Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Meth Labs Are On Increase In Arkansas

Arkansas is experiencing an alarming increase in the manufacture and abuse of methamphetamine, a stimulant that is extremely addictive.

The increase in the abuse of methamphetamine is straining the resources of law enforcement agencies at the state and local level. It also has become a severe financial burden for state-funded centers for the treatment of drug abuse.

On a per capita basis Arkansas was the number one state in the nation in seizures of illegal meth labs in 1999, according to the state's top ranking law officer for drug crimes. In plain numbers, the 554 seizures in Arkansas ranked behind only California and Missouri. However, our population is smaller and therefore Arkansas is first in seizures of meth labs on a per capita basis.

Law officers and drug treatment specialists are concerned over the staggering growth trend of meth abuse in Arkansas over the past few years. In 1994 the Arkansas State Police reported the seizure of only six meth labs. In 1995 the number grew to 24. In 1996 there was a sharp increase  95 meth labs were seized.

The rate of increase grew even more sharply in 1997, when law officers confiscated 242 meth labs. That number almost doubled in 1998, to 433 meth labs seized. Last year police shut down 554 labs.

According to the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (FDEA), complete statistics for 1999 are not available, but Arkansas ranked fourth in the country in meth lab seizures at the end of August.

The rise in methamphetamine abuse has numerous implications for law enforcement agencies. They have had to restructure departments to devote more manpower to enforcement of laws against the manufacture, sale and use of methamphetamine. That creates a strain on their ability to stem the flow of other types of illegal drugs.

Dismantling meth labs is complex and risky, because the chemicals are powerful and volatile. Officers cannot simply bust up a meth lab with axes and sledge hammers, they must carefully dispose of toxic wastes and properly contain hazardous fumes. In fact, officers who dismantle meth labs must be certified by FDEA in order for the federal government to help pay for the disposal of the chemicals and contaminated lab equipment.

The rise in the abuse of methamphetamine has tragic personal consequences. From 1997 to 1999 Arkansas experienced a 57 percent increase in the number of meth addicts who were treated at state-supported drug abuse centers.

In fiscal year 1997 there were 1,230 meth addicts admitted to drug abuse centers. In fiscal 1999 the number grew to 1,925.

Drug abuse experts say that meth is highly addictive, thus meth addicts tend to stay longer in treatment centers. The drug powerfully stimulates the nervous system and makes users act erratically and many times violently, according to drug treatment officials. They also tend to relapse easily, because the drug is now readily available in so many areas of the state.

People who make the drug prefer to do so in rural areas, because the manufacturing process emits a powerful odor. However, experienced drug makers are able to reduce the potency of the smell. Enforcement is difficult, because meth labs are relatively portable  they have been set up in motel rooms and pickup trucks.