A special reprint of the KALAMAZOO GAZETTE September 2005 The menace of

METHFrom June 5 to June 12, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported on the growth in the manufacture and use of the addictive in southwestern Michigan and the ways it hurts our land, people and pocketbooks. The series drew attention to the thorny issues our communities face in battling the , and many readers asked for this reprint of the information to help educate more people here.

MARK BUGNASKI / GAZETTE An officer from the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team’s meth unit removes chemicals believed to be methamphetamine from a room at the Red Roof Inn on Cork Street on May 26. Last year, Kalamazoo, Allegan, St. Joseph and Van Buren counties were the top four counties in the state in the number of meth-lab busts. No one is safe from ‘a 21st-century plague’ By Rosemary Parker [email protected] 388-2734

ethamphetamine addicts live in a world of meth had spilled and created a toxic gas. gerously under the drug’s influence; or that you will en- madness. ● May 31, 2005, Richland: Thieves at a farm leave open a counter litter laced with chemicals poisonous enough to Increasingly,it’s a world the rest of us are valve on a tank of the fertilizer anhydrous ammonia, allow- make you ill from a single whiff. forced to share. ing a release of toxic gas. As of Saturday night, 36 cows had “It’s so scary because you can unknowingly,unwillingly, M Witness the bizarre exploits recorded week died, 28 more were likely to be put down and 30 to 40 were become a victim, by living next door to a meth lab, or rent- after week and year after year in southwestern Michigan: blinded. The chemical is used to help make meth. ing a motel room while you are on vacation with your fam- ● November 2001, Allegan County: Officials checking an The list is long and growing and helps illustrate the rising ily,”said Nancy Bennett, manager of the law enforcement apartment after a child-abuse complaint find a 2-year-old menace of methamphetamine in this part of Michigan. section of the Michigan Office of Drug Control Policy and bruised and battered. Cigarette burns dot the baby’s skin, Consider: If you live in Kalamazoo, Van Buren, Allegan or coordinator of the state’s methamphetamine task force. court records show. Toxic chemicals are everywhere. The St. Joseph counties, you are at the heart of meth use and “The sheer danger of it, to everybody,the entire commu- child’s mother and her boyfriend are arrested, suspected of manufacture in the state. These four counties are home to 4.9 nity” sets meth apart from other street . running a meth lab. percent of the state’s population, yet 49 percent of the state’s ● August, 2002, Lawton: Two people are found murdered in meth arrests took place here last year. Cheap and easy to make a house that has been intentionally set on fire. A suspect in And whether you live in a remote rural area, a crowded The abuse of meth, a powerful stimulant, began on the the homicides later says the two were killed for money for apartment complex or are merely traveling through, the nation’s West Coast 20 years ago; the scourge spread meth. risk is rising that you will come into contact with a meth through the Midwest and hit southwestern Michigan in ● March 4, 2005, Sturgis: A city police officer is hospital- user or the toxic substances used to make it; or that you the mid-1990s. ized after he touches a plastic bag full of what appears to will have something stolen by a meth addict; or that you be ordinary household trash. Chemicals used to make will drive on the same roadway with someone who is dan- Please see NO ONE IS SAFE, Page 2 PART I PART II PART III PART IV PART V PART VI PART VII PART VIII Pages 1 & 2 Page 3 Page 4 Pages 5 & 6 Pages 7 & 8 Pages 9 & 10 Page 11 Pages 12 & 13 ?

An overview of the Cold medicines A common and Children of meth Toxic chemicals Breaking the cycle Local, state and A look at what the growing danger of such as Sudafed highly caustic users often used in meth labs of is federal agencies future may hold and methamphetamine carry the active fertilizer pits become trapped can poison homes extremely tough, with limited how other states in southwestern ingredient meth farmers against in a cycle of abuse, and property. users say. resources battle a are combating Michigan. users want. meth addicts. neglect and rising tide the problem. addiction. of meth use.

This reprint was made possible with support from 2 ❖ September 2005 THE MENACE OF METH PART I Kalamazoo Gazette

Why here? Meth exploded in southwestern Michigan five years ago, and Kalamazoo, Allegan, St. Joseph and Van Buren last year were the top counties in Michigan for meth-lab busts. Why? Location, location, location ■ National maps tracking meth-lab busts over the years show it spreading from Missouri into Illinois and Indiana and across the bor- der into southwest- ern Michigan.

Rural appeal ■ Southwestern Michi- gan’s farming commu- nities offer an attrac- tive setting for meth users: lots of anhy- drous ammonia that is easy to get to. Farmers use it as fer- tilizer, and meth users steal it from farm tanks to process the drug. Meth also re- sults in a distinct odor, which is less likely to be detected in isolated areas. MARK BUGNASKI / GAZETTE Supply and Beef cattle lie dead or sickened by anhydrous ammonia fumes that seeped into a barn at Stafford Farms in Richland last week after thieves left open a valve on a tank next to the barn. demand Anhydrous ammonia is used to make meth, and the tanks at Stafford Farms have been repeatedly robbed by drug users. Thirty-six of the animals died or were destroyed, and 28 more may ■ Meth is not as at- have to be killed. tractive in big cities where drugs such as Continued from Page 1 motel rooms, cars and pickup trucks. In Allegan County alone, “we have ment Team had already disrupted 55 , ecstasy and For young people experimenting with had three officer-involved shootings in meth labs, one more than they had in all drugs, for parents working double shifts, tend to be the last three years, all meth-driven,” Al- of 2004. for a subculture of people living on the legan Police Chief Rick Hoyer said. more popular and Twelve out of 144 inmates in the St. No one is safe fringes of society,the attraction can be “Prior to that,” he said, “there were Joseph County Jail now are there on more socially powerful. none in my 25 years” as a police officer. acceptable. meth-related charges. including theft, “This drug affects everyone from the Chemical spills, thefts, assaults, auto child abuse, assault and the sale or man- from ‘a 21st- dirtbags to the workaholics,” said Mike wrecks and fires all are part of the meth ufacture of the drug. Maybe not Larsen, program coordinator at the Alle- epidemic. In Allegan County,35 percent of all gan County Sheriff ’s Office. just here A human dead-end felonies are meth-related, Prosecutor ■ Area police agen- century plague’ Fred Anderson reports. Spreading poison Meth can be smoked, snorted, injected cies have increased Van Buren County has seen meth-lab What once was primarily a rural phe- or eaten. The initial is beyond enforcement and re- As recently as 2000, the menu for arrests rise from 37 in 2003 to 60 in 2004; nomenon now is becoming an urban compare, users say.But users also say the porting of meth ar- meth was still unfamiliar to some po- through June 1 there had already been 48. headache, authorities are learning. That crash of paranoia and despair that soon rests. “We saw this lice. Because meth’s collateral damage is trend is especially troubling for Kalama- follows outweighs any high they once en- problem and we’re “It was only five years ago, I remem- so serious, and resources to fight it are zoo’s dense urban population because joyed, and as addiction sets in the drug be- targeting it. It’s prob- ber being on a traffic stop in Decatur and scarce, investigation of other crimes meth, more than any other drug, carries comes all-consuming. ably going on in other the guy had a whole back seat full of may be taking a back seat. the most potential for harm to innocent Scientists say meth destroys pleasure places at the same Sudafed boxes,” said Detective Daniel “The numbers (of law enforcement posi- nonusers. centers in the brain, and is as addictive as level or worse than Perkins of the Van Buren County Sher- tions) are down and the calls are up,” said A typical batch of homemade meth heroin or cocaine. us, but if those areas iff's Department unit. “We were Dan Furniss, manager of Licensing Ser- starts with more than 1,000 little red Police agree meth is among the most don’t target it, they’re trying to figure out what was going on; vices at the Michigan Commission on Law cold tablets — such as Sudafed — addictive of all drugs, grabbing many not going to see the the guy told us that he was addicted to Enforcement Standards. In 2001, there painstakingly popped one by one from victims on their first try; studies they cold medicine and we believed him.” were 23,150 law enforcement positions same numbers,” blister packs, then ground into powder. cite suggest only about 6 percent of statewide; today there are 22,058. Census said Sgt. Mike Unlike cocaine, marijuana or heroin, and chemicals that range meth users successfully stop using the figures show the state’s population has in- Larsen, of the Alle- Michigan methamphetamine isn’t usu- from farm fertilizer to lye are combined drug. By the time the user’s energy and creased by almost 157,000 since 2000. gan County Sheriff’s ally sold on the street by drug dealers. It to purify the active ingredient in the focus start to slip, the brain has been Private citizens are paying a price, too. Office. doesn’t involve turf-war shootings, for- cold tablet into the desired illicit drug. damaged forever. Farmers, plagued by thieves who eign drug cartels or street gangs — at While it’s not a difficult process, it does “Many people, once they are arrested swipe fertilizer used to speed metham- PROJECT TEAM least not here yet. require great care: one slip and the sol- (on a drug charge), it’s a wake-up call,” phetamine production, get stuck not Here, meth is almost entirely a do-it- vents could combust, or the chemicals said E.J. McAndrew, Van Buren County Reporting: only with the cost of repairs to damaged yourself drug, easily made with over- could combine to form deadly gases. Methamphetamine Task Force coordi- equipment but also risk state and fed- Rosemary Parker, Barbara the-counter medicines and household There have been so many such nator. “But for a meth addict, it’s just Walters, Bill Krasean, chemicals using recipes swapped in mishaps that public-safety officers now part of the lifestyle. It’s extremely sad, eral environmental penalties if the fer- Ed Finnerty, Rex Hall Jr. local jail cells, passed down through say they cautiously approach all house extremely sad — it’s scary,too.” tilizer is left leaking. families and even posted on the Inter- fires and car explosions as possible Over time and repeated use, addicts State law requires landlords and motel Photography: net. chemical hazards. can experience hallucinations, episodes owners to foot what can be thousands of Mark Bugnaski, The drug’s key ingredient and the Even when all goes as planned, 5 or 6 of violence, weight loss, seizures and se- dollars in bills for cleanup of residues Melanie Maxwell, chemicals needed to produce it are avail- pounds of toxic chemical waste is gen- vere tooth decay.Many users appear when meth is manufactured on their prop- erties. If the cleanup cost is so high they Jerry Campbell. able everywhere, the stuff a family would erated for every pound of the end-prod- gaunt and yellow and scratch their faces buy at a discount store for a typical week- uct drug, scientists say.The makeshift and arms until they bleed and scar. opt to abandon their property,the cost of end camping trip: batteries, matches, fuel “labs” of pop bottles and canning jars Child-welfare workers say the most ab- cleanup then falls to state taxpayers. Design: Josh Smith, for the lantern, some cold tablets. generate fumes that leave drug residue ject neglect they see, and the most vio- Health departments, child-protection Kris Kinkade, The drug’s users are different too; on every surrounding surface — car- lent abuse, comes in homes where par- workers and substance-abuse agencies Timothy R. Lehmann. they’re not seeking the mellow laziness pets, draperies, bedding. Even a child’s ents make and use methamphetamine. are stretched beyond their limits. induced by marijuana or the sleepy nod teddy bear. Dr. Richard Tooker, medical director Editing: of heroin. Meth — at first — allows users The danger doesn’t register on the Limited resources of the health departments in Kalamazoo Patric Zarkowski, to work longer, harder, with more focus, minds of addicts. They have risked their Because the meth epidemic is spread- and Allegan counties, said, “We have a Margaret DeRitter, with an incredible euphoria and confi- own children’s health and safety,pol- ing at a time when state and local mini toxic waste dump every time one of Julie Mack, dence. Sexual appetite and stamina are luted their own apartments, poisoned economies are struggling, community these (meth labs) is uncovered, but we Anne Hamming, enhanced. their own wells and blown up their own agencies have fewer resources to protect have fewer and fewer resources to pro- Scott Harmsen, And meth is cheap — days of effect homes in their insatiable urge to make their residents from the consequences of tect our communities from the conse- can be achieved on one hit, a real - quences of these facilities.” Jim Borden, more meth. the onslaught. Law-abiding citizens and gain in the world of illegal highs. But meth cooks and users are not just taxpayers get stuck paying for the “The local (community) is the loser in Rebecca Pierce. Some processes for making meth take a danger to themselves. Law-abiding cit- human and property damage and for this thing no matter what happens,” said several days. But as new methods have izens are at risk, too, because of the lack law enforcement, courts and prisons. Kalamazoo County Administrator Don Research: sped the process, meth-makers have be- of control, paranoia and violence that By the end of May this year, investiga- Gilmer. “The bottom line is, meth is an ab- Anne Holcomb. come increasingly mobile, setting up in often come with use of the drug. tors from the Kalamazoo Valley Enforce- solute plague, a 21st-century plague.”

A growing problem in southwestern Michigan* Meth labs seized Meth labs seized Meth labs seized Meth labs seized Meth labs seized in 2000: in 2001: in 2002: in 2003: in 2004: 40 91 189 186 209

The number of methamphetamine labs** The majority of meth labs have been found Meth is the fastest-growing drug problem This movement follows the same trend Last year, Kalamazoo (40), Allegan (27) seized in Michigan has grown more than in the southwestern corner of the state, in southwestern Michigan. However, an in meth activity across the United States, and St. Joseph (20) counties had the 500 percent in the past five years. specifically Allegan, Kalamazoo, Van Buren, increasing number of labs are being beginning in the Southwest and moving most lab seizures in the state. St. Joseph and Cass counties. found in the mid-Michigan area. toward the East. * 0 to 3 Upper Peninsula seizures were omitted in each map for space considerations. **Locations are approximate. Some lab locations were not known. Source: State of Michigan KRIS KINKADE / GAZETTE Kalamazoo Gazette THE MENACE OF METH PART II September 2005 ❖ 3

MARK BUGNASKI / GAZETTE Cold tablets such as Sudafed, shown here, contain the active ingredient used to manufacture methamphetamine. It takes about 1,200 of 30-milligram tablets pictured here to make one ounce of meth. Tiny pills,big headache

Lab equipment ‘Cooking’ meth requires some volatile materials includes: Cures for common Drain cleaner. Brake fluid. Rat poison. These are just some of the household items that can be used to make Tubing methamphetamine. Criminals can easily produce or “cook” meth using ingredients that are legally purchased Mason jars or easily stolen. The drug can be made in a makeshift "lab" that can fit into a suitcase. filters cold contain active 2-liter pop bottles Blenders Camera batteries Dangerous process Wooden matches ingredient in highly There are hundreds of production methods, but Grinding: A Mixing: Filtering: Propane cylinders since 2001, most meth labs found by the Michigan 1. large quantity 2. or 3. Inactive Hot plates State Police have involved a process called the of or an alcohol-based ingredients are Potential addictive drug “ephedrine-reduction method.” This involves is used filtered away, ingredients include: By Ed Finnerty extracting pseudoephedrine or ephedrine from tablets is ground to separate and the solvent Alcohol or [email protected] cold tablets and purifying and converting the to a powder. the key ingredient is cooked off, rubbing alcohol 388-8551 chemicals to meth. Steps shown here are from inactive leaving pure Ether (starting fluid) deliberately vague, and many necessary details ingredients. ephedrine. Benzene Paint thinner t’s been called “poor man’s cocaine,” but are omitted. Freon unlike cocaine, you can find its essential Acetone Cutting: The Chloroform ingredient as close as your neighbor- 10. dried meth Camp stove fuel I hood store. is weighed, diluted 4. Converting: Anhydrous ammonia The chemical that powers methampheta- with additives and Substances such White Phenyl-2-propane mine, the illicit and highly addictive stimu- packaged. as iodine, lithium, potassium metal, lye, Phenylacetone lant that’s becoming a scourge on southwest- Phenylpropanolamine ern Michigan, is the same ingredient that red phosphorus and Rock, table law-abiding citizens rely on to relieve their anhydrous ammonia are or Epsom salt misery from colds and allergies. employed to change Iodine crystals ephedrine into Red phosphorus Sudafed and some forms of Actifed, Advil, Drying: The (matchsticks) methamphetamine, Toluene (found Alavert, Aleve, Benadryl, Claritin, Contac, 9. finished meth Motrin, Theraflu and Tylenol are among although in a form in brake cleaner) is poured out and too acidic to use. Lye more than 200 cough, cold, flu, sinus and al- dried. Drain cleaner lergy products that have pseudoephedrine Some ingredients and Muriatic acid among their active ingredients. equipment seized by police Battery acid Lithium “This is a legal and popular and worth- (from batteries) while product we are talking about,” Andrew 8. Extracting: Common Separating: 6. Adding a base: Caustic More Sodium metal Richner, an attorney for drugstore chain Rite household chemicals 7. A toxic ingredients added at 5. filtering: Ephedrine (allergy Aid Corp., told lawmakers in Lansing at an help turn the liquid meth solvent is used this stage give the meth a After conversion, or cold medication) to absorb the base, but the process the drug is Diet aids April hearing on legislation that would cur- into a salt, lowering its Iodine tail access to such decongestants. acidity. The meth is now meth base. creates intense heat and filtered again. Bronchodilators Meth-makers buy dozens, hundreds, even consumable but still wet. the danger of explosion. Energy boosters thousands, of the pills. Sources: Michigan State Police; Combined Ozarks Multijurisdictional Enforcement Team; Newhouse News Service; Gazette research Photo by John A. Lacko/ Special to the Gazette Authorities say meth producers go from Graphic by Kris Kinkade / Gazette store to store, sometimes in teams, snapping up as much pseudoephedrine-containing police track down meth cooks. “If our laws are weaker than other states, members of a county task force, formed in drugs as clerks will sell them. They pop the Some retailers have pulled Sudafed and then the meth-heads will come here to make spring 2002, alerted the company and it tight- tablets from blister packs and extract the other medicines containing pseudoephedrine their methamphetamine,” said Rob Kengis, ened its security. medicine through a cooking process that from shelves and put them behind pharmacy an assistant prosecutor who handles drug Officials at Perrigo, which manufactures yields a potent drug that can be smoked, counters, but there is wide disparity among cases for Allegan County. and ships large quantities of cough, cold, flu, snorted, eaten or injected. stores. Two of the largest producers of ephedrine sinus and allergy medications containing Methamphetamine abuse has mushroomed “There is no rhyme or reason” to what cold and pseudoephedrine medicines are Pfizer pseudoephedrine at its Allegan facilities, through the region, prompting law-enforce- medicines stores will leave on the shelves or Inc. and Perrigo Co., both major regional em- since then have cooperated to choke off that ment agencies to turn more and more atten- put behind pharmacy counters, Belen said. ployers with financial stakes in continued supply,officials said. tion to checking its spread. sales of those products. “We’ve worked with Perrigo pretty closely, “We get about 300 tips a year at KVET, and Tighter controls Cough, cold, allergy and sinus remedies and they have been very receptive to our needs a good portion of those tips nowadays are In response to the growing meth crisis, state such as Pfizer’s Sudafed and Perrigo’s vari- as far as securing their stock and so forth,” Al- meth. We are slowly drowning,” said Capt. lawmakers are considering stepping in to re- ous store brands constitute a $3.5 billion U.S. legan County Sheriff Blaine Koops said. “It’s Larry Belen, of the Kalamazoo Valley En- strict sales of products with ephedrine or market, according to Allegan-based Perrigo, not nearly the source that it used to be.” forcement Team, a narcotics unit for Kala- pseudoephedrine. “We want to keep it behind the nation’s largest manufacturer of store- Company spokesman Ernest Schenk said mazoo County. the counter as much as possible,” state Sen. brand, over-the-counter pharmaceutical and Perrigo has made numerous security up- Last month, Allegan County authorities ar- Patricia Birkholz, R-Saugatuck, said of a bill nutritional products. grades at its facilities in recent years and has rested two men in a store parking lot in she sponsored. Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical limited amounts of pseudoephedrine products Plainwell and seized an estimated 5,000 The Birkholz bill, approved by the Senate, company,has not released sales figures of that can be bought at the company store. tablets of medicines containing pseu- and a companion measure awaiting a vote in pseudoephedrine products, spokesman Rick “I do think we’ve tightened it down,” John doephedrine from their pickup truck. Offi- the state House would require medicines Chambers said. Consumer-health-care sales, Hendrickson, executive vice president and cers also found more than a pound of ground containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine to including its over-the-counter products, ac- general manager of Perrigo Consumer Health- tablets, three tanks of anhydrous ammonia, be sold from pharmacy counters, where counted for less than 7 percent of Pfizer’s care, said of internal security measures. lithium batteries and four gallons of Cole- clerks or pharmacists would have to check $52.5 billion in revenues in 2004, the company Of employee thefts of pseudoephedrine, he man fuel. identification and keep logs of purchasers. reported. said, “I don’t know that it was rampant. ... “That was just a rolling (meth) lab basi- Under another option in the bill, such prod- Perrigo does not release sales by product, Even in the past, we have always exceeded the cally all ready to go,” said Michigan State Po- ucts would remain on shelves near phar- but the company derived about 20 percent of (government) regulations” for controls on lice Detective Sgt. Mike Anderson, of the macy counters if video or other security its nearly $900 million in sales for fiscal year pseudoephedrine supplies, Hendrickson said. West Michigan Enforcement Team drug unit. measures are in place. Quantities would be 2004 from products containing pseu- Allegan County’s Kengis said he did not re- “They were brazen. It was broad daylight.” limited under both options. doephedrine, according to its annual report. call prosecuting any employees for thefts. Police have been working with retailers to Allegan County authorities support the That works out to roughly $180 million. Allegan Police Chief Rick Hoyer does not identify large-scale pill buyers. Some stores re- Birkholz bill but have pressed for tighter re- point a finger at Perrigo for current port customers who buy the cold and allergy strictions, including reclassifying ephedrine Security at Perrigo methamphetamine activity. medications in unusually large quantities, and pseudoephedrine as narcotics available Law-enforcement officials said unknown while others have gone so far as to provide only from pharmacists, as Oklahoma has done amounts of pseudoephedrine had been Please see CURES, Page 13 videotapes and license-plate numbers that help and other states are considering. stolen from Perrigo by employees before 4 ❖ September 2005 THE MENACE OF METH PART III Kalamazoo Gazette $1,000 Cost of two-ton tank of anhydrous ammonia,enough to fertilize 20 acres METH FACTS 50,000 tons Amount of anhydrous ammonia used annually by Michigan farmers 4-8 oz. Amount of anhydrous ammonia needed to process an ounce of meth

MARK BUGNASKI / GAZETTE Ray Steinhaus flushes out an anhydrous ammonia tank at Prairie Crop Service in Mendon, which supplies the fertilizer to farmers. The top of the tank is stained with GloTell, an additive designed to deter theft. Meth makers draw farmers into the fight

Despite the dangers of tapping Tons of Thieves change farm practices Thieves raid farms into tanks and transporting it, anhydrous Ammonia spills can thieves brazenly cut through ammonia 88,775 The amount of anhydrous ammonia for anhydrous fences, smash locks and mow 90,000 used by Michigan farmers each year paths through fields to steal the 85,000 is down by almost half. Farmers cite result in big fines 80,000 theft as the main reason. stuff. By Rosemary Parker ammonia Just last week thieves dodged 75,000 70,000 388-2734 By Rosemary Parker surveillance cameras at Walt [email protected] 388-2734 Stafford’s Richland cattle farm to 65,000 [email protected] tap into an ammonia tank. They 60,000 55,000 Thieves intent on stealing anhydrous am- left the tank’s valve open. By the 50,000 43,319 monia, a key ingredient in the manufacture armers in southwestern time Stafford learned of the 45,000 of the drug methamphetamine, had already Michigan didn’t sign up problem the next morning, a 40,000 beaten a path to Hamilton Farm Bureau’s for the . dozen animals were dead, and 35,000 Martin facility.This time their vandalism of F But they got drafted, others lay sick and dying. a tank cost the company almost $12,000 in fed- and their enemy is wily,reckless As of Monday night, 64 ani- 0 eral penalties. and relentless. mals had died or were to be de- 1995 ’96 ’97 ’98 ’99 ’00 ’01 ’02 ’03 ’04 On May 29, 2004, thieves damaged the tank, Source: Michigan Department of Agriculture GAZETTE They have something the mak- stroyed, and 30 to 40 were sick releasing 865 pounds of noxious anhydrous- ers of methamphetamine want: and blinded. ammonia fertilizer into the surrounding rural Anhydrous ammonia, a caustic In St. Joseph County,“They’ve all of them, you get dropped by Paul Wylie, Michigan State Uni- neighborhood before the problem was discov- fertilizer that’s stored in large cut hoses and broken into our the insurance company,”he said. versity Extension agriculture ered. Local firefighters responded, the dam- metal tanks and injected by the building looking for parts and “You just have to eat these.” agent, said some farmers have aged tank was fixed, and no one was injured. ton into more than 200,000 acres pieces to make their own storage But because the company took three days So to limit his losses, Drozd given up on using anhydrous en- of cornfields in the region each containers,” said Sandy Spence, tirely; unnerved by the situation, to report the incident to federal officials, in- spring because it’s the cheapest assistant manager of Prairie said, he’s resigned himself to the they have switched to other, more stead of the 15 minutes the Environmental source of nitrogen available. Crop Service in Mendon. “We onslaught. costly fertilizers. Others have Protection Agency requires, the agency Most farms began this season’s had one guy stealing it who was He and others who run large taken to returning the tanks to levied a penalty of $17,703.64. severely burned” by the chemical farms have so many tanks to fertilizer applications last week. suppliers each day,which burns “Penalty calculations are based on a matrix Suppliers sell it at about $1,000 in a botched theft attempt. guard they have little recourse we use that accounts for various factors: the but to leave tanks unprotected, extra time and fuel. for a two-ton tank, which will Jon Drozd farms 6,500 acres Wylie also said thieves have re- chemical(s) involved, quantity and so on,” said treat 20 acres. Only growers can in Kalamazoo, Allegan and Van he said. Many purposely park Mick Hans, spokesman from EPA Region 5 in them far from their homes and peatedly targeted farm-supply com- purchase it without a thorough Buren counties. He said thieves panies throughout southwestern Chicago. grilling by distributors, who will break into a two-ton tank highways at the end of the day. In the end, the company and the agency ne- It leaves the tanks vulnerable, Michigan in spite of suppliers’ know their local customers and just to take a quart of the am- tight security. gotiated a $4,498.75 cash penalty and the ex- are suspicious of strangers. monia. but it also assures that when the penditure of an additional $7,500 to purchase, thieves goof and ammonia spews A clandestine anhydrous rob- They know that illegal-drug “The year before last, we lost bery of a Martin-area distributor install and maintain two security cameras from damaged valves or tubing, makers use the potentially $3,000 in equipment costs,” Drozd in May 2004 resulted in a leak so and two light towers. there is less chance people, ani- deadly chemical to hasten the said. That included damages and serious that neighboring farms Bob Fenton, chief executive officer of mals and homes will be exposed conversion of the pseu- the theft of goggles, tools and were evacuated. “Everybody Hamilton Farm Bureau, the parent company to potentially lethal fumes. doephedrine in ordinary cold other items from work sheds. Once within an eighth of a mile” was of the Martin facility,said it’s a matter of pol- While thefts at Drozd’s farm tablets into the powerful stimu- intruders swiped an entire tank notified, Martin Township Super- icy not to respond to requests for information lant crystal meth. and hauled it deep into the woods continue, his dollar losses actu- visor Terry Sturgis recalled. about incidents of theft. The policy was de- But anhydrous ammonia is not of Van Buren County,50 miles ally seem to be dropping. Additionally,the supplier was veloped, he said, because “every media report the kind of stuff you’d want away.By the time deputies discov- The reason? Some thieves are slapped with $17,000 in penalties has served in the past to escalate the problem. sloshing around in an old coffee ered it, Drozd said, half the ammo- getting so good at stealing the stuff, by the U.S. Environmental Protec- We want to reduce our media exposure.” can. In fact, it’s stored at minus-28 nia had leaked out. they’re learning to operate the tion Agency for failing to report Thieves also hit farmers in the field, some- degrees Fahrenheit, is kept under tanks’ special valves instead of cut- the problem to the National Re- times several times a season. Farmers who pressure and vaporizes when it A losing battle? ting hoses or damaging equipment. sponse Center until “three days, 10 fail to report releases of 100 pounds — about comes in contact with air. It will Typically,insurance does not “We joke ... amongst ourselves, hours and five minutes after the 19 gallons — or more from the huge tanks freeze-dry skin on contact, and its pay for the costs of security or that it would be easier to teach release,” not the 15 minutes re- they use in their fields may be subject to com- vapor seeks the moisture of eyes, loss to damage and theft, Drozd them” proper technique, Drozd quired by federal law. bined fines of up to $32,500 per day for each nostrils, mouth and lungs. said, because farm deductibles said. “But the best thing would violation if they fail to notify agencies or file It burns like heck. are very high. “Plus, if you claim be to get them to quit.” Please see METH, Page 5 reports within the established deadlines.

Anhydrous ammonia ■ Anhydrous ammonia is ■ Anhydrous is stored at nose and lungs, causing more diluted forms are 25 percent of the tion of the release. in unauthorized contain- used from mid-April minus-28 degrees severe chemical burns safer to use but cost state’s corn crop. ■ No license or permit ers or to use it for illicit through about July 1, Fahrenheit. It vaporizes to unprotected people about 37 cents per ■ Runoff of excess or is needed to purchase purposes. Other pro- during the early part of as soon as it hits air, so caught in its cloud. pound of nitrogen com- spilled anhydrous am- anhydrous ammonia, posed legislation is the corn-growing sea- farmers use special ■ Nitrogen is essential to pared with anhydrous am- monia is a serious pol- but dealers will not sell aimed at protecting son. equipment to inject the grow corn. Fertilizer is monia’s 29 cents. For lutant, subject to strict it to farmers they do farmers from liability ■ An anhydrous-ammo- liquid into the soil, sold, priced by the pound farmers, who use tons of environmental regula- not know. Dealers care- should people be in- nia wagon holds a sin- where its chemical prop- of nitrogen it contains, in fertilizer, that cost differ- tion. Maximum fines fully question any po- jured while trying to gle tank, which weighs erties cause it to suck several basic forms. An- ence can be critical. can range from tential purchasers they steal ammonia. about two tons. Its load water to itself. That hydrous ammonia, at 82 ■ Statewide, farmers $27,500 to $32,500 do not know. costs about $1,000 and same property causes percent nitrogen, has the use about 50,000 tons per day per incident cording to a complex ■ Recent law changes SOURCE: Michigan Farm Bureau, formula that factors in Michigan Department of is enough to treat about ammonia gas to seek highest concentration for of anhydrous on and can be levied by make it a felony to Agriculture, U.S. Environmental 20 acres. the moisture of eyes, the lowest price. Other 600,000 acres — about several agencies ac- damages and the loca- transport the chemical Protection Agency. Kalamazoo Gazette THE MENACE OF METH PART IV September 2005 ❖ 5

MARK BUGNASKI / GAZETTE Amy Reed said fear that she could lose her daughter, Taylor, 10, helped her stop using methamphetamine. Now a recovering addict in an Allegan County program, Reed here holds a booking mug of herself when she was hooked on meth. Meth’s youngest victims

meth’s multigenerational grip on their fam- now, she says, but there seemed to be so little roads into their family life. Reed’s parents ily and its impact on Taylor. room for Taylor in her life. smoked marijuana, a hint of things to come Drug drives a wedge For seven months, Taylor visited her “I was always in a hurry.Even when we and, she believes now, an example of mari- mother every Friday in the Barry County went to McDonald’s, I’d rush her out of the juana’s role as a “gateway” to harder drugs. between mother Jail, looking at her through the glass of the play area. We’d just get there, and I’d be say- Reed became pregnant with Taylor soon inmate visiting room, wanting to hug her. ing, ‘We’ve got 10 minutes.’” after her high school graduation, with a Other days, Taylor, who lived with her pater- When the drug wore off, Reed would over- boyfriend she had no interest in marrying. and daughter nal grandmother while her mother was in sleep, losing her jobs as a certified nursing Instead of attending college as she’d planned, she slipped into a cycle of parties By Barbara Walters jail, wrote her mother letters of encourage- assistant time and time again. and late nights. The lifestyle was a minefield [email protected] ment: “Dear Mommy.I miss you soo soo Mother and child were living on the edge. of drugs. 388-8563 much. I can’t wait until we are together and “Remember the time the landlord threw be a family again.” stuff out on the lawn?” Reed asks her. Taylor At first through a boyfriend and then through a cousin and an uncle, she began to aylor knows why her mother Her mother was missing Taylor’s first bas- nods solemnly. use meth. In the beginning it was just on the missed her 9th birthday. ketball season, so Taylor did her best to de- They also remember the yelling and ten- weekends. But the need grew quickly. “She was in jail for my party,”Tay- scribe it in her letters. sion. “First thing you know, I was cutting it and lor says. “Mom, I didn’t get the ball very much. I “I was so easily angered and frustrated,” T skimping to sell it to others,” to get enough to Taylor is 10 now. She takes dance lessons, tried to score a basket but I missed.” Reed says. use herself, she says. plays basketball, goes to Sunday school and Reed still has those letters. Family holidays, once occasions for big She became part of a circuit of meth users, does her fourth-grade homework at the din- Looking back, Reed realizes that long be- dinners and good times at Reed’s parents’ driving to Gun Lake and Orangeville, where it ing-room table. fore jail separated her from Taylor, home, became cauldrons of tension. The last was cooked in garages, kitchens and sheds. She also has learned the hard way some methamphetamine had been driving them Christmas before the bust was marked by a apart. There was no child abuse or blatant night of yelling, and Reed’s father slept Her closest meth companion, though, was lessons about methamphetamine. closer to home — her father. “It makes your life really bad,” Taylor says. neglect that might have alerted officials. It through the day. She looks at her mother for approval before was a more insidious wedge that meth “There was no love,” Reed says. Starting to recover drove between mother and daughter, one going on. After Reed’s arrest, it was her terror that Amy Reed never saw while she was still Slipping into drug use “I didn’t really feel like I had a mom some- she might lose Taylor that started her down using the drug. The scene was a far cry from the family life times.” the long road to recovery. “She never got my undivided attention,” of Reed’s childhood, when “everything was Amy Reed nods at her daughter that it’s The next step on that road was meeting Reed said. “When you’re using, your inten- great,” she said. OK to talk about those dark years, which cli- with a group of women who visited her regu- tions are good, but it never happens that way. When she was a teenager, her parents maxed in 2003 when Reed was picked up and larly in jail as part of the Forgotten Man jailed on meth charges. Weeks later, Reed’s I’d listen to her, but my eyes and my mind rarely missed an event at Martin High Ministry.They prayed with her and intro- parents — Taylor’s grandparents — were were somewhere else. I’d be fidgeting with School, where she was on the track team and duced her to Bible study. busted at their rural Allegan-area home. something.” was a cheerleader. “We were users together,” Reed confirms of She loved her daughter as much then as But drugs had already begun to make in- Please see DRUG, Page 13

Continued from Page 4 A possible breakthrough time, we had close to double that rate.” prosecute offenders. Four years ago, Spence, the Prairie Crop Reports of thefts from growers in the field “It’s not a perfect fix,” he said. “It’s the Service employee, began logging the thefts at who use GloTell have dropped as well, she only thing we’ve got at this point.” said. “We’re just heading into the biggest her facility.She filled page after page of a season of the year,” Spence said. Trouble Farmers seek help Meth makers spiral notebook in an effort to help police this year? “Hopefully,we won’t see much.” Drozd, like many farmers, operates on a catch thieves and deter theft. State Rep. Tonya Schuitmaker, R-Lawton, slim profit margin and is hoping for grant Now her company has a new ally in the fight. was expected to introduce legislation today money to help offset the $4,000 GloTell adds In December, Prairie Crop Service began draw farmers requiring all manufacturers and distribu- to his costs. It is unclear where that money offering an ammonia additive marketed by tors of anhydrous ammonia in Michigan to might come from. its parent company. It’s called GloTell, and add dye to the product. “A 7-cent differential on 200 pounds of nitro- it adds about $9 to the cost of each ton of Drozd said he’s using GloTell for the first time gen an acre, that’s $14 an acre, about all the into the fight fertilizer. this year.“We hope it works to help prevent money you’re going to make on that danged GloTell stains anything it touches bright some of the theft and that (the pink dye) isn’t too corn, net profit,” said Wylie, the MSU Exten- Even that mishap failed to deter thieves. pink, which helps deter some thieves. big a problem and mess for us, too,” he said. sion agent. Lt. Tony Saucedo, unit commander for the But it carries another deterrent: Meth Some thieves may not have gotten the Wylie says the government needs to find Michigan State Police methamphetamine- cooks who use the ammonia with GloTell are message on GloTell, however. GloTell was money to pay for GloTell. prevention enforcement team, said under- left not with the white powder they desire in the tank of anhydrous ammonia that “It behooves government, considering the cover officers who were part of a surveil- but with a gummy pink substance that is less killed the cattle at Stafford’s farm in Rich- effort and money we’re spending on this lance operation at the same site a few nights concentrated and harder to smoke, said Scott land last week. problem, and the cost to people’s lives, to get later approached people gathered to steal the Spelman, sales director for Royster Clark in Stafford said he believes thieves were an- GloTell into all anhydrous at no cost to the ammonia. Some of those waiting for their Norfolk, Va., which makes GloTell. gered, not deterred, when they discovered farmer,” Wylie said. “It’s a no-brainer, but it turn at the tank scolded the plainclothes Since December, there have been only his ammonia had GloTell. “They still took doesn’t seem to be happening. deputies for trying to cut in line, thinking seven attempted thefts at Prairie Crop Ser- it home to cook it,” he said. Stafford sug- “Surely to God they can find some (relief) they also were after the ammonia, he said. vice, Spence said, and only one attempt in gested they returned to open the tank in for the farmer, if anhydrous is the choke In just a few weeks, 10 people were caught the month of May.“It has markedly de- retribution for his use of GloTell. point” on methamphetamine production, at the Martin site and charged, police said. creased,” she said. “Last year at this same He said the dye may help police catch and Wylie said.

10 Percent of Allegan County child-abuse-and-neglect cases related to meth METH Percent of Michigan meth-lab busts in 2003 in which a child was affected FACTS 38 8.4 Percent of Michigan high school freshmen in 2003 who reported trying meth at least once 6 ❖ September 2005 THE MENACE OF METH PART IV Kalamazoo Gazette IN THEIR OWN WORDS Angela Angela Grauman, 30, is a recovering meth addict, and she has been clean for more than a year. She’s a mother of four children, although her drug use has cost her custody of them. She’s been arrested, convicted and has spent time in jail on meth charges. Now she’s en- gaged and manages a restaurant. She grew up in Allegan and first got high on meth when she was 12. Until that first experi- ence with drugs, she had been a junior high cheerleader and athlete. But all that ended when she told her father, a user and seller, that she was going to try meth and he didn’t stop her. Here is some of her story in her own words. On telling her father she wanted to try meth: “He gave me a weird look ... like he knew what I was going to start, and he didn’t really want that. But he didn’t stop me. I got high all summer. I didn’t want to go back to school.” On her first high: “Actually,I felt like I was on top of the world, like I could do anything. I used to hold my hands out and say: ‘I’ve got the world in my hands.’” On life at home with a drug-abusing par- ent: “I was my father’s right-hand man. I’d hang out with my dad and his clan and watch the way things were done. It was fun. I liked the mind challenges — if there were 10 conver- sations going on at once and I could keep up with all 10, wow.” ALLEGAN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE By high school: “I was stealing to do drugs. The Allegan County Sheriff’s Office used this photograph, taken during a November 2003 meth bust, to illustrate living conditions common among Stuff was coming up missing at home, and it meth users. A child’s drawings decorate the wall, upper right. was me taking it. I was dealing for my dad, so I had to pay him.” On becoming a dealer: “I didn’t have to steal anymore, because I started dealing in heavy quantity.I could have my free gram and make a couple of hundred bucks. I had my own Kids face lives filled with toxic fallout little route from here to Grand Junction, to the By Rosemary Parker ing anything but meth. Investigators have seen which children are encouraged to bring items Plainwell area, to Dumont Lake. There were [email protected] overflowing toilets and homes littered with for comfort and familiarity,Menifee said. about five houses where I could feel safe, take a 388-2734 , pet waste and garbage, shower; they might make me eat a little bit if I homes with no lights, heat or water. Family tradition looked on the weak side. That went on every ity the children of methampheta- That happens in other neglect cases, Police and child-welfare workers tell of an- day,place to place to place. ... Some of the mine addicts. Theirs often is a life of Menifee said. But “some of the most severe other disturbing trend: Children raised in an houses I’d go to had kids they (her children) neglect and abuse, poisonous sur- environments we’ve seen are related to environment where meth is made and used could play with.” roundings and unstable and danger- meth.” openly are being drawn in, at first helping to On realizing her problem: “I kept asking P ous caretakers. The risk is great that they The abuse and neglect take on a new dimen- acquire supplies, then learning to make the everyone to help me, help me get straight. The will be lured into the same web of addiction sion, too, Menifee said, because of “the one drug and, in many cases, becoming part of whole time I was saying, ‘Please take it away, that grips their mothers and fathers. thing we see specific to meth cases: The envi- the next generation of users. please take it away.’But if I didn’t have it, it Child-welfare workers in southwestern ronment itself is inherently dangerous” with Loren “Skip” Kiel, residential coordinator at would hurt my bones, hurt my body,hurt my Michigan see the children’s tragedy unfold- toxic fumes and residue that result from man- the Jim Gilmore Jr.Treatment Center in Kala- head. My kids had to feed me chicken-noodle ing as the meth epidemic spreads among ufacturing meth and it. mazoo, said that greater than 75 percent of his soup because I couldn’t get out of bed. ... It was adults of child-bearing age, but it’s coming at Just as cigarette smoke leaves a haze, so adult clients grew up in homes with addicted rough, but I had to have that drug.” a time when county health departments and does meth smoke, said Erik Janus, toxicolo- parents and became addicts themselves. On getting clean six weeks before she state agencies are having their budgets cut. gist with the Michigan Department of Com- About 95 percent of their addicted clients was sentenced on a drug charge: “I told my- Wendy Menifee is on the front lines of the munity Health in Lansing. have a family history of addiction. Very self I was not going to be one of those people rarely,he said, is there no family history of who goes to jail and quits because I’m incarcer- battle for the children. Menifee is child pro- A research group in Denver simulated tective services supervisor for Allegan smoking of meth over several hours, consis- addiction. ated.” “It may not always be the mom or dad, but On her fiance: “He doesn’t want to get mar- County Department of Human Services and tent with the way the drug is used, Janus has spent 10 years in the field. said. Researchers found smoking created an uncle or someone else close,” Kiel said. ried yet, because I am not off probation. He “It’s not always the same drug. A client will wants to make sure I don’t slither back into “The first horrendous case was just (a few) residues in excess of safety standards. years ago,” Menifee said. “What we’re really concerned about is chil- tell me that mom and dad were alcoholics my old ways.” and ‘I’m a cocaine addict.’” On her life now: “My mother used to say: Allegan County court records tell how in- dren, because they are often closer to the zone of vestigators responding to a complaint found contamination — perhaps crawling over car- Kiel said it’s too early to generalize about ‘Get a life.’ Now I am saying I am doing what I the subsequent addiction of children raised want to do. I’ve got a life. I’ve got the world in a 2-year-old with bruises, choke marks, what pets, putting hands and objects in their appeared to be cigarette burns and genital mouths,” he said. “Because of their lower body in meth homes, “but I don’t see it as any dif- my hands.” ferent and it could be worse. This stuff is a — Rosemary Parker injuries. They also found a meth lab in the weight, pound for pound, they get a larger dose. mother’s apartment. “Also, kids are dynamic in terms of develop- real problem, the worst I’ve ever seen.” Cindy Bare, Menifee’s counterpart in St. ment, and laying down patterns of learning Menifee said parents will involve their Joseph County,said her department is see- and memory that could be disrupted, though children in hiding their meth abuse. She Craig said she has seen mothers who are under the ing neglect, abuse and “out-of-control anger, we really don’t know a lot about that,” Janus jurisdiction of the court for their meth of- Craig, 39, is a recovering meth user, too. He where ... small kids ... are getting slapped said. “We are not sure what the effects of low- fenses substitute their children’s urine for got hooked, made meth, got busted and spent and hit because parents have short fuses. level, long-term exposure might be.” their own to pass drug- screening tests. more than a year in jail. He says he has been “The major drug we’re seeing right now is Whatever those effects are, there is no In Van Buren County,a 5-year-old told her clean for four-and-a-half years now. meth,” she said. question children are accumulating toxins. school teacher that her mother cooks drugs His children, who live with a relative, do not Meth use seems tied to the most aggressive “Philadelphia did a study testing each kid in the kitchen. know of his drug history,and so he asked not behavior, Menifee said, “with a lot of violence coming out of a meth home, and 80 percent In subsequent interviews with authorities to be fully identified. and paranoia directed at kids — at everyone came back (testing) positive for meth. Min- the girl described the details of metham- In high school and at Western Michigan Uni- around them, actually,including the kids.” nesota did the same study,and 55 percent of phetamine manufacture: Peeling batteries, versity,Craig was a top athlete and scholar. He Sometimes kids are locked out of their those kids tested positive,” McAndrew, the going with her mother to Meijer to buy cold partied very little, had a good family and at- homes for hours on end while parents are meth task force official, said. medicine, making midnight runs to farmers’ tended church regularly. making drugs, said Van Buren County Meth can be passed through breast milk, fields for chemicals. At WMU, he was a promising biology major Methamphetamine Task Force coordinator and in many cases where children are pre- In the same county,a teenager reported by day and worked the second shift at a factory E.J. McAndrew. sent, meth is made in the kitchen where chil- learning to cook methamphetamine at the at night, an exhausting schedule for anyone. And meth users often refuse treatment, dren’s food is prepared. age of 11. Her mother taught her. Someone at work first turned him on to Bare said. “It’s harder to get them engaged. Pregnant women testing positive for the Usually,when children must be removed methamphetamine. They’d rather give up their kids (than the drug are exposing their babies in utero, from a home because of abuse or neglect, Here is part of his account: drug) because the drug is way too important.” Bare said. agencies try to place them with people the On getting started on meth: “This drug, it Menifee agreed. “With chronic meth use, These are the reasons “the children do not children know. But family placements in- will grab any person who tries it. People need everything goes.” stay in homes” when protective service workers creasingly are coming under scrutiny be- to understand it’s not a (typical) high. I was discover meth is an issue, and agencies are mov- cause of the growing understanding that alert, awake, getting done what I needed to get Toxic surroundings ing to allow nothing — not even clothing — to meth use is often a family problem spanning done. How could that be wrong?” Menifee said she has seen toddlers foraging come out with children as they are taken to generations, Menifee said. for food in chemical-strewn kitchens, their par- friends, relatives or foster care, McAndrew said. Please see CRAIG, Page 13 ents too high on the drug to think about cook- That’s different from other situations, in Please see KIDS’, Page 13

Short- and long-term effects of methamphetamine use The medical complications are serious Meth releases high levels of the Cerebral Striatum Methamphetamine is taken orally or intranasally (snorting the powder), neurotransmitter dopamine, cortex by intravenous injection and by smoking. In the long term which stimulates brain cells, but Meth is addictive, and users can it also appears to have a In the short term Brain develop a tolerance quickly, neurotoxic effect, damaging As a powerful stimulant, meth, even Path meth needing larger amounts to get brain cells that contain takes into high. In some cases, users forgo A user before ... and after 4 years in small doses, can increase the body of meth use. dopamine and serotonin, wakefulness and physical activity food and sleep, “bingeing” until another neurotransmitter. Over Dilated pupils Limbic and decrease appetite. A brief, they run out of the drug or become time, meth appears to cause system Heart and bloodshot intense sensation, or rush, is too disorganized to continue. eyes could be reduced levels of dopamine, reported by those who smoke or Veins Lungs Chronic use can cause paranoia, a sign of use. which can result in symptoms Hippocampus inject methamphetamine. Oral hallucinations, repetitive behavior like those of Parkinson's Brain ingestion or snorting produces, (such as compulsive cleaning), Longtime disease, a severe degenerative stem instead of a rush, a long-lasting and delusions of parasites or users neural disorder. insects crawling under the skin. scratch at Cell death high, which reportedly can continue “crank bugs,” Animal research shows that high for as long as half a day. Both the Long-term use, high dosages, or resulting doses of meth damage neuron Cell death and damage to rush and the high are believed to both can bring on in scarring. cell endings. Dopamine- and dopamine-containing neurons full-blown toxic psychosis (often result from the release of very high Meth use weakens serotonin-containing neurons do exhibited as violent, aggressive Meth damages nerve terminals levels of the neurotransmitter teeth, resulting in not die after meth use, but their of dopamine-producing cells in the dopamine into areas of the brain Smoking meth sends the drug quickly to behavior). Such behavior is usually “.” nerve endings are cut back and limbic area (pleasure center), cerebral that regulate feelings of pleasure. the brain by way of the lungs and heart. coupled with extreme paranoia. regrowth appears to be limited. cortex (senses) and striatum.

Short-term effects of methamphetamine Effects of habitual use Cardiovascular problems ■ Increased attention ■ Users may become addicted ■ Fatal kidney and lung disorders ■ Several symptoms occur when ■ Rapid heart rate ■ Chronic abuse can result in ■ Decreased fatigue quickly, and use it more often ■ Possible brain damage a user stops. These include ■ Irregular heart beat inflammation of the heart lining ■ Increased activity and in increasing doses. ■ Permanent psychological depression, fatigue, paranoia, ■ Increased blood pressure and, among users who inject the ■ Decreased appetite problems aggression, anxiety and an ■ Stroke-producing damage to drug, damaged blood vessels and ■ Euphoria and rush ■ Lowered resistance to illnesses intense craving for the drug. small blood vessels in the brain skin abscesses. Heavy users also ■ Increased respiration ■ Liver damage ■ Convulsions occur with show progressive social and ■ Hyperthermia (elevated body temperature) ■ Stroke overdoses and can result in death. occupational deterioration. Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse; www.drugfree.org; Gannett News Service; Department of Health and Human Services; KRIS KINKADE / GAZETTE Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority; noiceinparadise.com; drugrecognition.com Kalamazoo Gazette THE MENACE OF METH PART V September 2005 ❖ 7

JERRY CAMPBELL / GAZETTE Barry-Eaton District Health Department officials Eric Pessell and Carol Polich go to a Barry County apartment where a meth bust occurred to verify that the occupants have left. There’s poison in the walls

stuffed animals. he has received none, he said. the intent of the act. In a Denver study by researchers at the That means hundreds of residents are at “I think the law is very clear,” he said, When meth National Jewish Medical and Research risk in southwestern Michigan. with clear statements of what “shall” be Center, a teddy bear was placed 12 inches done. from a methamphetamine cook and was Whose job is it? But the state’s interim measures give no cooks move out, found to have acid residue strong enough The trouble is that the law contains ambigu- legal protection to enforcing agencies, nor to cause burns to any child who picked up ities, and officials in most counties are unsure funding to pay for enforcement, Gilmer said. the toy. who is supposed to enforce it or how, or even if “I think that is a total cop-out on the part of danger moves in Hazards are not confined to the room they are actually required to. Nor is there the DEQ,” Gilmer said. where the manufacture takes place. funding for enforcement. State rules to clarify Methamphetamine residue is transported are pending. Twice victimized By Rosemary Parker through furnace ducts and spreads readily, “There’s a law that says something needs While local municipalities argue about [email protected] said Jeff Rostoni, indoor air quality depart- to be done, but there are no details to tell standards and who is supposed to pay for en- 388-2734 ment manager at P M Environmental. The you what — the devil’s in the details,” Pes- forcement programs, the law is clear about company has offices in Lansing, Grand sell said. who is supposed to pay for actual cleanup re- o you live in a former meth factory? Rapids and Hazel Park, Don Gilmer, adminis- quired before a home, apartment or motel You might, because since the mid- and does cleanup and trator of Kalamazoo room is occupied after a meth lab bust: The 1990s police have raided hundreds of testing of contaminated County,where the law is property owner. Dapartments, homes and motel sites. It’s the law not enforced, said, “The “Is it fair to a property owner (to require rooms in southwestern Michigan where the Even folks living in A state law enacted April 1, DEQ formed a task force him to pay for cleanup) if someone’s been powerful illegal stimulant was being made. neighboring apartment 2004, provides for the posting months ago but there are sneaking onto his property to dump the Here’s the scary part: The vast majority of units have reported suffer- and vacating of any property still no rules.” stuff ?” fretted Kalamazoo County senior en- dwellings that were raided as meth labs still ing headaches and other used as a drug lab under the Without them, he said, vironmental health officer Frank contain residues and fumes strong enough to symptoms from fumes following procedures: “if we go in (and remove Schenkhuizen. make you and your family sick. They almost that may drift through ■ The investigating agency shall people from their homes He said the region already suffers from a certainly haven’t been cleaned properly to walls or air ducts, Janus notify the Michigan Department or take away the use of shortage of affordable housing. Tenants may make them safe, as state law requires. said. of Environmental Quality and the their property) we are be reluctant to disclose their suspicions of That’s because provisions of the law aren’t “Thank God most labs local enforcing agency regarding putting ourselves at great meth activity in their homes if they know being enforced anywhere in southwestern are not in high-density the drug lab and shall post a risk of liability.” they may be evicted; landlords may skip re- Michigan except in Barry County. areas, but outside” in written notice of potential conta- Health officials in Alle- porting if they know they will be required to So in most cases, landlords, tenants, travel- rural out-buildings or mination on the premises. gan and Van Buren coun- pay for extensive cleanup. ers and home buyers take their chances car trunks, Janus said. ■ Within 14 days of receipt of ties said they,like their “If you are a landlord, in a lot of ways you when toxins lurk in the carpets, drapes, Those outdoor sites notification, the DEQ shall re- counterparts in Kalama- become the victim,” said Van Buren drains and ducts. pose a different threat to view the information received; zoo, are waiting for final- County’s meth task force coordinator E. J. the neighbors. Dumping the fact that the property has ized state cleanup stan- McAndrew. “At this time there is no funding F amilies at risk of waste chemicals — five been used as a drug lab shall dards to be in place before to help them.” Between 2000 and 2004, 802 meth labs were or six pounds of waste for be prima facie evidence of cont- they decide how to pro- O’Donnell said, “There has not been much seized in the state of Michigan; last year every pound of meth cre- amination that may constitute a ceed. hue and cry,I suspect, because there’s not alone, almost half of them were in Allegan, ated — threatens soil and health or safety hazard. “Obviously I’m disap- much recognition within the community Van Buren, St. Joseph and Kalamazoo coun- ground-water alike, and ■ The enforcing agency shall pointed” that local gov- that this law actually exists.” ties. Many were in homes, apartments and neighbors may be unsus- issue an order requiring the ernments have not Because the cost of the cleanup, testing motel rooms. pecting of waste chucked premises to be vacated until the stepped up to enforce the and lost income can exceed the value of the Police dismantle labs and remove chemi- over fences or dumped in property owner establishes that law, said state Sen. Patri- site, Jim Rutherford, environmental health cals and lab apparatus, but without an exten- fields. the property is decontaminated. cia Birkholz, R- director for Kalamazoo County,said there is sive — and expensive — cleaning, the homes Residential well tests, Saugatuck, one of the fear landowners may simply abandon their won’t be safe enough to be occupied again. common before rural bill’s sponsors. She said properties and let the state take them for Future occupants of contaminated homes home purchases, only fashioning the law to allow back taxes. face unnecessary health risks which doctors check for the presence of E. coli bacteria and local control over enforcement was the only And if that happens, the burden of cleanup and scientists are still trying to fully charac- nitrates, health officials said. And toxic way to get it passed in the first place. comes back to the state and, therefore, tax- terize. residues will not evaporate or be eliminated “That was one of the most contentious payers. The state doesn’t have any money for “Kids are showing symptoms of drug with the elbow grease of a typical house parts of the whole package (of metham- the job, either. abuse” simply from exposure to meth-tainted cleaning, they caution. phetamine-related legislative changes); “It just hasn’t been thought out at state housing, said Eric Pessell, director of envi- Typically,cleaning requires removal of the governor asked me to come into her of- level,” Rutherford said. ronmental health for the Barry-Eaton Dis- carpet, padding and other porous furnish- fice, and we finally hammered out an “The effect on affordable housing was a trict Health Department, citing studies in ings and triple cleaning of all surfaces, agreement,” Birkholz said. “The (state) point we talked about,” Birkholz said. “But I other states. Rostoni said. Depending on how long meth- agencies that you’d normally look to deal cannot be party to willingly,knowingly let- Smoking methamphetamine or cooking it related activities took place, cleanup could with it (the DEQ or community health) felt ting people live in a hazardous waste site.” leaves residues clinging to every porous sur- include destroying all upholstered furni- they didn’t have the resources to deal with face nearby,said David O’Donnell, district ture and drywall, and steam-cleaning hard the problem.” Let the buyer beware supervisor for the Remediation and Redevel- surfaces. In Barry and Eaton counties, Pessell isn’t Until agencies decide whether and how to opment Division in the Department of Envi- waiting for state direction. Acting under the enforce the law, it’s pretty much up to ronmental Quality’s Kalamazoo District. Why the law’s not working authority of the county health departments’ renters and home buyers to look out for “The children or elderly people, they can’t Concerns about contamination to homes, nuisance housing and state public health themselves. fight off some of these chemicals or meth yards and water systems prompted Michigan codes, he has placed placards at eight But it’s no easy thing to protect against residues,” Pessell said. lawmakers to adopt Act 307 in April 2004. dwellings where meth labs were found since an invisible threat with little guidance from Erik Janus, toxicologist for the Michigan The law requires that the Michigan Depart- November; they cannot be reoccupied until agencies that could help. Department of Community Health in Lans- ment of Environmental Quality be notified an inspector reports that the homes have Most local health officials aren’t telling ing and the state’s leading authority on the each time a meth lab is discovered. Contami- tested clean. landowners or real estate agents of the law, effects of environmental exposure to nated sites must remain vacant until an indus- Only one has followed through, but it had and they balk at releasing lists of the ad- methamphetamine-related toxins, said meth trial hygenist certifies they are safe for occu- to be cleaned and tested twice before it met dresses of dwellings and motel rooms in- cooks have been killed from exposure to hy- pancy,and property owners must pay for the the safety standards. The other seven volved in meth-lab seizures for fear of in- drochloric acid fumes, phosphine gas and certification. dwellings remain vacant and uninhabitable, curring the wrath of property owners. other byproducts of meth-making. Fumes But in the law’s first year, just four reports he said. “No, we don't go out; it’s just not a pro- also have caused symptoms of drug use, of meth lab busts in this region had been The DEQ’s O’Donnell said other counties gram now. I can't say that's our job,” said, chemical burns and possible developmental filed with the Michigan DEQ. could enforce the law. While Michigan is Rutherford, the Kalamazoo County environ- damage to children who pick up powder The certification of cleanup is supposed to writing its own cleanup standards, the DEQ mental health director. residue from crawling over carpets, sleeping wind up on O’Donnell’s desk at his DEQ of- has agreed to accept cleanup standards from on furnishings and cuddling their own fice, but in the year since the law took effect, other states to demonstrate compliance with Please see POISON, Page 13 8 ❖ September 2005 THE MENACE OF METH PART V Kalamazoo Gazette

Costly cleanup The extent: Residues from methampheta- mine manufacture and use seep into any porous material, includ- ing carpet, furniture and even drywall. Testing: $1,000 to $4,000. Cleanup: Ranges from $2,500 to $20,000. These estimates are for cleaning and removal of materials only. They do not include replacing car- peting and drywall. Gut the place? The solvents and MARK BUGNASKI / GAZETTE acids used to make Barbara Bodine peers into one of her rental properties in Otsego that she and her husband cleaned up after the tenant made meth there. When the Bodines began the cleanup, methamphetamine and they did not know that they were exposing themselves to dangerous chemical residue. the residues of the drug itself are so persistent that researchers have found it saturating dry- wall and clinging to the inside paper of the gyp- Landlords learning expensive lessons sum board. “Just a single By Rosemary Parker learned testing and cleanup would be That’s what property owner Barbara walls, made repairs as needed — and episode of meth smok- [email protected] very expensive. Bodine, 74, of Parchment, did with one rented it out again. ing, a party, can conta- 388-2734 “We heard ballpark figures of $5,000 to of her rental homes. But then, that The cleanup she did was costly minate an entire $15,000. And that only gets it to the point home is in Allegan County. enough — about $800, Bodine recalled. dwelling,” said Phillip andlords beware.” where it can be repainted and recar- She had no idea the reason her young She had anticipated redecorating any- Peterson, vice presi- That’s the warning from a peted,” she said. tenant was behind in his rent payment way,because of the years of smoking by dent of Fibertech In- Hastings homeowner who Their insurance company won’t cover was that he was in jail. the original tenant, she said. dustrial Hygiene Ser- L wants other landlords to know the costs of the cleanup or the lost rent, Nor was she ever notified by authori- She said to this day she has had no vices in Holt. how vulnerable they are. she said. ties that the reason for his incarceration contact with authorities about what hap- Consequently, the cost She may lose a $120,000 rental home So she and her husband are consider- was that he had been using the small pened at the house and had discounted of destroying and replac- because of what the tenants did there ing simply razing the home. rental home in Otsego to cook metham- the rumors she heard because she found ing all contaminated and a new state law that leaves her hold- She also learned her county is one of phetamine. nothing that looked like laboratory porous furniture, fix- ing the bag. the few to enforce the provisions of a “The house did smell, and everything equipment during her cleanup. Clandes- tures, carpeting and dry- She’s willing to tell the story but she state law adopted in April 2004, aimed at in there was a browning color,” Bodine tine methamphetamine labs are gener- wall can be astronomi- doesn’t want her name used. She never protecting subsequent tenants or home said, but she attributed the haze and ally makeshift assemblages of pop bot- cal. Then comes the wanted anything to do with the situation buyers from being hurt by invisible con- smell to the smoking habits of the tles, small pressure tanks and tubing. triple cleaning and she found herself in, and still doesn’t. tamination in homes. man’s mother, who had lived there for In her 40 years as a landlord, “no one retesting, the process termed “remediation.” Police cars in the driveway were the “If we owned this house in any other years before moving out and leaving her has ever said anything about drug labs,” “For an average first inkling of trouble at the rural county we could have done our own son the sole occupant. she said. house, basic remedia- home she and her husband had rented cleanup and had a new tenant in it in a Police removed gas-filled bottles, sol- Nor had the Hastings landlord known tion, you’re looking very to a family with two children. few weeks’ time. But Barry County is at vents, acids, pills and other solid and the risks she faced. easily at 10 to 20 Police told them the house had been the forefront” of enforcement, she said. liquid chemical wastes, said Detective “The landlord becomes the victim. grand,” said Jeff Ros- used to manufacture methamphetamine. “Because our home is located here, we Lt. Ron Wolter, head of Allegan The drug user, the criminal, they end up toni, indoor-air-quality Within days, the homeowners re- are in this situation. ... County’s West Michigan Enforcement in jail or prison, but the landlord be- department manager ceived a letter from the Barry-Eaton “Tenants will sometimes plain disap- team. comes the victim. at PM Environmental, a District Health Department advising pear in the night. (If that had happened) A friend moved the tenant’s belong- “Regardless of the neighborhood, the company with offices in them the house had been vacated and we’d have gone in, we would have ings and told Bodine the man was in location, the caliber of tenants, it could Lansing, Grand Rapids could not be rented again until it met cleaned carpets and rerented it, not jail; Bodine and her husband removed happen to any of them anywhere,” she and Hazel Park. strict environmental standards. They knowing the difference.” the carpet, scrubbed and painted the said. “We won’t be the last ones.” Harmless roadside litter ... Don’t touch Materials used in Danger in the debris of meth clandestine metham- phetamine production Lerg said a blue discoloration deposit money. that may be dangerous at the tank’s nozzle is a clue that It’s just a matter of time, au- to touch include the Drug abusers’ it has been reloaded with ammo- thorities fear, before someone is following: nia. seriously injured. ■ Propane tanks garbage holds Chemical-filled bottles, ther- “Here’s a 10-cent plastic bottle. from barbecue grills, mos bottles, backpacks and cool- We haven’t had a kid pick one up especially if the nozzle toxic surprise ers that may contain meth-re- yet, but ... (some of these chemi- is blue. ■ Two-liter pop bottles lated ingredients also are on the cals) could kill you right where containing liquids or an By Rosemary Parker list of suspicious discards, drug- you’re standing,” said Pete Van oily mix of liquids and [email protected] enforcement officers have Camp, team leader of the St. sediments, or with 388-2734 warned, and a range of deadly Joseph County Area Narcotics stoppers and tubing at unit. gases can be formed when the the top, or with the top itter was once an annoying Van Camp said components waste products mix in a jumble, portions cut off. eyesore. discarded in plastic garbage and discarded meth trash are ■ Coolers, backpacks, L These days it can kill you. bags. being found in the state game thermos jugs or bottles, The remnant trappings of the That’s what caught Sturgis area near Constantine. “So the plastic cartons, insulated clandestine methamphetamine Police Department Cpl. Luis guy that may be out turkey hunt- ... or meth’s toxic leftovers? coffee carafes, electric trade, 2-liter bottles and containers Rosado. He was hospitalized for ing may stumble on a meth lab,” coffee heaters of assorted chemicals, canisters three days in March when he he said. or fire extinguishers. and plastic bins, are popping up got a whiff of hydrogen chlo- Ron Reid, managing director of ■ Plastic garbage bags, along roadsides and in remote ride, an invisible gas formed the Kalamazoo County Road Com- which may contain an forests and fields throughout when two chemicals mixed in a mission, was shocked at a work- assortment of chemicals southwestern Michigan. plastic trash bag, part of a mo- shop on the problem presented by that, when combined, “We’re finding more than we bile meth lab police found. “By the Kalamazoo County Sheriff ’s can generate want to and way more than we the time I got to the hospital, my Department. poisonous gases. used to,” said John Lerg, resource entire airway was closed up and “I’ll tell you how naive I am,” analyst at the 50,000-acre Allegan I was gasping for air,” Rosado Reid said. “This was my first ex- Other signs State Game Area in western Alle- said. posure to the fallout of meth labs Several other items gan County. and the impact on society.Oh, I Detective Lt. Wayne Edington, don’t pose a danger but had no idea.” Lerg said he’s fielded reports of team commander of Southwest they should be reported Since that day,Reid said, his one of the most threatening com- Enforcement Team’s central drug- to police: ponents — discarded propane enforcement squad, said phospho- crews have been made aware of ■ Multiple blister packs the items they may run across, Drive any road in the state and you're likely to see a tanks, those normally used for bar- rous used in another meth-making or cardboard boxes bag of trash someone tossed from a car. But when becue grills. process can create a gas that can and leaders of the groups of vol- of cold tablets containing the bag contains the remnants of a batch of The tanks are dangerous be lethal even in small quantities. unteers who clean roadsides pseudoephedrine; have been alerted so they can methamphetamine, look out. The Allegan County when meth makers reload them Other wastes include acidic and ■ Empty starter fluid or Sheriff's Office took these photos as part of a drug with anhydrous ammonia, a caustic solids and even traces of avoid exposure to dangerous camp stove fuel cans, investigation. At top, a bag lies along a road. When caustic farm chemical that can the drug itself. meth debris. denatured alcohol, multi- officers opened the bag, bottom, they found coffee cause serious chemical burns to Good Samaritans who try to be “I think it’s important that our ple match boxes, and filters full of chemicals strained from the drugs, bat- the hapless person who picks up helpful by picking up litter are at people know what problems there red-stained coffee filters. teries peeled open for their lithium, plastic tubing, the container to remove it from risk, he said. So, too, are children can be, and what they look like,” ■ Smells of ammonia, salt and other signs of meth production. the woods. collecting bottles for the Reid said. cat urine, and solvents.

METH FACT $2,500 Minimum cleanup costs for meth contamination in a building,not including carpet and drywall replacement Kalamazoo Gazette THE MENACE OF METH PART VI September 2005 ❖ 9

MARK BUGNASKI / GAZETTE Scott Filkins, 36, was arrested after taking methamphetamine for years and spent eight months in the Allegan County Jail on a meth conviction. Released from jail last week, he says there was a point in his life when meth was more important to him than his own children. ‘I’ve lost everything’ After years of addiction,man comes clean to regain his daughter’s trust

By Barbara Walters That night, he said, he threw away the dope. But frustrated and angry. Once in jail, Filkins wrote multiple letters to bwalters@kalamazoogazette it was too late. Filkins was arrested the next day He’d yell. He’d smash the windshields of cars. the county prosecutor and judge to try to get ac- 388-8563 and later convicted on methamphetamine charges. Finally the woman left. cepted into the county’s drug-diversion pro- His job record was as erratic as his relation- gram. cott Filkins had everything he wanted He spent eight months in the Allegan County ships. His motive was his daughter in life. Jail and was released last week on the condition “I made excuses not to go to work,” he said. In- Alexis. “She’s the whole reason I’m going “I always wanted a Harley,and I had that he continue his sentence in a meth-diver- stead, he and his friends would spend hours to- through this,” he said. S two of them. I lost them, just because I sion treatment program. gether smoking meth, “in people’s basements, in Filkins was one of the few people accepted was always getting high. “When I think about it all, I’ve lost everything wooded areas, and upstairs,” he said. into the diversion program. “I always wanted a wrecker business, and I got I’d wanted,” Filkins said in an interview from It wasn’t as if he had no ambitions, no dreams. In exchange for a shorter sentence, people in it. I lost it, just because I was always getting the jail. “I messed it all up.” Rather, that spark was being slowly eclipsed by the program go through a succession of treat- high.” his use of drugs. ments that include frequent drug testing, coun- Filkins had a live-in friend, Dawn Brown, who Time lost He loved to play the guitar, and he views the seling and classes. used to cook methamphetamine with him in his Filkins — who is 36 and the father of three, in- death of his stepfather,who taught him to play, It’s especially hard to avoid old drug contacts, Otsego kitchen. cluding an 18-year-old daughter who has a child as one of the most devastating experiences of and some people have tried to contact him, She’s gone too, burned to death last year in a of her own — was 14 and a student at Otsego his life. Filkins said this week from a relative’s house, Kalamazoo mobile home that exploded with a Middle School when an uncle offered him a “That was huge, very huge,” he said of the where he is staying. “boom like a cannon,” a witness told police. chance to try a little of what he called “speed.” loss,which he suffered when he was 22. “It’s hard not to talk to somebody you’ve hung The explosion that killed her, authorities have Filkins licked his finger and dipped it into the Skilled at engine repair, Filkins often thought out with for years,” he said. ruled, was the result of meth cooking gone bad. bag. he would like to be a full-time motorcycle me- But he’s trying to keep busy.Two classes and Filkins’ only son, now 12, is lost to him as well. “I liked the way it made me feel,” he recalled. chanic. He eventually earned enough working as three counseling sessions a week for the drug-di- He gave up legal rights to the boy years ago, His mother was an alcoholic, he said, and he had a trucker to buy his own wrecker. version program help fill the time. when meth was literally more important to him no relationship with his father. “It drowned out It was a dream come true. This week, he’s going to call Alexis, he said, than his own flesh and blood. the pain.” But after three days on one of his metham- and set up a time to visit. “I would say I was going to pick him up and For $25, he could buy enough meth to last a phetamine highs, he fell asleep at the wheel of “I want to explain to her everything that hap- then I wouldn’t show up.” day and a half, but it seemed like less time. the truck and rolled it twice on W Avenue. While pened and how I got in trouble.” It wasn’t until Filkins realized he was losing “It makes time just fly by.I could be working he survived, the wrecker didn’t. He worries about what he’ll say — how much the trust of his daughter Alexis, who was 8 years on my truck all night. It went like that,” he said, That’s how his life went: One close call after or how little to tell her, because she’s only 9 old, that he was moved to cut his ties to meth. snapping his finger. another, one friend after another dying, getting years old. It was last fall, and he’d called Alexis, who The years flew by as well. He fell in severe burns in a methamphetamine fire or But he knows that this time he has to show up lives with her mother in Kalamazoo. love.Women fell in love with him, but the rela- going to prison. and face the truth. “I was already high,” he said. “I told her I’d tionships always faded as the trust drained away. “It was getting closer to me,”he said. “I have to talk to her,” he said. “It’s not going pick her up in about an hour.” It was a promise “You lie about what you’re doing,” he said. to be easy.” he’d made and broken often. He lived with one woman in Mattawan for five Not easy Looking back through the years of lost trucks, This time she called him on it. years, and she begged him to stop using the When Filkins was arrested in October, police lost girlfriends and lost jobs, Filkins feels the “Are you really going to show up, Daddy?” she drug, threatening to leave if he didn’t. found a methamphetamine lab in the trunk and most pain over his children. asked. “I tried,” he said. “I even told her I quit.” front seat of his car and additional parapherna- “It kind of makes you feel like ----, to betray He was stunned. Tears flowed down his face. But after a day without a dose, he’d be shaky, lia at his home in Otsego. them like that,” he said.

FOR HELP AND INFORMATION

The State of Michigan offers a Hazelden Foundation runs Nar-Anon of Michigan, for National Council on Alco- National Institute on Drug Web site dedicated to fighting treatment centers and con- family members and friends YOU CAN HELP holism and Drug Dependence Abuse, Division of Epidemiology meth, including studies on ducts research on addiction. of addicts, holds weekly (NCADD) fights the and Prevention Research offers ■ Report tips addiction and information of ■ CO 3, PO Box 11, Center City, meetings locally. stigma and the disease of alco- resources geared toward stu- statewide on meth labs interest to law enforcement MN 55012-0011. ■ (877) 447-4479. holism and other drug dents, parents, teachers and (866) METH-TIP agencies, property owners ■ (800) 257-7810. ■ www.naranonmi.org and has affiliates nationwide. health professionals on a wide and health officials. ■ www.hazelden.org Local drug team ■ 12 West 21st St., Seventh range of drug-abuse issues. ■ www.michigan.gov/meth Narcotics Anonymous contacts Floor, New York, NY 10010. ■ 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 9A- Join Together runs prevention Worldwide offers information ■ West Michigan ■ (800) NCA-CALL. 53, Rockville, MD 20857. Meth Awareness and and treatment programs and for addicts and treatment Enforcement Team: ■ http://www.ncadd.org ■ www.nida.nih.gov Prevention Project of South conducts advocacy professionals and has links to (616) 994-6520 Dakota is a grass-roots on behalf of recovering addicts. chapters worldwide. ■ Southwest Enforcement National Crime Prevention Office of Minority Health organization combating the ■ 441 Stuart St., Seventh ■ P.O. Box 9999, Van Nuys,CA Team: (269) 962-1225 Council ■ Rockwall II Building, Suite spread of meth with Floor, Boston, MA 02116. 91409. ■ Van Buren Narcotics ■ Fulfillment Center, P.O. Box 1, 1000, 5600 Fishers Lane, information and resources. ■ (617) 437-1500. ■ (818) 780-3951. Enforcement Team: 100 Church St., Amsterdam, Rockville, MD 20857. ■ www.mappsd.org/index.htm ■ www.jointogether.org ■ www.na.org/ (888)273-8113 and NY 12010. ■ (800) 444-6472. Southwest Michigan Area Nar- (888) 833-8114 ■ www.ncpc.org ■ www.omhrc.gov Centers for Disease Control Marin Institute works to pre- cotics Anonymous offers a re- For more information: National Health Information and Prevention offers a vent drinking problems. gional meeting www.michigan.gov/meth Center puts health profession- Rational Recovery Systems is searchable database of CDC ■ 24 Belvedere St., schedule online. als and consumers who have a self-recovery system for publications. San Rafael, CA 94901. ■ (269) 382-NANA or health questions in touch with people with a wide range of ■ 1600 Clifton Road NE, At- ■ (415) 456-5692. (866) 382-NANA. the organizations that are best addictions. lanta, GA 30333. ■ www.marininstitute.org ■ www.michiganna.org/ 20847-2345. able to provide answers. ■ P.O. Box 800, Lotus, CA ■ (800) 311-3435. kalamazoo/ ■ (800) 729-6686 or (800) ■ P.O. Box 1133, Washington, 95651. ■ www.cdc.gov/cdc.aspx National Clearinghouse for 487-4889 TDD. DC 20013-1133. ■ (530) 621-2667. Alcohol and Drug Information ■ http://www.health.org ■ (301) 565-4167. ■ www.rational.org/recovery ■ P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, MD ■ www.health.gov/nhic/ 10 ❖ September 2005 THE MENACE OF METH PART VI Kalamazoo Gazette

METH Percent of meth patients at Gilmore Treatment Center who failed to complete treatment FACT 17 in 2004,the highest percentage among the different categories of substance abusers.

Treatment options Meth addicts can get treatment through resi- dential programs such as those offered at the Jim Gilmore Jr. Treat- ment Center in Kalama- zoo. Allegan County offers the only jailbased, meth- specific treatment pro- gram in southwestern Michigan. Van Buren County offers a jail-based drug-treat- ment program, and Cass County is expected to unveil a similar program in July. Area meth pro- grams include the fol- lowing: Allegan County Started: Late 2003. Funded: Initially funded by state grant money, the program now is funded by a blend of state, federal and local grants. Program highlights: The first of its kind in the state, the meth-specific program is based on cognitive-behavioral training and includes in- tensive supervision, random drug testing and group and in- dividual counseling ses- sions both in and out of jail. Participants start at the bottom of the fivephase program and MARK BUGNASKI / GAZETTE graduate to the next Loren “Skip” Kiel, residential coordinator at the Jim Gilmore Jr. Treatment Center, hugs a recovering meth user. Kiel said about half of the people treated at the Gilmore cen- phase by successfully ter are women, many of whom start using meth to lose weight or gain a boost of energy. completing requirements. Participants must remain drug-free or they return to jail. How well does it work? From Oct. 1, 2004, to June, out of 254 drug tests administered, only Treatment offers hope for addicts two were positive, both for marijuana and both By Bill Krasean to continue in- from the same person. Treating more for methamphetamine abuse tense outpatient One person was ddicts arrive at the treatment treatment and par- Treatment admissions for people age 12 and older using methamphetamine soared in the 1990s re-arrested in Phase center highly agitated and ir- ticipate in Alco- Two; one quit. ritable, riding a methampheta- and was also a larger percentage of all admissions during the same period. holics Anonymous Source: Sgt. Mike A mine high that may have U.S. methamphetamine/ Total methamphetamine/ Admissions by or Narcotics Larsen. started days before. admissions amphetamine admissions primary substance of abuse Anonymous. “Some of them are really paranoid,” per 100,000 population in Michigan “AA and NA are said Dr. Michael Liepman, a psychiatrist 1992 2002 the best support Van Buren County 60 Most recent 450 Most recent Started: Fall 2003. and medical director of the Jim Gilmore data available data available 427 systems out Funded: State grant. Jr. Treatment Center in Kalamazoo. 52 400 Alcohol Alcohol there,” he said. 50 59.3% 42.9% Program highlights: “A “They blow things out of proportion. 350 A number of na- New Direction,” a cogni- They think that anyone could be dis- tional studies 40 300 tive-behavioral treatment guised as a cop and they might get Opiates Opiates have found that curriculum, is not a caught. Violence on their part is not un- 250 17.6% meth addicts have 30 11.8% meth-specific treatment, heard of.” 200 Cocaine Cocaine relapse rates no but almost all program A potent, long-lasting and highly ad- 161 17.3% 12.8% worse or better 20 150 participants have dictive stimulant, meth presents a Marijuana Marijuana than people ad- methamphetamine as unique problem to those in the treat- 10 100 5.9% 15.1% dicted to other their primary substance 10 Meth Meth ment field scrambling to find effective 50 drugs. Re- of abuse. Participants ways to help those who are hooked. 1.3% 6.6% searchers at start in jail and continue “The crisis is that we don’t know yet 0 0 Other Other George Mason ’92 ’94 ’96 ’98’00 ’02 ’92 ’94 ’96 ’98’00 ’02 5% in one of three commu- how to get addicted people interested in 4.4% University in nity groups after their re- their treatment,” said Sally Reames, ex- SOURCE: and Mental Health Services Administration AP Fairfax, Va., cite lease. There is frequent, ecutive director of Michiana Addic- studies that show random drug testing. tions and Prevention Services, the par- gency room after being injured in such Kiel said about half of the people the people addicted Work focuses on ent corporation for the Jim Gilmore Jr. things as falls, auto wrecks or meth-lab Gilmore Center treats are women, to alcohol and opiates such as “changing deeply held Treatment Center. heroin tend to remain addicted patterns of maladpative fires. Injured users are brought to the many of whom use meth for weight Even if an addict is accepted for longer than those on meth and co- thinking.” Participants ER by police, ambulance or friends, in control and to provide the energy they treatment, sources of federal, state and caine. must remain drug-free or part because Borgess has a psychiatric think they need to meet “their hectic local funding for substance-abuse pro- unit. lifestyle.” Alcohol and opiates tend to calm they return to jail. users, while such as meth How well does it work? grams have declined steadily during “Meth use is often “They see meth as and cocaine keep users awake, anx- Still unclear, though it the past 15 years. That means the 28-day a precursor to a a way to give more Per capita treatment ious and paranoid, they said. After a appears that more than inpatient programs of the 1980s now mental breakdown,” time to their chil- The per capita rate for meth- few years of the hectic lifestyle, 70 percent of those who are 10-to-14-day programs. And two Doster said. “When dren,” Kiel said. related treatment admissions* those who don’t die often switch to make it through the weeks aren’t enough to change lifestyle they don’t sleep for “What they don’t indicates Van Buren and calming drugs or quit, researchers jail-based portion remain patterns. two or three days, see are the other To top it off,many meth users are so they can develop St. Joseph counties have been parts of their lives said. active in the program. hard hit by the drug. Compared exhausted after days of frenzied activ- psychological prob- that are falling Studies cited by a Department of Source: David Fatzinger, to the state average, nearly ity that when they are accepted for lems. Violence, too.” apart. They have to Veterans Affairs medical center in director of substance- all southwestern Michigan treatment they often sleep through the While violence is use more and more Pennsylvania and Brown University abuse services, Van counties are higher. Buren-Cass District first few days of the funding allowed by not common, “it meth to get the in Providence, R.I., show that one- Health Department. insurance or Medicaid, said Loren does take a lot of same effect.” year abstinence rates for meth and Per capita County admissions** other drugs are 40 percent to 60 per- “Skip” Kiel, residential coordinator at people to hold them Van Buren 701.5 Kiel said the cent after treatment. Fifteen percent the Gilmore Center. It’s the only resi- down” when they St. Joseph 474.2 treatment method Cass County to 30 percent of those treated suffer dential treatment center for meth ad- are out of control, Allegan 303.8 for meth abuse is The Van Buren-Cass relapses, but not to daily use, the stud- dicts in southwestern Michigan. said Dr. Cass 287.6 the same as for District Health Depart- ies found. Scott Gibson, an Branch 225 other drugs — a 12- ment will launch “A New Studies have shown that meth use Growing problem ER physician at Barry 202.6 step program and Direction” in July. causes abnormalities in portions of Source: David Fatzinger, “Four years ago the Michigan State Bronson Methodist Kalamazoo 182.3 psychological coun- Police came to us to present a program Hospital. Jackson 56.2 seling. “That’s all the brain devoted to attention, emo- director of substance- tions and memory. abuse services, Van on methamphetamine, and I dismissed “Thankfully,we Berrien 51.7 we have now, al- Reames said that the “trick is to get Buren-Cass District it as not a concern,” Kiel said. “We can do things to Muskegon 38.8 though we are try- meth users into treatment and get Health Department. weren’t seeing a lot of people. That has calm them down,” Calhoun 34.1 ing to develop treat- changed. such as giving them Kent 20.5 ments specifically them interested in sobriety so that the We are seeing more and more people Valium or other Statewide 38 for methampheta- brain can heal in certain ways.” Kalamazoo County all the time. Meth is available and sedatives, he said. mines,” he said. One study at the University of Cali- * 2000-04 combined totals. No meth-specific pro- cheap to manufacture.” Hospitals do not Kiel said physi- fornia at Davis, reported in the April ** Rate is per 100,000 people, gram. Narcotics Anony- Kiel said he had no specific numbers specifically track cal-withdrawal issue of the journal Archives of Gen- mous is offered once a using2000 Census data. on the increase, because addicts often the number of meth- symptoms from eral. week with volunteer Source: State of Michigan GAZETTE abuse substances in addition to meth. related admissions. meth — sweats, Psychiatry,found that the brain leaders. “This facility “The (meth-use) problem has been upset stomach — adapts somewhat to the damage caused does not have the around for years,” said Dr. Millard Difficult first steps are primarily asso- by meth use, but only after a person staffing or room for When people on meth and other ciated with sleep deprivation and not has abstained from meth use for one or rehabilitation programs Doster, an emergency-room physi- drugs are admitted to the Gilmore withdrawal from the drug itself. more years. that could potentially cian, but it is now attracting more at- Center’s residential treatment center, Meth, he said, is difficult to treat in Researchers say that once they deter- assist our inmates.” tention from law enforcement officials. they go through a detoxification mine what parts of the brain are dam- Source: Lt. Gail “A lot of the people we see are on not part because of the damage it causes to process. aged by meth, they may be able to de- Sampsell. just meth but alcohol or other drugs,” the brain. “All drugs do brain damage, he said. “That’s when they are at their worst,” but not like this,” he said. sign better treatment programs. “They are out of it. The lights are on, Liepman said. They can be irritable, ag- For the Gilmore Center’s Kiel, the St. Joseph County but nobody’s home.” itated, anxious, confused, angry and Changing lives problem is pragmatic. Attempts to fol- No jail-based meth- So how do addicts end up in treat- paranoid and show impaired judgment. Residential treatment is only the first low up on people who have been specific treatment ment? At Borgess Medical Center, meth “A week or two later, they are a lot step in rehabilitation, Kiel said. Once treated can prove frustrating. “Some- programs. users typically show up in the emer- better, as with any addiction,” he said. clients are discharged, they are urged times they just disappear,” he said. Kalamazoo Gazette THE MENACE OF METH PART VII September 2005 ❖ 11

What does it cost to bust up and clean up a meth lab? METH Because of the physical and environmental dangers associated with methamphetamine How many officers are involved? FACTS labs, law enforcement agencies have had to invest significant taxpayer dollars in the proper Depending on the size and nature of the meth lab, one officer or all seven on the equipment and training to keep their personnel and the public safe. Every meth-lab bust team could be called in. An average home meth lab involves five officers, wearing is different, so it is hard to say exactly how much meth-lab busts cost taxpayers, but here different levels of protective gear. Here, county officers model the different levels of is a sampling of some of the costs* Kalamazoo County is underwriting: uniform protection required, from minimum (at center) to maximum (second from left). 0 $2,000 $14 $35 Self-contained breathing One-time use Cartridge for apparatus borrowed from protective air-purifying Number of fire department chemical suit respirator (blast-resistant). Multiple (for use in (one-time meth users tanks are often used. high-level meth use) lab cleanup) sentenced in 2000 to $140 Nomex fire- Kalamazoo resistant fatigues (for use in midlevel Probation meth-lab cleanup) $70 Work fatigues Enhancement for use in low-level meth-lab cleanup Program, a $3 One-time use protective gloves residential $0.50 program for One-time use protective felons that inner gloves provides $7 substance One-time $100 use Fire-resistant boots protective abuse (provided as part of boots state certification) treatment

$8 Field testing kit (tests for ammonia) $7 15 One-time use $2,300 $1,000 anhydrous ammonia Air-monitoring device to test for Video camera to test kit combustibles and hazardous record evidence Number of $1 substances in the air at crime scene $350 Chemical- meth users Materials to stock a $5 sample meth-lab-response kit Other costs that must be factored in $170 Ammonia bottles used Pay for as many as seven officers certified to work the scene of a meth lab. Time, effort Air-sampling tubes in sampling and resources of the fire department when it is called out for a bust that requires sentenced to $2,000 pump (used in (used in unknown dealing with explosive hazards. Specialized training and certification for seven officers. Cost per case when the hazardous-materials team has testing contents gathering liquids (one- Special vehicles to transport equipment to scene and known liquids away from scene. KPEP in to be called in from Grand Rapids (as required by OSHA of found samples) time use, per Cost mitigators: Some uniforms and training are provided by the state of Michigan and when certain chemicals are present) cylinders) bottle) the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration at no direct cost to the county. Some 2004 *Some dollar figures are estimates equipment is funded by forfeiture money the team generates. Source: Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department; Michigan State Police PHOTO BY MELANIE MAXWELL, GRAPHIC BY KRIS KINKADE / GAZETTE 31 Meth’simpacthardtomeasure Number of meth users Spreading the message cause paranoia and impulsive behavior their anhydrous ammonia tanks from sentenced to Local agencies combat Since then, Hoyer and his colleagues in that leads to assault, said Roberts Kengis, thieves who use the chemical to make KPEP in first neighboring counties have hosted train- assistant prosecutor in Allegan County. meth have received conflicting recom- meth with information ing sessions for school administrators, But the resulting firearms charge might mendations from various authoritative five months postal carriers, social workers, utility not reflect that meth involvement. sources. workers, home-health-care providers, Kengis estimated 20 to 30 percent of the The U.S. Environmental Protection of 2005 and public awareness hospice volunteers, cable-TV installers, felonies he charges would be related to Agency in a chemical safety alert advises meth in ways that wouldn’t show on the By Rosemary Parker Realtors, road-commission workers, and keeping tanks under lock and key in well- records. [email protected] drug company employees — anyone who lit areas. One state’s Extension Service of- So even though jail statistics suggest 388-2734 might witness labs, be endangered by fice says to move tanks in close at night about 10 percent of inmates are there be- them or be targeted for meth-related and consider disabling them. The Fertil- cause of meth, the actual percentage crime. The efforts have included: izer Institute says to keep tanks far from outhwestern Michigan police are may be much higher. 51 ● Teaching community members how buildings but in plain sight. becoming seasoned soldiers in the “That is one of the difficulties,” said to spot meth labs, where to report them war on methamphetamine. Sgt. Mike Larsen, program coordinator Financing the war Average They’re busting more meth labs and how to keep themselves safe. S for Allegan County’s jail-based meth di- All efforts in combating the meth ● Asking retailers who carry cold med- than ever and are working to spread the version program, because it makes it number of icine that contains pseudoephedrine for plague take money: enforcing the law, word about the drug’s rising threat. hard for law enforcement officials to help identifying potential meth makers. prosecuting suspects and incarcerating But like all soldiers, they need the right track trends and document the size of days all weapons: current and reliable data, good Pseudoephedrine is the active ingredient them, treating addicts, safeguarding the the problem. coordination among police agencies and in meth. environment, coordinating agencies’ ef- But worse, from Larsen’s point of view, convicts money. ● Showing presentations on the conse- forts, sharing information and maintain- it stalls treatment for people who need it. As meth-related crimes increase here, quences and dangers of meth to inter- ing data bases. spend in “Unless a person is specifically as they have in states from Oregon to In- With other drugs, agents can go after ested community groups. charged with a meth offense, I can’t get diana, figuring out solutions for those ● the assets of drug dealers to help fund KPEP Escorting school children through them into the program and get reim- three issues becomes more pressing. enforcement actions. It’s different with county jails to see where experimenting bursement (from the treatment grant),” “We don’t have to guess where this (the meth because there are few street sales with meth might lead them. he said. “He has to have a string of meth meth problem) is going. ● — the drug is used primarily by the peo- Lobbying lawmakers for money to offenses before I can get him into the pro- We know where it is going,” said Rick ple who make it. help farmers victimized by meth-related gram and use the grant money.It’s defi- Hoyer, Allegan police chief. Detective Daniel Perkins, of the Van theft and vandalism, and testifying be- nitely an obstacle.” He said if Michigan doesn’t take a fore legislative committees fashioning Buren County Sheriff's Office narcotics 81 Another obstacle: reporting of meth tough stance now, the state not only will unit, said, “... with cocaine, crack, new laws to help limit the spread. lab busts across the state varies from lose ground to criminals, it also could be- ● heroin, marijuana, there we can do Counseling addicts, helping their agency to agency. Average come vulnerable to a flood of meth busi- seizures, get money,and when we bust a children and scrambling for funding for The Drug Enforcement Agency Web ness driven here from surrounding states user we can move up the hierarchy. treatment programs. site says 157 methamphetamine labs were number of that succeed in toughening laws and en- “With meth, all there is is the $25 Ford Today,many of the southwestern discovered in Michigan in 2004. State po- forcement. Escort. You’re looking at a guy with no days meth Michigan law enforcement officers and lice records show 209. Local agencies re- teeth and covered with sores and that’s public officials who first noticed the port dozens per county,which would The early signs him, the top guy.There’s no place to go.” convicts spreading problem of meth serve on the make the total much higher. Hoyer saw the beginning of the meth State and county task force members Michigan Methamphetamine Task Force, The trouble is that reporting criteria epidemic four years ago. When violent can’t put a price tag on the meth prob- spend in which is run through the state health de- and practices can vary from agency to crime and property crime began to in- lem, said Nancy Bennett, coordinator of partment’s Office of Drug Control Policy. agency — what is classified as a meth KPEP crease in Allegan, he looked for a com- the state’s meth task force. Task force members include representa- lab in one county may be termed “meth mon denominator. Because funds come from so many tives from public health, education, envi- ingredients” in another, an explanation “The crimes were committed by people pots, and services from so many agen- ronmental protection and other agencies. not included in various reports and either high on meth or to support their Michigan is studying Van Buren Web sites. cies, it’s just one more task the group meth habit,” Hoyer said. “We checked County’s methods for helping drug-en- “Our officers call it a meth lab when doesn’t have time to do. “It’s a question with the sheriff ’s department to see if dangered children as it designs statewide they find the components; Michigan that has come up many times at our na- they were seeing a similar trend, and protocols. And southwestern Michigan State Police only call it a lab when meth tional meetings, but there are so many they had.” counties are piloting programs for meth is actively being cooked,” Kengis said. agencies involved,” she said. Allegan County Prosecutor Fred An- treatment and diversion. “That’s why county numbers are higher. Other publicly funded agencies feel the derson says 35 percent of the county’s “I fear people will underestimate the pinch, too. felonies are methrelated. The need for numbers level of the problem in our county.... The According to Dr. Richard Tooker, med- Five years ago, there was hardly any To keep the situation in check, public (state) numbers don’t show how many ical director of the health departments meth-related crime. officials and police need reliable num- in Kalamazoo and Allegan counties, “We Other counties, too, noticed meth’s sur- places were busted where chemicals and bers to gauge progress in getting arrests components were found, which in my certainly have no line-item budget for reptitious invasion. By spring 2002, and convictions, choking off meth sup- anything in terms of response to southwestern Michigan law enforcement opinion more accurately reflects the level plies, comparing data with other agen- methamphetamine, and the same thing agencies had created a temporary task of the problem in our county.” cies and monitoring the effectiveness of applies to correctional health care. force to attack the problem The Internet, a potentially powerful treatment programs. “Our county jails are simply not and, by June 2002, had secured a ally in the war on meth, also can add to For example: How many people in jail funded to deal with an onslaught of med- $250,000 federal grant for methampheta- the confusion. in Allegan, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and ical problems that didn’t exist five and mine enforcement. It allows speedy sharing of research Van Buren counties are convicted or sus- six years ago.” Also that year, the state’s Office of findings, and easy links to information pected of meth-related crimes, including David O’Donnell, supervisor of Depart- Drug Control Policy convened a summit from other states that have dealt with burglary,theft and assault? ment of Environmental Quality’s eight- of leaders in law enforcement, public meth. But even some government Web The answer: It’s hard to say. county Kalamazoo District, said he has health, agriculture and other disciplines sites lack specific dates, making it diffi- Of 847 inmates in jail on April 18 in more environmental contamination sites at a meth meeting in Grand Rapids. cult to tell which information is most those four counties, 89 were there for than he can deal with. Michigan State Police sent officers to current. Information is cut and pasted meth-specific deeds, including possession, “Add meth (contamination cases) on southwestern Michigan to learn about from site to site, usually without attri- top of that and you are overtaxing an al- meth and meth components. Metham- manufacture or sale of meth. Inmates bution, making it difficult to judge the phetamine was declared in a state strat- jailed for crimes committed to get money credibility of the source. And there is ready overtaxed system,” he said. “Try- egy report of July 2002 to be “the No. 1 for meth would not be listed among in- no guarantee that Internet sites follow ing to do the old sites was difficult; try- drug problem in Southwest Michigan.” mates held for meth-related crimes. any authenticity standards. ing to keep up with the old ones plus do In another example, meth use may Consequently,farmers trying to protect the new ones becomes a daunting task.” ❖ 12 September 2005 ? THE MENACE OF METH PART VIII Kalamazoo Gazette How bad canitget?

By Rosemary Parker [email protected] 388-2734

f Michigan follows the methamphetamine pattern seen in mazoo County is “easy on meth,” offi- of my friends I went to school with. I cers said. think what (this county) looked like in some other Midwestern states, the worst is yet to come. Police are already seeing signs that the ’80s and see what it looks like, 20 Just this year, area law enforcement officers have con- these drug operations, which had prolif- years later.” erated in the rural areas of southwest- Even if the controls work and every tended with high-speed chases endangering other mo- ern Michigan, are encroaching into one of the home labs were to close to- I urban areas. morrow, drug dealers might simply take torists and pedestrians, hazardous materials dumped along Last weekend, a retired couple return- over where do-it-yourselfers now reign, roadsides for anyone to stumble upon, apartments and houses ing home in their wheelchairs watched as officers said. a car went at highway speeds down Rose ruined by clandestine labs, and children neglected and abused Street, slammed into oncoming traffic at Reason for optimism Paterson Street, then careened into their The new U.S. Drug Enforcement Ad- at the hands of meth-addicted parents. Kalamazoo home. Meth lab chemicals and ministration resident agent in Grand equipment were found in the car’s trunk Rapids said, “I’ve seen it a lot worse in But based on what they’ve heard from mation that a substance really was meth, and the 18-year-old driver was hauled off other places.” other states, who have dealt with meth and the inability of Kalamazoo County to to jail. The driver has an extensive history After 17 years with the DEA, Michael longer, police here are braced for more dole out meaningful sanctions to con- of methamphetamine use and is wanted Yasenchak said he takes comfort where shootings, murders, apartments clouded victed offenders. in Allegan County on warrants there for he can find it. with toxic fumes, homes ruined, chil- Oddly enough, this is one area where meth production. “Meth is not the No. 1 drug ofchoice in dren tormented — plus jumps in iden- the county’s highly praised drug-court But the situation may get worse in Michigan.” tity theft, property theft and shoplifting, model may be counterproductive. rural areas as well. Alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and even as well as an increase in the incidence The county’s drug court allows people to Daniel Perkins, a detective with the heroin are still used by far more people, rate of AIDS and other sexually trans- defer their jail sentences as long as they re- Van Buren County Sheriff ’s Office nar- according to Yasenchak. The trouble is, mitted diseases. main clean of drugs; if random testing cotics unit, cites deaths of police offi- meth users, unlike most drug addicts, An anonymous call to the Kalamazoo shows they have resumed drug use, they go cers and witnesses in other states. don’t quietly destroy only themselves. Gazette this past week came from a citi- to jail. Perkins said he fears increased meth- They take the entire community down zen who reported seeing one of these But even the threat of jail is not enough related violence here, especially against with them. meth-making labs, adding, “They’ve got to break the cycle of a drug as addictive as law enforcement officers. Not only are “It’s a struggle for people to compre- guns.” meth, officers said. Meth users may sleep more arrest subjects carrying guns, but hend this is a drug addict who is a com- “A lot of people have no idea ... the mag- through short jail sentences in the long “we are hearing a lot from the meth munity problem,” said nitude of this problem,” said state Sen. crashes that typically follow the long highs community telling us to be careful Eric Pessell,environmental health di- Patricia Birkholz, R-Saugatuck, whose of the drug. around this one or that one because they rector of the Barry-Eaton District vantage point from her district has Then, when they’re released, they are very paranoid.” Health Department. prompted her action on new laws aimed plunge back into drug abuse. When he hears meth users are men- “It’s the entire community that’s left at curbing meth. The only hope many meth users have, tioning him by name, he said, it is un- with environmental contamination, para- The trend in recent months has been officers said, is to be forcibly removed nerving — especially in view of the noid violence, property damage and from rural counties to urban areas and from the drug long enough to rid it from murders of police officers in other tainted housing.” Kalamazoo County may be the next bat- their systems so they can begin to want to states and the paranoia he encounters in The only real hope lies in drying up tleground. seek help. local suspects. the market, Yasenchak said. “I’d be interested in seeing what Kalama- “Unfortunately,people engaged in the But wherever users and manufactur- The message: Meth is not something zoo looks like in another 24 months,” said meth business know ers choose to operate, the collateral dam- people want in their lives. Kevin Hains, parole probation agent from Kalamazoo County is a great place to age is severe — from crime to costly Will people get that message? the Michigan Department of Corrections do business because we have no room in property contamination. “It’s hard to tell,” Yasenchak said, for Van Buren County. the inn,” Kalamazoo County Adminis- “(Meth) is so addictive it’s spreading adding, “Who would have ever thought Hains, for the record, is predicting a trator Don Gilmer said of the lack of like a sore,” said Van in the Midwest, the heartland,” that “disaster.” space in the county jail for lengthy sen- Buren County Sheriff ’s Office Detec- there would be a methamphetamine epi- He said there are two factors working tences for drug offenders. tive Lt. Bryan Stump. demic in the first place? against Kalamazoo County when it “Unless we can hold them six “I remember hearing about clandes- “I don’t see a shining light,” admitted comes to meth manufacture: the weeks- months,” there’s not much that can be tine labs on old police shows,” Perkins Perkins, the Van Buren long lag between arrest and prosecution done to help meth users, he said. said. “I never expected to see it here. County sheriff ’s detective. “I’m just while officials wait for laboratory confir- So what’s the word on the street? Kala- “And now I’m seeing the devastation hopeful, just hopeful.”

Rural meth epidemic spreads South Dakotans cooperate into cities,suburbs to fight meth By Bill Krasean and Prevention Project of South Dakota, a By Barbara Walters “The reality is that these labs could and do statewide program that focuses on raising [email protected] blow up,” Buffenbarger said. oxic tentacles from methamphetamine awareness, continuing education and provid- 388-8563 The cooking of meth is one aspect of the abuse spread through so many parts of a ing resources to assist in the war against drug that makes it more dangerous than T community that the only way to effec- meth. nce a drug of farmlands and small other drugs, said Buffenbarger, a police offi- tively fight the scourge is a communitywide re- A half-decade later, South Dakota has not seen towns, methamphetamine has seeped cer for 26 years. sponse, says Darcy Jensen. an increase in the use of meth, Jensen says. The O into southwestern Michigan’s cities “Making it endangers nonusers, especially “The police alone can’t take care of the prob- flat rate may mean an actual decrease in use, she and suburbs, including those of Kalamazoo in neighborhoods,” he said. “I can’t tell you lem,” says Jensen, a drug prevention and treat- says, since the statewide awareness program has County. the number of people who have set themselves ment counselor who helped found the Meth meant that more people know what to look for and In the 1900 block of March Street in an on fire and put it out before it’s spread.” Awareness and Prevention Project based in are more likely than before to call the police. urban Kalamazoo neighborhood, meth was The cooking has almost become as addictive Sioux Falls, S.D. “Any time you increase awareness being cooked in a badly vented attic space as the drug itself, with users swapping recipes “It takes a broad, communitybased ap- there will be more calls to police,” she above a bedroom where three children and methods, Buffenbarger said. proach.We came to the conclusion quickly says. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean slept,according to Kalamazoo Valley Enforce- “It’s a high in itself for them to batch out, as in South Dakota that we needed to pool you are not successful. ment Team records from an April 2004 raid. our resources and de- You could be very successful. they call it.” ■ On the Web In the 11000 block of HJ Avenue in a suburban velop a cooperative “When you educate people they will Within Kalamazoo County,the majority of www.mappsd.org setting of homes priced at $350,000 and above, meth labs are within the city limits,and most plan. see garbage not as just garbage, for ex- aluminum cans with holes drilled in the bottom have been in the Edison neighborhood on the “Meth is a drug that ample, but the residue from a meth lab. were among the telltale signs of meth cooking city’s southeast side, according to Buffen- ripples into so many lives that you need Awareness means you will see an in- to take the whole environment into ac- that officials found in March 2002 and soon con- barger and Capt. Darcy Jensen crease in reports initially.” count.” firmed. Larry Belen, director of KVET. Meth lab Meth-contaminated garbage is not Police, courts, retailers, hospitals, treat- In the 8400 block of Douglas Avenue in De- raids in the city have included one in March just a tip-off to a casual observer, but a threat to ment centers, local and state governments, cember 2001, Cooper 2003 on a house in the 1000 block of Russell garbage haulers. Haulers need to know what to child protective services, farmers and even look for in curbside waste since meth lab debris Township firefighters arrived at a home to Street, where meth was being cooked on hot garbage haulers — they all have to join forces, can cause fires, she says. find flames from ether being heated on a gas plates, and another in April 2004 in the 600 says Jensen, who began to see meth as the The agricultural community,too, is participat- stove to cook meth. Five children weresleep- block of most troubling drug for many of her clients ing in an awareness and prevention program. ing in the next room, according to Sgt. Martin Egleston Avenue,where rock salt was among in the mid- to late- 1990s. A Pierre, S.D., firm even makes a special lock Buffenbarger of KVET. the evidence investigators found of a meth lab. And the cases keep accumulating at a grow- Jensen and others, working with the South that farmers can use on their anhydrous ammonia ing rate. KPEP sees rise in meth users Dakota Department of Human Services’ Divi- fertilizer tanks to reduce the likelihood that meth sion of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, established a producers can easily steal the compound,which is “Last year KVET did 50 meth busts” within Evidence that meth use is on the rise in meth task force about that time in Minnehaha a key component in meth, Jensen says. Kalamazoo County,Buffenbarger said. “This Kalamazoo County is dramatic at the Kalama- County. “It’s not a cure-all,” she says. year already we’ve done 40.” zoo Probation Enhancement Program, a resi- Initially,she says they focused on creating a “They can still cut the hose. But it is a deter- Meth’s presence in city and township areas dential program for felons that provides sub- that are becoming suburbs presents a poten- local awareness of the dangers of what was rent.” stance- abuse treatment and employment. then virtually an unknown drug. They then Still, meth manufacture and use remains a tial fire hazard that endangers greater num- “We see a ton of meth cases,” said KPEP Di- bers of people than in more rural areas, he moved to educating the community on ways to problem in South Dakota, just as it does in a rector Bill DeBoer. strike against its use and manufacturing. large number of states, she says. said. “Five years ago we didn’t have any people A fatal fire in May 2004 at a mobile home in In late 2001, Prairie View Prevention Ser- “We’re not done by a long shot,” she says. “But sentenced on meth-related charges. Kalamazoo’s Milwood neighborhood started vices, where Jensen works, received funding we’re going in the right direction. That’s because because the occupants were cooking meth. Please see EPIDEMIC, Page 13 to create the Methamphetamine Awareness we are involving the whole community.” ❖ Kalamazoo Gazette ? THE MENACE OF METH PART VIII September 2005 13

Continued from Page 3 Continued from Page 6 Cures for common Craig: In his cold contain active Looking ahead: own words On changing from scholar to ingredient in meth drug abuser: “Instead of being a big guy on scholarship at WMU, I “The incidents we’re seeing lead us just wanted to go be happy.... You to believe Perrigo is not the problem,” get so whacked out, you can jus- he said. Fallout from the growing Progress amid all tify anything.” meth problem prompted Perrigo and On who can get hooked: “If Pfizer this year to begin U.S. market- you were to ask 100 people who ing of medications that contain an al- knew me then if they thought I’d ternative active ever end up in jail, not one person” ingredient to would have predicted it. “We have PART II pseu- the problems these stereotypes” of meth users. doephedrine “We think they come from a differ- and cannot be ent class of people. But the people By Rosemary Parker related incidents according to federal used to make who think they have a hold on [email protected] guidelines that categorize labs, com- meth. Both com- EPILOGUE things, they don’t. You can’t do 388-2734 ponents of labs and dump sites. panies plan to anything against this drug. I can In spite of these new laws, re- reformulate say,‘Look at my life, look what I’ve n battling illicit methampheta- New research also bodes well. It ap- sources and stepped-up enforcement more products, done, look what it’s led me to.’ God mine here in southwestern pears the meth-addled brain will heal actions, meth continued its troubling but neither plans at this time to pull blessed me with a pretty good Michigan, public agencies have over time, one study shows; another march across the state this summer. all medicines that contain pseu- brain, but this is straight from the hired staff, fought for grants, suggests treatment can be effective, LeRoy’s numbers from Jan. 1 doephedrine, spokesmen for Pfizer devil. It ruined my life.” researched what other states even when court-ordered and not vol- through Aug. 23 show busts of actual and Perrigo said. Hendrickson said I On redemption: “Without the have done and set up sophisticated untary.There has been substantial labs — sites with enough ingredients Perrigo has not taken a position on spirit of Jesus, I’m nothing but the networks to share information. doubt about both possibilities. and equipment to produce a portion the Birkholz bill or other laws to place drug-abusing criminal I was. ... Not Things are changing fast. But the science of meth is revealing of the meth process — as follows: drugs containing ephedrine or pseu- one person have I ever known that Since the Kalamazoo Gazette - more bad news, too. For instance, Allegan, 17; Barry,7; Cass, 5; Kala- doephedrine behind the counter. quit. Well, unless they died. Eleven lished a meth series in June, initia- there seem to be troubling connec- mazoo, 66; St. Joseph, 11; and Van “Consumers need these products, people I know have died.” tives have included a new state law to tions between meth use and AIDS Buren, 18. so we are going to supply the prod- On his life now: “I was in honor tighten restrictions on pseu- among gay men. As the Gazette series suggested, ucts to meet consumers’ needs in a society in high school; I won (his doephedrine, the ingredient in com- Other developments since June: those numbers are not a reliable indi- safe manner,” Perrigo’s Schenk said. school’s prestigious) sports award, mon cold medications that can be ● Since June 15, records show local cator of either the amount of Pfizer’s Chambers said, “any re- whatever. Now I’m 39 years old, I live converted to methamphetamine. law enforcement agencies in eight methamphetamine activity,shifts in strictions should still allow con- in an apartment in Grand Rapids, by The new law goes into effect Dec. 15 southwestern Michigan counties have its popularity from one county to an- sumers access for legitimate use.” myself, and I can barely pay child and will require stores that sell med- filed 29 notices of contaminated hous- other, or the aggressiveness of law en- That’s the dilemma for some law- support. ... I don’t like to go down ications listing pseudoephedrine or ing with the Department of Environ- forcement. LeRoy is seeking to get makers as they try to decide to what memory lane much anymore, be- ephedrine as an ingredient, with few mental Quality’s Kalamazoo office. agencies to report all meth-related ar- degree such popular, over-the- cause I am a new person. Any day exceptions, to ensure that customers Before the Gazette series appeared, rests — labs, components of labs, and counter medications should be regu- without that stuff is a good day.” show photo ID, be 18 or older and sign only 10 had been filed statewide in the dump sites — in comparable ways, to lated. — Rosemary Parker “What do you do at midnight, be- a log giving name, address and pur- 15 months the law had been in effect. paint a clearer picture. cause they’ve closed that (pharmacy) chase information. The medications ● The Michigan Department of En- Since June, one of the contami- counter?” state Sen. Virg Bernero, D- must be kept behind a counter where vironmental Quality and the Michi- nated homes in Barry County has Lansing, said of the effects of moving the public is not permitted, in a gan Department of Community been cleaned and reoccupied; the Continued from Page 7 ephedrine and pseudoephedrine med- locked case or within 20 feet of a Health have drafted a list of cleanup other seven remain placarded and un- ications off store shelves. counter, or stores must use anti-theft resources to help local agencies occupied and one has been added to devices and video surveillance. tackle housing contamination. The the list. This summer more Barry Proposed legislation could help information is available at County labs were found in cars and Poison in the walls take anhydrous-ammonia fertilizer, www.michigan.gov/meth under “Re- outdoors, and fewer were found in “Until I've been given the pro- Continued from Page 5 used in the meth-making process, out sources for Cleanup of Methampheta- dwellings, a trend that pleases Eric mulgated rules I can't say that of the equation as well. State Rep. mine.” Pessell, environmental director of the anyone has said ‘this will be the Tonya Schuitmaker, R-Paw Paw, has ● Cass and Allegan counties have Barry-Eaton Health Department. Mo- responsibility of the local health Drug a wedge introduced House Bill 4894, which hired meth coordinators, and Michi- bile labs pose no direct danger to department.’ would require a deterrent dye be gan State Police have appointed an of- dwellings and the people who could “We cannot create positions added to anhydrous-ammonia fertil- ficer whose sole responsibility will be inhabit them, though they are still ev- without a funding source, and between mother izer sold within the state. The bill is to track arrests and locations related idence of the problem and pose other we’ve already still in committee, and discussions to methamphetamine in southwest- dangers to motorists and police. been cutting and daughter are under way to find a way to ease ern Michigan. The pilot project will But perhaps the most promising de- PART V programs; it’s the burden of cost on the producers. be assessed at the end of the year. velopment: All four of the former not as if I have She felt herself withdrawing from Unique treatment programs that The officer, Detective Sgt. Scott methamphetamine users who spoke two or three inmates who still wanted to talk help meth users overcome their ad- LeRoy,is working to make sure the 80 with reporters for the original series people sitting about drugs. diction, such as the Allegan County meth-lab responders from 20 law-en- remain free of the drug, according to around doing She began to pray as often as she Jail’s diversion project, continue to forcement agencies in the state po- the former users, their probation offi- nothing.” could and to think about being a show promise. lice’s 5th District are reporting meth- cers and diversion-program staff. But O’Don- mother again. nell said noth- When she was released from jail ing in the law prohibits local last year, she began a regimen im- health departments from “exer- posed by the drug-diversion pro- Continued from Page 6 tary assessments, counseling and par- drew said. cising their authority over a local gram she en- enting classes for parents who felt they Based on similar documents devel- health issue, which this is.” PART IV tered as an were at risk of hurting their children. oped by local county task forces, the “I’ve spoken with individual alternative to Menifee ran that program. protocol will likely include meth-spe- local health department mem- additional Kids’ lives filled Budget cuts, however, brought a cific provisions such as: bers, and they are very well aware prison time: no staffing squeeze and the program was ● Contacting children’s protective ser- of the potential health problems.” drug use, as canceled. Now services are available vice workers whenever police find evi- proved by reg- with toxic fallout only after parents have abused or ne- dence of methamphetamine manufactur- How can people protect ular urine In the past several months, Menifee glected their children, she said. themselves? tests, a curfew ing or components potentially hazardous said, caseworkers are seeing another “I’ve been a supervisor for three There are no do-it-yourself tests and attendance to a child, so the child’s physical and new and disturbing trend — backslid- years,” she said, “and in that time available for meth residues, Janus at 12-step meetings. mental health and living conditions can ing by parents who had their children we’ve had five very severe physical- said. The best protection for con- She takes a dated photograph out be assessed. removed from the home, worked hard abuse cases in which the parents are sumers, he said, “is ask tough of her wallet, a reminder of her ● Court-ordered medical examination to get them back, but who could not chronically using meth.” questions of the landlord or seller days of using. The image of a stay away from the drug. and treatment following drug-endan- Bare said her county,too, is stretched — especially if there are reddish much-older-looking, gaunt woman “They seemingly complied with the gered children protocol. thin and must scramble to continue stains or a brownish haze in one with unkempt hair and a blotchy treatment plan, had the kids placed ● Photographs and documentation of things such as parent education and room.” complexion looks back at her. the child and the scene, showing the back into the home and monitored for Asking neighbors about meth “I spent hours picking at my face counseling for kids who are not in fos- three more months, and then within proximity of the evidence to the child’s lab busts nearby is another op- when there wasn’t anything ter care; there is less money for aides to months” of the agency’s removal from living area, and, when possible, an in- tion, as is hiring a firm to do pre- there,” she said. help with parent visitation of children jurisdiction, have relapsed to meth terview of the child to determine, liminary testing — an expensive She’s heard grim statistics about who are in care, she said. abuse. among other things, the child’s knowl- venture because any and every recovering from addiction. She And the dollar doesn’t go as far in It can get worse than that. edge of the drug- manufacturing room and outbuilding could be in- credits Taylor with helping her meth-related treatment because kids are Dr. Michael Liepman, a psychiatrist process. volved, cleanup experts said. family beat the odds. and medical director of the Gilmore so troubled and treatment of parents ● The caution not to allow clothing, But no neighborhood or commu- “If you have someone to fight for, Treatment Center, said meth users takes so much longer than programs in toys or other possessions to be removed nity should be presumed risk-free. someone you love, you can do it,” often bring other illegal drug users into which other drugs are involved. with the child unless that can be shown Reed says. the home “and when they are intoxi- “We took a lab from a home in to be free of chemical residues. She has successfully completed cated they don’t use the best judgment. Looking for answers Portage — we’ve actually done the first of four stages of the drug- “They might harm the children or Sally Reames, executive director of Making sure adults who work with many labs in Portage — and we rehabilitation program in Barry teach them to follow the same path. Michiana Addictions and Prevention children understand the special threat noticed that the home had a ‘for County.Her father, Kenneth, is Some men who need money for more Services, the parent corporation for the meth may pose is a much-needed step sale’ sign in front of it about a completing a similar program in drugs may encourage others to have Gilmore Treatment Center, said meth toward helping kids who live in meth- month later,” said Lt. Wayne Ed- Allegan County,and her mother, sex with their children to earn the abuse has a profound impact on the en- tainted environments. ington, team commander of the Dorothea, is on probation after money to pay for drugs. vironment, children and the brains of McAndrew, who offers seminars on Michigan State Police Southwest completing nearly two years of “Their children become sex slaves. It’s the users. the effects and dangers of meth as part Enforcement Team. counseling, 12-step programs two a horrible aftermath.” “It’s really almost overwhelming on of his work with the meth task force, “We contacted the Realtor and to three times a week and other re- how to deal with it,” she said. “In sees the impact on children every day. made the Realtor aware a lab had habilitation efforts. Shrinking resources families, parents are physically pre- “I gave my (methamphetamine educa- been in there, and (when the Real- “We had to do it for the grand- The problem couldn’t have come at a sent but not emotionally available to tion) presentation to one of my (teen tor seemed unconcerned) we took kids,” Dorothea Reed said. “We worse time, with county health depart- their children.” counseling) groups, and a 15-year-old it one step further and contacted didn’t want to be in jail. We wanted ments and state agencies already There is some hope, though, as the who calls himself a former meth user... the broker. to be around for them.” stretching budget dollars. state of Michigan develops its first pro- he kept confirming everything. What “They said, ‘We don’t know it Now, after years, the extended Until three or four years ago, for in- tocol for dealing with children endan- feedback I get is that I’m not even touch- didn’t get cleaned up,’ ” and pro- family is getting together again for stance, Allegan County offered volun- gered by methamphetamine, McAn- ing the depth of it,” McAndrew said. ceeded with the sale, he said. holidays and birthdays, Dorothea Reed said. “We have our family back Continued from Page 12 KPEP is the “It’s getting into the cities,” he said. again,” she said. PART VIII county’s only resi- No economic stratum is clean of the They’ve sold the family home dential program drug, and all stereotypes are obsolete. and moved to an area where they targeted at meth “We’ve found labs in big, nice motor say drug use is less prevalent. Epidemic spreads to cities,suburbs treatment. homes, campers in wholesome set- The family also has become ac- According to De- tings, city neighborhoods and sub- tive in a local church, which has “Now, out of the 66 people I have here “Meth has taken over in terms of ? Boer, there is not urbs,” said “filled such a big hole in our life,” now in the men’s program, 11 were people who are sentenced to our pro- enough room at the KVET’s Buffenbarger.“There’s a huge Amy Reed says. found guilty of operating a lab, pos- gram”and is now the No.1 drug in- Kalamazoo County profit margin and it’s easy to make. That’s “Getting busted was God’s way of sessing or unauthorized use of anhy- volved in sentencings to KPEP on drug- Jail for such a program, which, be- part of what makes it so attractive.” saving our family.” drous ammonia.” related charges, DeBoer said. cause of the virulence of the drug, re- Buffenbarger said meth is the most She and Taylor look at each other The first five months of this year The average length of stay at KPEP quires a controlled residential stay in dangerous drug he’s encountered in with the steady gaze of two people KPEP had 241 admissions — 31 of is 51 days. Meth charges bring the aver- its first, most intensive phase. his career. who walk a high wire together. them, or almost 13 percent, were on age KPEP stay up to 81 days, according It’s too early in the meth epidemic to “Some meth’s always been here, “We’re all clean now,” Amy Reed meth charges. to DeBoer. say how effective those treatment pro- brought in by the bikers from Califor- says. Last year in the same period, there Because of the rising need, a KPEP grams are, De- nia,” he said. “But now, with people “I’m really proud of you guys,” were just 15 meth users out of 258 ad- staff member now conducts a meth- Boer said. But it is not too early to say being able to make it, the addiction is far Taylor tells her. missions, or just over 5 percent. treatment program for KPEP felons. how the epidemic has been spreading. wider spread. And they can’t kick it.” 14 ❖ September 2005 life inourcommunity. preventing abuseandloss of further of methamphetamineiscriticalto Educating peopleabouttheravages excellent healthcare services. injury, aswell astoproviding dedicated topreventing illnessand Methodist Hospital hasbeen For more than100years, Bronson www.KalamazooUnitedWay.org For more visit usat: information Together we are ChangingtheHuman Condition. Way pleasevisitwww.KalamazooUnitedWay.org. about your Greaterinformation Kalamazoo United bringing peopleandorganizationstogether. For more fostering powerful responses tocommunityneedsby Your Greater Kalamazoo United Way iscommittedto This publication isalsoavailable onlineatwww.mlive.com O L K K TO IKE GNZTOSFOR RGANIZATIONS ALAMAZOO M AKE T AKTHE HANK T P HIS OSSIBLE The G  P AZETTE UBLICATION . F H be facedby allofus.” Health ministry, it’s auniquechallengethatmust Indrugs. of the Borgess the115-year-old history the toxic wasteleftbehindby thosewhomakethese members ofuser, andtoanyone whohappensupon area residents whointeract withusers,family are ahealththreat tousers, on multiplefronts. hard atwork foryou, fightingthisfoe health. Your countygovernment is threat topublicsafetyand methamphetamine problem isamajor Kalamazoo County'sgrowing OLLOWING LIGTO ELPING W OULD Kalamazoo Gazette

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