chemists than the ones who have degrees.”
The new formula, called “shake and bake,” is a simpler recipe requiring a two-liter soda bottle, cold pills and chemicals. The maker shakes the bottle and the result is highly addictive meth in powder form.
The AP reviewed lab seizures in 14 states, including Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida. The report indicated the new formula is spreading across the country and is contributing to a spike in the number of meth cases after years of declining arrests.
“We have more shake and bake than we’ve ever had,” Walls said. “It’s easier to do and can be transported in a cardboard box in a vehicle. They can make it in a small room or make it on the back porch. It’s extremely dangerous.”
The volatile mixture requires fewer pills of the common decongestants ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, which allows some to fly under the radar of a law restricting over-the-counter sales of the medication.
Authorities said many meth users pill shop, traveling from pharmacy to pharmacy and buying small quantities to avoid attention.
Walls said his office typically catches meth users who pill shop or through online tips from the public at www.marshallcosheriff.org.
Sometimes the evidence blows up in the meth user’s face.
“We’ve had two explosions this year,” Walls said.
The drug legislation and last year’s formation of the Safe Streets Task Force for Northeastern Alabama have combined to reduce the number of meth labs in the region, authorities said.
The Birmingham Division of the FBI works directly with the Safe Streets Task Force, which includes 22 federal, state and local partners in Marshall, Etowah, DeKalb and St. Clair counties.
‘Meth Mountain’
Despite the focus on fighting meth in the region, Marshall County and Sand Mountain still struggle to shed the “Meth Mountain” label, which was the focus of an A&E television special.
“I think it’s unfair because we’re no worse than anybody else,” Boaz police Chief Terry Davis said. “I’ve talked to chiefs from all over. They’ve got problems as big or bigger than we do. Yeah, we’ve got a problem, but I don’t thing we’re the kings of meth.
I just think that’s a label we got stuck with because of the concentration around the Kilpatrick area. It’s been unfortunate.”
Walls agreed.
“Marshall County is no worse than any other county,” the sheriff said. “We ‘re making more meth cases than has ever been made before.”
Walls said enforcement alone is not enough and education is key.
“You can’t arrest this problem away,” he said.
Albertville and Boaz authorities said importation of meth from Mexico to their cities is prevalent.
“It is still a major problem, but the drug trafficking is not just the Hispanic population,” Womack said.
Combating the meth problem is challenging, Womack said, but noted the Safe Streets Task Force has helped law enforcement make progress.
“I don’t want to speak for the task force,” Womack said. “But there are a lot of good things happening off the radar. That’s why you don’t see a lot of press conferences about drug busts. We’re making headway and eventually all of that will come to the forefront.”
Davis said he sees continued success in the fight against meth. He indicated containment of the problem is more realistic than eradication.
“Every agency in the county is making cases all the time,” Davis said. “Are we going to get rid of it? Probably not. But we’re making a dent in it.
“I don’t know if it will ever go away. I think we’re always going to deal with it in some form or fashion. At least until something new comes along.”
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