Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Sheriff talks of drug enforcement

Clark County Sheriff Troy Tucker and drug enforcement Sgt. Pete Dixon, of the Group Six Narcotics Enforcement Unit, gave an update on methamphetamine use at Rotary Thursday.

According to Tucker, there have been 54 cases of arrest relating to the use or distribution of methamphetamines in Clark County during the past three years. This is up from five arrests for the same during the three years prior to that.

This increase has been credited to the hard work of the Narcotics Enforcement Unit, in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies, Tucker said. The financing has come from a Burns Federal Grant, which is in jeopardy for the future. The cost has been $5,000 for Arkadelphia and Clark County to be a part of the program.

Tucker said the program concentrates on methamphetamine labs and arrests. It also deals with other types of illegal drug manufacturing and abuse.

According to the sheriff, the law changed this week regarding pseudoephedrine, a cold medicine used in the manufacturing of meth. He said those wishing to purchase it must do so from behind the counter at a pharmacy from now on.

I support the law, Tucker said. But it is sad the problem has gotten to this point.

He noted a purchasing limit also in force for lithium photo batteries for the same reason  ingredient potential in meth labs.

Dixon said, Excluding the Amity bust, we have had 36 busts in the three years we have worked the program.

The laws are tightening up. To possess nine grams of Sud-a-fed is now a felony. But for those needing a little for a cold, you would have to have 12 boxes to have more than nine grams. The meth lab manufacturers crush the pill up in a blender.

Dixon went over some of the other household items used for the production of meth. He named yellow bottled HEET, a soap bath and pill bath to be poured through coffee filters  with squeezed coffee filters left behind as evidence, and red phosforus.

Iodine is also a sought after ingredient.

Since these things are legal and common to households, an arrest can only be made after probable cause, Tucker said. If everything you need to make meth is in a duffle bag together and then there is a Coleman heating stove too, we have probable cause.

Tucker noted a heavy cloud of smoke associated with the manufacturing of the drug and said a low grade meth stays on walls in a house used for cooking it.

They even use Red Devil lye so the meth isnt too acidic, he said. Then there is liquid ether and two layers left that need separation. Sometimes a turkey baster is used for separation so the part used for the drug can be accessed. In the last stages of production, sulfuric acid and salt produce gas, and then powder out. This is their dope and they scrape it out. Usually, it stays a brown powder, but you can freeze it to make crystal meth, like you hear about on televison.

Dixon said methamphetamine can be smoked, shoot up, snorted, eaten  just so it gets in to do its job. He said the first use of it gets you the highest you will ever get and the more you use, the more you need to maintain a level of being high.

An experienced user normally graduates to shooting the drug into their system for faster results, Dixon said. You can spot a meth user by a significant weight loss, symptoms of being paranoid and a decaying of the teeth.

Dixon said users are stimulated sexually, very alert and feeling good. Many girls report doing it to lose weight, and boys do it to get the girls.

As to costs, one gram of meth costs consumers about $100 for 12 hours of being high, compared to one gram of crack cocaine, which also costs $100 but the high only lasts 30 minutes to two hours.

Tucker said, This is predominately a white persons drug in this area. And most of them are pathetically stupid when they are high. They make lots of mistakes.

The sheriff said the average jail sentence for manufacturing meth in Clark County is 20 years, with most serving 70 percent of that sentence.

This law also changed last week, Tucker said. From now on, due to prison over-crowdedness, most meth manufacturers will serve 50 percent of their sentence instead of 70 percent.

Tucker said users will historically not stop consuming meth on their own, unless some force makes them stop  like incarceration.

Tucker compared it to alcoholism  only worse. He said prison is not always the answer but they do have drug rehabilitation in prison.

Tucker said another law is being considered that would force property owners to reveal that meth had been cooked in a home if that were the case. The present law suggests this is revealed but does not make it illegal to not mention it.

Dixon said it costs approximately $250 to clean a house from meth residue where cooking has occurred.

According to Dixon, the signs include: chemical stains, smell, surface samples etc. The residue can hurt children and the elderly.

Tucker said, We reported a $250,000 houseboat as a cooking site. This may cause property owners a lot of grief in the future if laws about reporting cooking become mandatory.

Tucker said users range from small children to older adults. Using meth is considered a Class A Felony, and is usually punishable with two years - which could include community service or drug counseling.

Every county is different, the sheriff said. Clark has the lowest number of labs, but probably the stiffest penalties. Our cooks usually move to Hot Spring County.

Tucker said a meth user will many times appear very nervous and tweaky, biting their lip etc.

Labs have been found in deer camps and other remote places in the county. He said arrests of users are usually based on observation, but blood or urine tests are sometimes given.

I would like to report to you that we are winning the war on drugs, Tucker said. But we dont seem to be. We bust people for meth from Hot Springs Village rich to Jones Mill poor. Making the Sud-a-fed harder to get may slow some down, but it might lead to more pharmacies being broken into or to the cold medicines being bought through places like Mexico.

That means we may face a more dangerous situation from harsher criminals involved.