03-33

Salt Lake CityPolice Department

Methamphetamine Initiative

POLICE DEPARTMENT

CHARLES F. "RICK" DINSE ROSS C. "ROCKY" ANDERSONMAYOR

April 14, 2003

Professor Ron Clarke2003 Goldstein Award Selection CommitteePERF1120 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 930Washington, DC 20036

Dear Professor Clarke:

It is my pleasure to nominate The Salt Lake City COPS Methamphetamine Initiative forthe 2003 Herman Goldstein Award. Salt Lake City Police Department has had a longhistory of Community Oriented Policing practices. The Salt Lake City COPSMethamphetamine Initiative has been extremely successive utilizing problem-orientedpolicing to engage the community with the Salt Lake City Police Department in making asignificant shift in the illegal clandestine lab problem.

I attest to the Salt Lake City COPS methodology, and verify that the results of the projectare both accurate and attributable to the project.

Sincere!

Charles F. "RiclChief of PoliceSalt Lake City Police Department

3 1 5 EAST 2DD SOUTH, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 34 1 1 1

TELEPHONE: BD1-799-3DGQ FAX: BO1-799-3S57

METHAMPHETAMINE INITIATIVESALT LAKE CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

The Problem:

An increase in methamphetamine clandestine drug laboratories in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Analysis:

Through the needs assessment SLCPD found that clandestine labs increased from 19 to130 from 1990 through 1997. Projections based on the rate of increasing investigationsfor the first five months of 1998 showed a 41% increase in labs from 130 in 1997 to 220in 1998. Salt Lake City itself had 20 labs in 1995, 22 in 1997, and in the first six monthsof 1998 had additional 26 labs. We also found that drug treatment admissions formethamphetamine had increased by 25% from 1990 to 1997. Comparisons of drugseizures also demonstrated the increasing presence of methamphetamine in this market.We noted that all neighborhood areas in Salt Lake City had lab activity and that the labswere small labs producing user quantity of methamphetamine.

Response:

In an effort to create a viable program to combat this popular drug, the Salt Lake CityPolice Department proposed a collaborative effort that is now known as the Salt LakeCity COPS Methamphetamine Initiative. The Initiative was established in January 1998,administered by the Salt Lake City Police Department with funding provided through theOffice of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) as one of the six originalMethamphetamine Initiative grants and the Office and the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

SLCPD created a cooperative partnership with over 30 public and private agencies toaddress the problems surrounding meth and other dangerous drugs. The result has beenan enhancement in the way Salt Lake City addresses this issue. In addition to thetraditional law enforcement investigative component to narcotics trafficking, the initiativeaddresses other components including child endangerment, neighborhood health andsafety, prevention, drug court programs, and substance abuse treatment.

Assessment:

Salt Lake City Methamphetamine Initiative was evaluated by both local and federalevaluators. These evaluations provided valuable information to the agencies participatingin the project. Through these efforts we have witnessed a decrease of approximately 50%in labs in Salt Lake City and Utah from 1999 through 2002. In Salt Lake City, fewerchildren are found in drug homes and those found now receive follow-up care. Propertiesthat were used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine are now being rehabilitated.The community has become an active part of resolving illegal activity in theirneighborhoods by increasing reporting.

SCANNING:

The spread of methamphetamine from the Western United States across the nation causedan increase in manufacturing, distribution and sales in Utah. With the increase inmethamphetamine labs, treatment admissions and criminal drug activity; first respondersattempted to catch up with the methamphetamine epidemic facing our community.Police, fire, medical, environmental and child protection were asked to respond tonumerous situations resulting from methamphetamine activity in neighborhoods. Thesesituations involved both injuries and deaths resulting from chemicals used to producemethamphetamine.

Children were being placed with neighbors or family members with out medicalattention. There was no standard for chemically contaminated properties. ClandestineLab cases were not being filed timely. Suspects had easy access to manufacturingchemicals and equipment. Illegal drug activity eluded citizens and agency professionals.

ANALYSIS:

Thirty agencies combined with the Salt Lake City Police Department to conduct a needsassessment of the problem. Analytical tools utilized included collecting data about drugarrests, seizures, treatment, and the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program, as well ascrime mapping, and multiple interviews with government agencies that were impacted bythe problem. (See Map 1, Methamphetamine Labs Discovered in Salt Lake City)

Methamphetamine manufacturing activities were identified in the early 1990's and wefound ourselves in an epidemic during the mid 1990's. A growing number of women intheir child bearing years identified methamphetamine as their primary drug of choice.Many of the suspects, often referred to as "cooks", were Caucasian males. The numberof victims multiplied as the results of this epidemic cost the community safety, health,financial stability and security.

Media coverage documented young children who obtained burns from the chemicals usedto manufacture methamphetamine. They also told stories of teenagers who participatedin their parents clandestine lab activities who also received burns sometimes resulting indeath. Other headlines included families that experienced medical problems due to livingin chemically contaminated housing.

Agencies were responding separately to the problem. First responders were obtainingunnecessary exposure or were reluctant to respond at all due to the caustic environment.There were few precursor laws in the state of Utah. Parents were being charged with amisdemeanor when their children were harmed as a result of their illegal drug activity.Suspects had multiple charges for manufacturing before they were seen in court on theirfirst arrest. Neighborhoods were requesting assistance from the police department toprovide training, added response and guidance on what to report.

SLCPD also conducted multiple interviews with government agencies that had a stake inthe problem. Many of these agencies had an established working relationship however,SLCPD also included nontraditional partners.

RESPONSE:

Salt Lake City Police Department developed a comprehensive system-wide approachutilizing strategies that targeted drug demand reduction, meth production and distributionsites, enhanced prosecution, recovery/abatement of meth sites, training, enhanced publicawareness and the associated issues of child endangerment and adult protective servicesrelated to meth sites.

The Salt Lake City COPS Methamphetamine Initiative brought together more then 30partners including representatives from local and federal law enforcement agencies, thejudiciary, social services, prosecutors, medical professionals, treatment specialists, localschools, environmental health, and other organizations.

The Initiative focused on specific areas including enforcement, public awareness,substance abuse treatment, prosecution, public health, and child endangerment. Meetingmonthly the partners developed strategies in each of these areas, implemented the plan,and tracked the progress. Among the thirty partnering agencies the most significantachievement reported by the participating partners is the collaboration of multiplegovernment agencies. The COPS Salt Lake City Methamphetamine Initiativeincorporated innovative ideas and produced process change.

Enforcement

SLCPD Meth Initiative law enforcement agencies continually developed enhancedinvestigative techniques that assist narcotic officers in handling methamphetamine use,distribution and manufacturing. Illicit drug producers and distributors are dynamic,resourceful, well funded and are constantly changing. The law enforcementsubcommittee found that it was imperative to anticipate, diagnose and respond to thesetrends in order to affect enforcement and intervention.

One strategy the SLCPD Meth Initiative included was a drug hotline where a largenumber of community complaints are received by two retired officers and a civilianemployee. From those complaints an intelligence report is generated including theinformation from the complainant, verified information, an assessment of the threat and aset priority.

A large number of these complaints are cleared through Knock and Talks. "Knock andtalks" are personal, doorstep conversations between a detective and a potential suspect.They occur when an initial investigation has not determined the need for a lengthyinvestigation, or where suspicion remains that there is illegal conduct, but no probablecause exists for a warrant. The suspect is advised of the concern about their conduct; arequest is made to search the premise. The drug hotline combined with Knock and Talks

have had a positive impact on the community. Concerned citizens report a concern, see aresponse from a complaint within a two week period, and often receive immediate relieffrom the problem behavior.

The SLCPD Methamphetamine Initiative also focused heavily on training. The NarcoticsUnit that handled clandestine lab scenes received significant training and became acertified clandestine lab team. With additional training and an additional certified team,resources in the area doubled, unexpected exposure decreased and community complaintswere handled rapidly.

Cross training for law enforcement personnel and other partners gave participantsmultidisciplinary perspectives on the problem. This proved to be extremely helpful as itassisted the partnering agencies to become more effective in working as a team on cases,legislation and other community projects. Through these training efforts the COPS MethInitiative partners received pertinent training which include family drug court training,drug endangered children training, specialty investigative trainings, and data basetraining.

The SLCPD also made a concerted effort to involve and educate the community. Thecollaborative training effort, included trainers from various fields, initiated through thepartnering agencies to local, county and state government agencies, commercialbusinesses, neighborhood watch, public schools, landlords, utilities, social serviceagencies, hospitals, etc. Over fifteen classes are available and adapted for a variety ofaudiences.

Involvement of the community began in the planning stages of the project and has been amajor effort of the COPS Meth Initiative. Efforts include working with neighborhoods toresolve drug problems as well as working with government agencies and communityleaders to provide a joint coordinated response.

Representatives from key agencies are co-located with the Salt Lake City Narcotics Unitand respond as a team. The Meth Team, consisting of professionals from key agencies, isco-located with the Narcotics Squad to address four issues related to narcotics:immediate/proper response to drug endangered children, rehabilitation and the reunitingof families, community health/safety, and public awareness/education. Joint decisionsmade by the "team" strengthen cases and bridges the gap between agencies. Further, theentire team meets regularly to set goals, problem solve and develop needed legislation.

The Meth Team has added an important element to this strategy by providingaccessibility to resources at the scene and during the investigation that were previouslydispersed throughout the independent agencies. By adding a District Attorney, Paralegal,Child Protective Services Worker and Environmental Health Specialist that areimmediately available, the Team becomes a more effective and comprehensive elementin providing resources to those in need.

The Meth Initiative brought together agencies that traditionally had difficulty workingtogether. As these agencies work on the many faceted issues of meth addiction they havedeveloped positive working relationships and a joint community response to themethamphetamine problem as well as other community issues. Through the cooperationfrom valley wide agencies we are able to utilize additional resources that have yieldedmore positive long-term effects.

One of the key components of the Meth Team is the Intelligence Office. The Data andIntelligence Analysts provide the needed technical and computer expertise to effectivelycombat today's drug distribution and manufacturing networks. This support results ingreater hours spent in the field by detectives and a more thorough and completeinvestigation including research, link charts, financial records, toll information and dataanalysis.

Another area the SLC law enforcement subcommittee has focused on is seeking greaterpenalties for meth manufactures. One of their major success in clandestine labinvestigation is through tracking the regulated sales of crystallized iodine. Through theIodine Database, law enforcement is able to track who is involved in the manufacturingprocess. Those individuals who are supplying precursors to be used in the production ofmeth are subject to additional charges for each time they purchase iodine. Theseenforcement techniques work hand in hand with the enhanced precursor laws establishedin the state of Utah. (See attachment 1, Hensley Case)

Ion Scan equipment has been obtained to assist in gathering evidence for childendangerment cases and obtaining probable cause for search warrants. Childendangerment cases allow for greater penalties in the State of Utah as these crimes arevictim crimes reaching a higher level of community threat.

Intervention

One of the major successes of this collaboration is Salt Lake's Drug Endangered Children(DEC) program, which was developed to address the growing epidemic of children whoare exposed to dangerous drugs and chemicals. The DEC program combines theresources of law enforcement, prosecution, child protection, environmental health, andmedical personnel to provide a joint response in drug cases involving children. Throughthis collaboration the initiative streamlined joint agency protocols when responding toscenes with drug exposed children. Salt Lake City's DEC program was developed as apilot project for the state of Utah. DEC projects have also been developed in WestValley City, Davis County and Ogden, Utah.

As local law enforcement agencies conduct warrant service on suspect drug homes one ofthe concerns they address are the children found living in clandestine labs and high usedrug homes. Children who are exposed to drugs are often subject to physical andemotional neglect and live in filthy conditions. The Meth Initiative has tracked thenumber of children who are discovered in a clandestine lab sites and high use drug homesover the past three years. In the first two years of the project, the number of children

discovered and removed increased. In 2001 these two areas dropped significantly.However, the number of times Child Protective Services (CPS) responded to a narcoticsscene where children were located continued to increase during the three years of theproject.

Through a partnership with Primary Children's Medical Center (PCMC), they developedUtah's medical protocol for children with possible drug or chemical exposure. Thisprotocol focuses on children's health and functions alongside other agencies protocolsinvolved in the initial response to drug exposed children i.e. law enforcement and childprotection. PCMC Emergency Department and Safe and Healthy Families Unit alsocollect hair, urine and blood samples.

The drug analysis on these samples indicates that these children are testing positive formultiple drugs in varying combinations including methamphetamine, amphetamine,THC, cocaine, opiates, benzodiazapines, and benzoylecgonine. Children who areexposed often exhibit symptoms or suffer from oral/GI acid burns; agitation/irritability;fever; dehydration; nutritional challenges and general neglect. They are also at greaterrisk for suffering physical and sexual abuse.

At this time, it is unknown what the long-term effects are to children who are exposed tometh. Gathering preliminary findings is a first step in a larger effort to gather base lineinformation for a study of the longitudinal effects of children exposed tomethamphetamine. The National Institute on Drug Addictions (NIDA) is working withUtah medical experts to conduct a descriptive study of the identified children exposed tomethamphetamine and other dangerous drugs.

Through the prosecution subcommittee, members of the initiative wrote and helped passthe Endangerment of a Child or Elder Adult Statute in 2000. In the 2002 LegislativeSession the statute was amended to allow for easier prosecution under the law. In thestate of Utah drug crimes are now seen as victim crimes when children and elderly arepresent. The District Attorney's Office has provided training on the new statute to lawenforcement and prosecutors state wide.

By enlisting the help of the Guardian Ad Litem's Office of the Third District Court, wehave been able to better coordinate between the services provided by the District Court inchild endangerment cases and the Juvenile Court in dependency proceedings. Doing thishelps to ensure that the child victims in the criminal prosecution are not placed at furtherrisk of abuse when the parents are undergoing court ordered drug treatment.

The Salt Lake Valley Health Department adopted a new regulation to improvedecontamination of properties contaminated by illegal drug production. Theseregulations have been implemented and new procedures for investigating meth labs havebeen adopted and refined. Additionally, state legislation has been introduced to mandatetimely decontamination/rehabilitation of property.

Prevention

The Public Awareness Campaign consists of Public Service Announcement's (PSA's),Billboards, Direct Neighborhood Contacts, Educational Videos, Pamphlets, and acollaborative training effort initiated through the partnering agencies to public schools,landlords, utilities, social service agencies, hospitals, etc. The objective is to educate thepublic to the health dangers that exist because of meth labs in their neighborhoods.

Through education and the Public Awareness Campaign, citizens become knowledgeableas to the indicators of clandestine labs in their community. Additionally, they understandthe impact clan labs have on the neighborhood, both financially and in terms ofneighborhood safety. The indicators of methamphetamine production continue to eludecitizens and landlords due to their lack of awareness. Education and communityinvolvement has been considered a key component to implementing the long-termsolution.

Although the initial grant did not specifically contract with treatment services, treatmenthas been a continued focus of the partners. Influential treatment professionals haveparticipated in the planning process and strategies of the project. Some of theiraccomplishments include pregnant women becoming a priority for treatment, treatmentbecoming an active partner in drug court programs and the development of the womenwith children treatment program.

The Cottonwood Family Center is an addition to the variety of treatment services offeredin Salt Lake County. The Treatment Subcommittee examined the number of childrenbeing exposed to drugs in utero. They found that 80% of the children born exposed todrugs were placed in states custody and that within a 6 month period 50% of thesechildren were being returned to mom. The problems they recognized included mother'susing while pregnant, the increase of methamphetamine use among women, safety issuesfor the baby, and bonding issues between the infant and caretaker. Their response to thiswas the development of a treatment center that focused on pregnant women and children.

The Meth Initiative also integrated the Drug Court programs in Utah's Third DistrictCourt into the program to address the problems of drug addiction in adult and juvenilecriminal cases as well as in cases where children have been removed from their parent'scustody by social services. These programs utilize the assets of a variety of differentagencies such as the courts, law enforcement, and treatment to combat the far-reachingeffects of addiction. Drug Courts have a high success rate, which has decreased thenumber of incarcerations and assisted individuals in maintaining sobriety.

ASSESSMENT:

Salt Lake City Methamphetamine Initiative had local and federal evaluations beginningat the initial stages of the projects implementation through the funding period. Thesereports evaluated our process and provided ongoing input to the agencies involved in theproject. (For the complete local evaluation, see Salt Lake City Methamphetamine

Initiative Evaluation Report was conducted by Intermountain Evaluation Servicesprepared by R. Steven Harrison, Ph.D., Bruce V. Parsons, Ph.D., and Stacy Eddings,M.S..) (For the complete federal evaluation, see COPS Methamphetamine InitiativeEvaluation of Salt Lake City was conducted by the Institute for Law and Justice preparedby J. Thomas McEwen, Ph.D., and Stacy L. Osnick, M.A..)

Reduction in fear of crime was accomplished by additional awareness in the communityas a result of training and the public awareness campaign. The community becameactively involved in solving the problem through their participation in community-organized activities including the drug hotline. Commercial stores also participate bychanging availability of products used to manufacture methamphetamine as well asreporting suspect behavior.

Additional awareness was measured through tracking training segments, number ofpublic service announcements, billboards, videos produced, media activities and otherefforts throughout the project. The Salt Lake COPS Meth Initiative provided 334 classesto 17,106 participants from March 1999 through March 2003.

Tracking the communities increased involvement was provided through the drug hotline.Since implementation of the Intelligence Office hotline response time has decreased byover 400% even with a volume increase of over 150% more calls processed. The effect ofthese changes has been a more positive attitude towards law enforcement and a greaterinvolvement and ownership by the residents in their own communities.(See Table 1 & Graph 1, Community Complaints)

The study examining Salt Lake City resident's perceptions of the quality of life in the cityshowed an increase by 6% of people feeling safe in their neighborhood during daytimehours and a 14% increase after dark. There was also an increase by 7% of feeling safe inthe downtown area during the day and a 22% increase after dark. (For additionalinformation on Salt Lake City Residents, see Dan Jones & Associates on behalf of SaltLake City, 2001)

Another goal was to improve the communities trust in police. With the implementationof the Intelligence Office the community was able to share information with narcoticsofficers and receive a quicker resolution. Training segments provided by narcoticofficers to public groups is seen as an effective tool in increasing the positive perceptionsand addressing community concerns.

The reduction of crime was the greatest priority. Salt Lake City and the state of Utah asa whole has witnessed a decrease in the number of methamphetamine labs found. DrugEnforcement Administration tracks clandestine laboratory seizures in the state of Utah.In 1999 Utah found 242 Clandestine Drug Labs, in 2002 the number decreased to 110.Salt Lake City in 1999 found 54 clandestine labs, this number decreased to 28 in 2002.(See Table 2, Graph 1 & 2, Lab Seizures)

Although the number of labs in Salt Lake County has decreased, the number of lab casesthat have been successfully prosecuted has actually risen slightly because of betterinvestigation and a closer working relationship with law enforcement. (See Graph 4, LabCases Filed)

Through our Drug Endangered Children program we have tracked a reduction in thenumber of children discovered at narcotic scenes and an increase in response to thesevictims. The Drug Endangered Children program began in Salt Lake City in February1999. Children found at a narcotics scene increased by one-third from 1999 to 2000.However, comparing data from 2000 to 2001 the number of children located at thesescene decreased by one-half. However, there was still a steady increase of childprotection services responding to the law enforcement scenes. (See Graph 5, ChildrenFound in Meth Labs and Drug Homes)

Along with the information collected on these children is hair analysis data collected byPCMC. The first year (2000) of the utilizing medical protocols for children who werebelieved to have exposure to chemicals or drug at a meth lab or high use drug home 40%were testing positive for narcotics metabolized in their system. In 2002 54% of thechildren tested positive. (See Table 3, Hair Analysis)

The increase in penalties for parents exposing children or elderly to illegal drug activitieshas deterred criminal activity. (See Table 4, Child Endangerment Cases Filed)

The project also wanted to improve the overall environmental conditions for Salt LakeCity Residents. Salt Lake Valley Health Department established county regulations inAugust 2001 for the clean-up of chemically contaminated properties to address theenvironmental health issues resulting from the manufacturing of methamphetamine. Withthe new regulations in place residences are closed to occupancy until decontaminated.(See Graph 6, Meth Labs Reported to SLVHD) (For the complete regulation, see SaltLake Valley Health Department Health Regulation 32, Chemically ContaminatedProperties, 2001)

Overall we wanted to improve our community. One of the areas we noted progress isthat more women with methamphetamine addiction are seeking treatment. Utah StateDivision of Substance Abuse fiscal year 2001 data illustrates Utah's methamphetamineproblem. Perhaps the most significant statistic is that in FY 2001, methamphetamine outplaced marijuana as the primary illicit drug of choice for patients in treatment. Of these37% are female, most falling within childbearing years. (For additional information ontreatment admissions for the state of Utah, see Utah State Division of Substance AbuseFiscal Year 2001 for additional information on treatment admissions for the state ofUtah)

Salt Lake City is a site for the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program. This is datacollected quarterly from the arrested population on drug abuse. 2002 data from this studyranked SLC females 4th and males 10th highest in the nation, respectively, for arresteestesting positive for methamphetamine. (For additional information on drug arrest data,

see Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program for additional information on Salt LakeCounty Arrestee Data)

As this was a large complex project we experienced many challenges in theimplementation stages that included contracts, role conflicts, and jurisdictional issues.The most unique and helpful aspects of the project (i.e. collaboration, partnering withnew types of agencies, and forming relationships with agencies who had difficultyworking together.) were also the areas that gave the project the most grief. Regardless ofthe challenges in establishing cooperative relationships; the comprehensive effort of thisproject is seen by all partners as the most beneficial outcome of the Salt Lake City COPSMethamphetamine Initiative.

Evaluation of our project is an area that we greatly benefited from. We benefited fromhaving both a local and federal level evaluation although at times there did exist somecross over. The benefits included giving us ongoing impute in our efforts, challenging usto move forward, and providing the variety of involved partners a federal perspective.

REPLICATION:

Salt Lake City Police Department, the City Council, and the Mayor's Office arecommitted to the Meth Initiative project. The program became funded in the City'sbudget when the grants expired. Participating agencies absorbed program costs into theirgeneral funds. Partners continue to be committed to the project as they have witnessedthe success in the community and additional support for their agencies goals. Theoriginal thirty partners of the Meth Initiative have pledged continued support and havereached out to additional agencies.

Replication of the Drug Endangered Children program is already underway withprograms established in Salt Lake, West Valley and Ogden Cities. Salt Lake City PoliceDepartment recently hosted Utah's 1st Annual Drug Endangered Children Conference.The four-hundred attendees included medical, child protection, substance abusetreatment, law enforcement, judicial, educators and other professionals throughout Utahand other states.

As the Salt Lake City Methamphetamine Initiative moves into its next phase the partner'shave established additional strategies. The plan includes state wide clean-up standardsfor chemically contaminated properties, refined medical procedures for drug exposedchildren, a longitudinal study of children exposed to methamphetamine, state wide drugendangered children programs linked with a national office, increased informationsharing, a highly visible public awareness and training campaign, and increased treatmentsuccesses.

By working together, these agencies provided a comprehensive solution to casesinvolving methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs. Each agency has developedproactive strategies that work in collaboration with other partners.

AGENCY AND OFFICER INFORMATION:

This initiative was adopted by the entire department involving many outreachingagencies with a consolidated effort in the narcotics squad. Department personnelreceived Problem Oriented Policing training. Salt Lake City Police Department has along standing history of Community Oriented Policing. Resources from grants expeditedthe implementation and the involved agencies have continued to contribute with this highpriority project.

Project Contact Person:

Marjean SearcyProject CoordinatorMethamphetamine InitiativeSalt Lake City Police Department315 East 200 SouthSalt Lake City, Utah 84111Phone: (801)799-3357Fax: (801)799-3471Email: Marjean.searcy@slcgov.com

Map 1

Methamphetamine Labs Discovered in Salt Lake CityJanuary 1,1998 - January 20, 2000

Methamphetamine LabsStreetsChurchsWater

j ; Schoolsjj i Parks and Open Space

SLC City Limits

Base Map: Salt Lake City Engineering GIS TeamData: Drug Enforcement AdministrationMap Preparation: SLCPD Meth InitiativeDate: January 27. 2000

N

A4 Miles

Table 1Number of Community Complaints Received on Salt Lake City

Police Department Drug Hotline, Intel Office 1998-2002

19981999200020012002

Community Complaints to Drug Hotline402657788880993

Graph 1

COMMUNITY COMPLAINTS: DRUG ACTIVITYSALT LAKE CITY DRUG HOTLINE

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Table 2Number of Methamphetamine Labs Seized in

Utah and Salt Lake City, PEA 1996-2002

1996199719981999200020012002

Labs Found in Utah63129240242209161110

Labs Found in Salt Lake City20202354436328

Graph 2

DEA CLANDESTINE LABORATORY SEIZURESSTATE OF UTAH

250

200

150

100

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Graph 3

CLANDESTINE LABORATORY SEIZURESSALT LAKE CITY

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Table 3Percentage of Children Found at a Clandestine Drug Lab or High Use Drug Home

Testing Positive for Drugs, Hair Analysis, Primary Children's Medical Center 2000-2002

200020012002

Percentage40%50%54%

of Children Testing Positive by Hair Analysis

Graph 4

Clandestine Lab Cases Filed Salt Lake CountyDistrict Attorney's Office 2000-2002

160

1402000 2001 2002

Table 4Salt Lake County Child Endangerment Cases Filed,

Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office 2000-2002

200020012002

Child Endangerment Cases Filed1882124

Graph 5

Children Found in Meth Labs or Drug HomesSalt Lake City

1999 2000 2001 2002

Graph 6

Meth Labs Reported to SLVHD since August 1, 2001

Total Complaints Received

Confirmed Meth Labs

Labs Decontaminated orDemolished

Labs Awaiting Decontamination

m

fI ! "• • I

I I

1 ,1

;

• .

•I i

y•

ii" ir

i

I"I L |

ift100 150

Number

200

ISenesi

250

231 East 400 Southsalt Lake city, Utah 84111 At tachment 1Suite 200801-531-4112

WASATCH RANGE TASK FORCE

Case Update March 4, 2003

Case No. 02 CR 0087 TS

On February 26, 2003, Scott D. Hemsley pled guilty as charged to Manufacture orAttempted Manufacture of Methamphetamine, in violation of 21 USC §841(a)(l), andPossession of a Firearm by a Restricted Person, in violation of 18 USC §922(g).Sentencing will occur on June 3, 2003.

On March 3, 2003, Patricia McClister pled guilty as charged to Conspiracy toManufacture Methamphetamine, in violation of 21 USC §§841(a)(l) and 846.Sentencing will occur on June 17, 2003.

This case was adopted from the Salt Lake City Narcotics Unit. Detective TylerBoelter worked very hard on this case, and should be commended, as well as DDA LanaTaylor who assisted SLC Narcotics, and who was instrumental in having the case readyfor indictment.

This case arose from an investigation by Det. Boelter of a family that wasconsistently purchasing large quantities of iodine from the Chem Shop on RedwoodRoad. Between July 5, 2001 and December 11, 2001, Scott Hemsley, Krystal McClisterHemsley, Dean Christofferson, Patricia McClister, Christine McClister, GerrinMcClister, Cynthia Roach, Candise Roach and Max Jason Roach purchased, on overforty different occasions, purchased iodine from Hi-Valley Chemical (Redwood), locatedat 1151 South Redwood Road, in Salt Lake City, Utah. This iodine was purchased withthe intent that it be used in the manufacture and production of methamphetamine. A totalof 2,377.2 grams of iodine was purchased as part of the ongoing conspiracy.

A search warrant was executed by SLC Narcotics on December 11, 2001, at theHemsley home in Salt Lake City, Utah. During this search warrant, 24.2 grams ofmethamphetamine, 2,145 individual pills containing 536.25 grams of pseudoephedrine,an additional 46.15 grams of pseudoephedrine, and two firearms were seized. TheHemsley's twelve year old daughter also tested positive for methamphetamine, and wasremoved from the home by DCFS workers.

Max Jason Roach previously was convicted in 3rd District Court, and is servingone year of jail, followed by three years of probation. The remaining co-defendants arescheduled to plead guilty next Monday and Tuesday.

Salt Lake County District Attorney • Salt Lake County Sheriff • FBI • US Customs Service • INS

Newsletter Articles

ists are as risky as bulletsin vast Utah crime epidemic

BY KELLY KENNEDY

THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

While questioning a forgery suspect living in a du-plex, South Salt Lake Del. Dave Browning suddenly feltdizzy.

"The other officers said I was starting to list to oneside," he said.

Fresh ait didn't help. He began vomiting and wasrushed lo the hospital. Later, police discovered a melh-amphetamine lab in the other unit of the duplex. Fumesfrom the lab, combined with smoke from an officer'scigarette, had wafted lo Browning.

"The doctor said my small airways were constricted,"Browning said.

It is the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's task to in-vestigate illegal labs. But street cops and detectives usu-ally happen upon most labs, said Jeff Payne, a DEAdetective who specializes in melhamphetamine labs.

Labs pose risks of violence, chemical toxins and long-term illness for officers across the nation and in Utah,where meth has reached epidemic proportions.

"We have the largest amount of meth labs per capitam the nation," Payne said. "Back in '91, '92 if you got alab, that was something else. Now, we're online for 250to 300 this year."

Said West Valley Police Lt. Charles Illsley: "Meth isthe very worst crime scene we've encountered."

Violent Encounters: Meth chemists, or "cooks," areviolent because virtually all use their own product.Typically, addicts can go without sleep for up to 15 days— making them delusional, volatile and irrational.Cooks have attacked lab invaders with scissors, chainsaws and fire. Illsley said at least 40 percent booby-traptheir labs with explosives and nerve agents.

"These folks are biohazards in and of themselves,"Illsley said. "They have open sores, chemical burns,higher incidences of HIV, TB and hepatitis. They evensweat the by-products of these drugs."

Addicts can hide their needles in creative places, sojailers doing searches worry about being poked. On thestreets, officers making routine stops or calls can beexposed to an array of toxic chemicals. Labs even popup in cars.

Police are discovering melhamphelarnina laboratoriescluiinij lounline iiaifiu Kiu|>t>, dumtisiii; (.(itsptittt calls andundercover drug busts, exposing officers to toxic chemicalssuch as:

G SODIUMHYDROXIDE (LYE):

Can bum or eat awayO AMMONIA:Can cause vomiting

OETHER,ACETONEAND ALCOHOL:

Highly flammable orvolatile liquids

OCHLOROFORM:Carcinogenic andvolatile liquidO RED PHOSPHORO

FlammableQ MERCURIC CHLORI

Poisonous, used as an insecticideO CYANIDE GAS:Extremely poisonous

O HYDROCHLORIC AND SULFURIC ACIDS:Can bum digestive and respiratory systems, skin andeyes. Can be absorbed through the skin.© IODINE:

Releases a corrosive, purple gas, irritating eyesand mucous membranes and causing headaches,nausea and dizziness.©PHOSPHANEGAS:

Colorless, poisonous, flammable gas. Used inWorld War I as a nerve agent,

•'•... '..•• IUjomla JIailes Maylelt / The Sail Lake Tribune

"Melh labs in the trunk are a very popular reason forhigh-speed chases," Illsley said. "That endangers theofficer and civilians."

And damage can affect officers' own families."There are lots of examples of foot pursuits where

See METH MANIA, Page B-4

Cleaning up illicit lab siteshas become lucrativ-: k-fetrv

1>Y 1'IIIL SAIIM

THE SALT LA KB TllIM)! IN

Methaniphelamiue labs are a growth industry inUtah.

At any given lime, the stale rates between second andfourth nationwide in the total number of iriclli labs, andfirst in the number per capita, said Don Mendrala of theDrug Enforcement Agency.

The proliferation of illegal labs keeps police agenciesincreasingly busy. But it also has opened new avenuesof business for hazardous-waste cleanup companies.

Every time a melh lab gets busied in a house, ho lei,motel, apartment or storage locker, someone pays tohave it cleaned up because the process of malting thedrug creates toxic chemicals.

In that regard, business is good, said Hob Yarosik ofChemical Waste Management, the company that holdsthe contract to clean up Utah melh labs after the DEAbusts them.

"Whon we started in October 1997, we were probablydoing two to three a week," Yarosik said.

Now, it's almost one a day.From October 1997 to October 19911, Chemical Waste

teak calls from the DEA on 191 labs. Since last October,it already has answered 191 calls.

Chemical Waste came to Utah because of the melhcontract, so almost all of its business in the state incleaning melh labs.

After cleaning a lab, workers package the chemicalsaccording to U.S. Department of Transportation andEnvironmental Protection Agency regulations, thenship them to a hazardous-waste incinerator in Illinois.

Other materials used to make meth — stoves, tubing,pots — go to a special landfill in California.

Utah meth labs, for the most part, are small opera-tions with the average cost of cleanup ranging from$2,000 to $3,000, although some cost less. Occasionally,a larger lab costs $5,000 to clean up, hut those are rare,Yarosik 6aid.

Bigger labs can cost up to $20,000 to clean.Ron Samford expanded his West Jordan business,

Rocky Mountain Asbestos Abatement, to include clean-

See CLEANUP, Page B-4

H Monday. June 28,1999

Meth ManiaCreates NewRisks for PoliceE Corrinued from B-l

you run right through the lab,"liisiey said. "Then, the cop's kidsare corlaminated with chemicalsdaddy dragged in from the druglab. W« used to be able to say, Tinact in ".arcs anymore.' Now, ev-eryone encounters it on a daily ba-sis."

Special Precautions: Specialsuits ard ventilators don't elimi-nate ail dangers.

For iastance, DEA agents useflashlights in assessing labs sothat st)£rks are minimized aroundexplosive chemicals. Agentsbreath? through Self-ComamedBreathing Apparatus masks andwear yellow plastic Tyvez clothes— dubbed banana suits.

"But all of that stuff is cumber-some, and we have to worry aboutheat e-Jiaustion and fatigue,"Payne said. "So we switch tolighter gear when we have tomove.1'

That includes fire-resistantsuits and military-style gas masksfitted with special filters.

"But ihe masks fog in the win-ter, are hot in the summer, andthe bad guys can't understand uswhen ITS yell, 'Police!' " he said."So we -go in without them, secureit, and fet out Then we worryabout the suits."

As backup, one person suits upand waiis outside to help if offi-cers are overcome by toxic-fumes.

"It's ?. double-edged sword forSWAT/ West Valley police LtIllsley agreed. "They have tomove quickly, yet [protectivegear] will binder their progress.But ths"'re in and out — they'rethe lea."' exposed. It's the uni-forms i officers] investigating acase th=;: I worry about"

Amatsur Scientists: Worse,criminal meth cooks are un-trained, or as nisiey puts it:"These ruys are not gifted when itcomes tc organic chemistry."

Cook; begin by mixing ephed-rine, hydriatie acid and red phos-phorus, ihen heating the mixture.

"Red phosphorous is toxic,highly flammable and if overheat-ed, it v;ifl catch on fire or ex-plode," Payne said. "It can be-come phosphane gas, which wasused in -World War I as a nerveagent."

Next. \hey strain the mixture toremove ;he red phosphorous.

Whe.- one officer walkedthrough .a lab house, there was somuch red phosphorous in the car-pet that sparks could be seen com-ing fro— his boots.

"Couii you imagine if a SWATteam w^nt through there?" Paynesaid. '"rne whole place would

P«ul FnoghtoWTbe Salt JLake Tribune

South Salt LakeOfficer Scott Watson dusts lab ware for finger-prints after a meth raid. Often the structure housing the lab andthe surrounding areas are contaminated with lethal remnantE.

have gone up."Lye is added to the mixture.

(Lye can cause serious skin burnsor damage airways.) Everything isthrown into a drum, usually 55-gallons, and Preon is added toforce the meth to the bottom ofthe container. The mixture isdrained and hydrogen chloridegas is added to convert meth. oilinto powder.

"They distill these chemicals toget the meth out," Payne said."But they ventilate the tanks tolet out pressure, which also letstoxins into the air."

The amount of fumes and thepotential for an explosion differwith each illegal lab. Some cooksdon't follow a recipe — they justtoss in chemicals until the mixlooks right. Payne has seen cooksuse antifreeze, highly explosiveether and alcohol, along withdrain cleaner and lye.

Even trained chemists can haveproblems. At what was to be asimple demonstration during aconference in Kansas, a chemistinadvertently blew up a glass con-tainer.

"That was a chemist," Paynesaid. "Most of these meth cookshaven't even graduated from highschool."

Particles and gases can contam-inate entire rooms, often seepinginto basements, ventilation sys-tems and other apartments.

Health Effects: Meth causesnausea, dizziness and headaches,said Payne. "But it's really neverbeen studied. We don't know thelong-term effects."

He knows of officers who sat onred-phosphorous-covered furni-ture, then tracked the chemicalsto their own homes. One officerstepped into a liquid substance,and not realizing the danger, worehis boots every day. He noticedthat he felt sick at work and athome. In civilian shoes, he feltfine. "You have to wonder: 'Head-ache? Where's it from?' " said

Payne. "It's hard to say unless itgets worse and you track it backto exposure."

Hisley said he will never forgetDee. 21, 1982 — the day he firstencountered a lab.

"We'd go outside, get somefresh air, then go back in." hesaid. "In the '70s and '80s, therewas a whole generation of officerswho investigated clandestine labswithout any protection."

Two years ago, Portland, Ore.,approved disability claims fromseveral officers who developedrare forms of cancer. Three hadnon-Hodgkin's lymphoma, anoth-er had emphysema and a fifth of-ficer bone marrow cancer, theLaw Enforcement News reported.

"There are guys who worked itfor 20 years, retired, and just noware starting to show ill effects,"ILsley said. "But it's hard to linkit back to the labs. There are somany chemicals used in so manyways, it would be hard to iraes."

Salt Lake police Sgt. CraigGleason remembers seeing hisfirst lab in a hotel room, threeyears ago.

"We didn't know exactly whatto do," he said. "Then I rememberthe DEA guys taking our clothesand washing our shoes after theyfound out we went in."

Now, he tells officers to stayback.

"As a patrol supervisor, I hadtwo guys find a lab in a car," hesaid. "When I got there, they weresitting on the side of the curb dis-oriented. They had to be taken tothe hospital"

The DSA offers classes, exper-tise and backup. Web sites canhelp too. One, www.meth.com,discusses meth addicts; www.li-feormeth.org features help links;and www.stopdrugs.org shows labequipment.

"We haven't had any police of-ficers die from this ye't in Utah,"Illsley said. "The Lord watchesout for us, but we still need tolook out for ourselves."

The Salt Lake Tribune UTi

Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune

Corrina Valdez, of Utah Disaster Kleenup, clears chemicais from former meth lab at about3300 South and 3500 West in West Valley City. The entire house must be gutted, cleaned.

Cleanup CrewsFind Meth LabMesses Lucrative33 Continued from B-l

up of meth contaminants in Feb-ruary 1998. He goes into housesor other places where a meth labhas been dismantled and gets ridof the residue from cooking thedrug.

Utah has no regulations regard-ing the cleanup of hazardouswaste or toxic chemicals createdwhen people cook methamphet-amine, said Pat Knell of the SaltLake County Health Department.

The county oversees cleanup ofmeth labs by enforcing housingregulations. Knell said. But it'sstill somewhat new territory forcounty regulators.

The county can close a house orother building that contained ameth lab. A company can cleanthe house, but there's no defini-tive way to determine whetherhazardous wastes or contami-

nants have been removed, Knellsaid.

"Is wiping a wall goodenough?" she said. "Or does thewall have to come down."

Knell relies on the expertise ofcleanup companies.

The state someday may draftregulations regarding meth labcleanup. But for now, the countyremains on its own.

Knell said she does not know ofother states where local healthdepartments are overseeingcleanup of meth labs.

When Samford sends his work-ers to clean the site of a formermeth lab a main concern — giventhe lifestyle of some who makemeth — is protecting them againsthepatitis or HIV. which causesAIDS.

"These people have pretty wildsex," he said. "We find a lot ofvideos."

Most meth labs are set up inhomes. But motels, hotels and ex-tended-stay inns are targets, too.

A maid at the Comfort InnSuites in Sandy discovered thatlate last year when she walkedinto a room that did not look

. right.There were too many people in

the room. There was too muchstuff, manager Steve Moss said.

"She just knew something waswrong," Moss said.

Hotel staff called the police andalthough it was not a workingmeth lab. it appeared the guestswere setting up one. Moss said.The occupants were supposed tocheck out that morning and ap-parently were going to move intoan extended-stay inn.

Instead, they went to jail.Sandy has no more of a problem

with meth labs than any otherpart of the valley, and it may haveless, Mendrala said. But when theSandy Police Department heldtwo classes to teach hotel and mo-tel workers how to spot the signsof people who set up meth labs,they were well-attended.

The hospitality industry in gen-eral is more scrutinizing of guestsnow.

When people pay cash, morehotels and motels require photoidentification and a credit card.And even if guests do not wantmaid service, they get it everyother day.

"It's become pretty standardpractice in th? hotel business/'said Moss, of Comfort Inn Suites.

The Salt Lake Tribune UTAH Monday, July 12, 1999

30 Local Agencies Brainstorm for War on MethSalt Lake police obtain nearly $1 million in federal grants. They will coordinate the effort

10 DEAL! N

) VOLTS FOR•EE SfCOA'DSt .

licllon,Ted's wilejnce system.

CORDISSINGsniikc expert who

iio for more than ared missing personion Clem inghouso.Her a night withtaking his absenceibout the investiga-naslern Idaho andinlying the poisonsher organisms, liespider.

LARGEfur a suspect in a

.11 1 N. Rio GrandeAt about tl;OS pin.up argued about a

BY KE1,1,Y KENNEDY

TUB SALT LAKH TWUUKB

Methamphetamine addicts com-bined with young children, neighborsand inconsistent prosecution make avolatile mixture.

But bringing together 30 local agen-cies and nearly a million dollars couldmean hope for those caught up in themix — including the addict.

"We're working together to makethe community stronger," said Mar-jean Wood, project coordinator forthe new Melh and Drug Initiative."We've got SO agencies meetingmonthly to talk about their cases andhow they can better handle them."

The Salt Lake City Police Depart-ment spearheaded the project by ap-plying for two federal grants: a$750,000 Advanced Community Polic-ing Grant, received in January, and a$112,574 grant from the Bureau ofJustice Assistance, received in May.

Now, West Valley and Salt Lake po-lice are meeting with the Environmen-tal Protection Agency, Drug Enforce-ment Agency, the Division of Childand Family Services, district attor-ney's offices anil health agencies andothers.

"Melhamplielamine is an area thatneeds more emphasis," said Salt LakePolice 1,1. John Uodson, project man-ager. "This way, we have more agen-

cies working to handle every aspect ofthe problem."

The grant also pays for a full timedata analyst, health work, DCFS per-son located at the police departmentand an attorney to work on prosecu-tion.

Through a team effort, Hodsonhopes lo address everything fromchemical dependency, by calling incounselors, to the criminal aspects, bymaking stronger laws, lo helping fam-ilies by involving DCFS, to social prob-lems by helping communities.

"Instead of handling meth the waywe have, we'll train our officers tothink past the drug," Hodson said."They'll ask themselves, 'Are therechildren in the house? Elderly people?In addition to the DEA, do we needyouth detectives?' These are thingswe're working on with this grant."

The community decided to concen-trate on meth because it is differentfrom other drugs/Wood said.

"Meth has its own special aspects,"she said. "The onset [of the high] isquicker, and the duration is longer. Tofight that addiction is going to bemuch harder."

In addressing melh problems, Woodand Hodson say the program will in-clude oilier narcotics, because manyhard drug users try heroin, cocaineand meth.

Melh is an all-encompassing prob-

lem, and it can affect every aspect of acommunity, Wood said. For instance:

ii Children grow up around toxicchemicals or without parents whocan't break an addiction.

• Meth cooks dump their toxicchemicals down their kitchen sinks orin ditches, which can be costly lo cleanup.

• People who make meth are usual-ly high, and work with volatile chemi-cals, which could mean fires and ex-plosions.

• Homeowners renting to meth labcooks are responsible for cleanup,which is expensive.

H People moving into a new home orapartment may encounter chemicalsfrom an illegal lab that was neverproperly decontaminated.

• Police, paramedics, social work-ers or even carpet cleaners could beovercome by toxic fumes.

• Finally, meth addicts face health,financial and criminal problems.

Some funds have already been usedfor the Dependency Drug Court oper-ated by Juvenile Courts. This programhelps keep families together liy forc-ing addicts lo stop using melh so theycan see their children. The offendermeets with a judge once every twoweeks, and is tested for drugs weekly.

"There's some real teeth in that,"Wood said. "It's not thai we'll have alot of foster children — we're trying lo

gel kids back into a good place. Someof the stories we hear about childrenare really concerning."

To curtail that, Wood and Hodsonare setting up a team that will seekstricter child endangermeiil laws.

"Ilight now, you get a class A misde-meanor for a lot of these [crimes],"Wood said. "We're hoping for a childendangerrnent statute "

Wood also has started training com-munity members about melh: what ac-tivities might go on outside a melhhouse, what the drug looks like, whatcommunity members can do and howlo stay safe.

For more information on this pro-gram, call Wood at (MM) 7i)9 :1357.The training is free.

The project's data analyst, KimRitzinan, will keep track of meth of-fenders, prosecutions, what happensto their children, where drugs are soldand by whom, and vehicle license-plate numbers of people who frequentdrug houses.

"With Ihi:; infaiination, well beable to show what we've accomplishedand what we need lo work on," Ritz-man said.

Said Wood: "Realistically, you'regoing lo see a real difference in thelong term. We see the .same peopleover and over - maybe l>y workingwith the oilier agencies, we can stopthai."

Leaders in TrainingSpend Summer in

Utah News from KSL-TV, Salt Lake City, Utah Page i of2

HEALTHNETJ\A

NBC. COM

HorsepowerAnti-Meth Campaign

Jan. 25, 2000

A new challenge for themethamphetamine problem inUtah. A campaign will kick offnext week that targets methmanufacturers and users.

It's the first time the State Department of SubstanceAbuse has launched a major anti-drug message, andexperts expect it to have a big impact. Crime SpecialistKaren Sculiin explains.

Thirty billboards across Utah will soon have a newmessage that targets meth manufacturers. It's only partof a campaign to fight the growing meth problem in thisstate. Good timing, say Drug Agents. The meth probiemin 1999 showed no signs of improvement.

Over the last few years in Utah, drug agents havetackled about one meth lab a day. Unfortunately,nothing's changed. We still rank third or fourth in thenation for the number of meth labs busted.

In 1998 there were 290, 1999 about 271. And so far thisyear, we're running pretty much the same. But there issome good news.

Don Mendrala/D.E.A.: THE NUMBER OF PRO ACTIVELABS IS GOING UP. WE'RE TAKING THE FIGHT TOTHE BAD GUYS.

Meaning in the past, meth labs were discovered as aresult of an investigation into another problem. Mendralasays they're now getting a lot of tips from the community.

And that's what the State Department of SubstanceAbuse is banking on as well. They're getting ready tolaunch a new campaign to fight meth.

B.J. Van Roosendaal/State Dept. of Substance Abuse:METH IS SUCH A GROWING PROBLEM. IT'SESPECIALLY A PROBLEM BECAUSE MORE WOMENTHAN MEN ARE USING METH. AND THAT IS THEFIRST TIME THAT'S HAPPENED WITH ANYSUBSTANCE ABUSE THAT WE'VE TRACKED.

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Utah News from KSL-TV, Salt Lake City, Utah Page 2 of 2

Thirty billboards will go up to target meth manufacturers,asking what's cooking in your neighborhood?

A meth hotline will allow citizens to call if they think theyhave a lab in their neighborhood.

And for anyone needing help or information on meth,public service announcements will also run on radio andtelevision with a separate toll free number anyone cancall.

B.J. Van Roosendaal: WE WANT TO REACH THEGENERAL POPULATION OF COURSE. BUT WOMENARE OUR SPECIFIC TARGET. WOMEN 18 TO 34.

The campaign kicks off next Wednesday.

The major campaign is a joint effort by several agencies,including Salt Lake City Police and the Utah Council onCrime Prevention. The initial campaign wiil run about sixweeks, but the toll free help lines are here to stay.

For More Info:

State Division of Substance Abuse

• Links to Anti-Meth web sites

From Eyewitness News Archives:

• Meth Lab in Your Neighborhood?

• More About Methamphetamine

• Who Is Using Meth?

• National Drug Treatment Hotline

Related News Stories:

• Special Report: Utah's Explosive AddictionFeb. 1999

• Shelter Homes For Meth ChildrenFeb. 1999

Back to I KSL-TV Home I

0 http://www.ksl.com/dump/news/cc/special/crime/antimeth.htm 1/27/00

MONDAY BUSINESS SECTION MAKES ITS DEBUT / D-l

http://www.sltrib.com

Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871

MONDAY, MAY 1, 2000 143 S o u t h M a i n S t r e e t , S a l t L a k e C i t y , U l u l i n i l 11Telephone numbers listed on A-','.

Utah's Homegrown Meth Labs Creating an Epidemic of Addicted TotsBY MICHAEL VIGII

Tl IK SALT LAKH TRIBUNE

After police raided a suspected Salt LakeCity drug house recently, they found aworking tnethamphetainine lab, loadedfirearms and several open jugs of toxicchemicals.

They also discovered two filthy, hungryboys. An adult in the home was jailed foroperating a moth lab and for child abuse.Later, blood and hair tests of one of theboys revealed the presence of meth-

amphetamine in his system."He tested positive and has exhibited

withdrawal symptoms," said Lisa Jor-gensen, an investigator with Utah's ChildProtective Services. "He's a 5-year-old ad-dict." The boy's 2-year-old brother also wasfound to have traces of meth in his system.

Call it the "crack baby" epidemic for thenew millennium.

Experts say Utah's standing as a havenfor "Mom and Pop" meth labs is causinguntold damage to children who live indrug addled homes where adults brew

toxic mixtures on their kitchen stoves.Used needles, beakers with drug residueand contaminated vials are typically scat-tered on the floor where infants crawl andplay.

Authorities who must wade through thechemical mess left by the home-cookedhigh are worried about the long term neg-ative consequences for children who growup in such an environment.

"When one of these drug houses is dis-covered, it's not uncommon for our agentsto be in moon suits while babies are

crawling around in diapers," said DonMendrala, federal Drug Enforcement Ad-ministration (DEA) spokesman.

Young children become addicted to tlr;drugs when they inhale second ham!smoke or sample chunks of crystal mcllileft lying on the floor. Likewise, pregnantwomen who smoke or snort the highly ?>.<!•dictive — and cheap — drugs often get theirunborn children addicted, Jorgenseu said.

Indeed, the most frequent users of nir;l it

See H IGH METH USE, PugL A••!»

The Salt Lake Tribune UTAH/WORLD Monday, May 1,2000 A5

High Meth UseIn Utah CausesTots to Suffer• Continued from A-l

are women between the ages of 20and 35 — the age of childbearing,said Pat Knell of the Salt LakeCounty Health Department.

The effects on children are notwidely known because long-termstudies have not been done on thenewly recognized problem. What isknown, Knell said, is that childrengo through some of the same with-drawal symptoms of vomiting, di-arrhea and chronic sickness astheir "tweaking" — street slangfor users of meth — parents.

"It takes two years to get offmeth," she said. "You feel prettyrotten for about two years."

Parents addicted to meth aremore concerned about their nexthigh than ensuring their childrenreceive adequate care. The results

are predictable."These are some of the most

abused and neglected children I'veever seen," Jorgensen said at the10th Annual Utah Gang Confer-ence held recently in downtownSalt Lake City. "The house is filthy,the kids are missing school andthey are always sick. In some cas-es, the only meal they get is atschool."

Added Mendrala of the DEA:"The abuse is broad, encompass-ing. The focus for users is on thedrug; family, food and personalhygiene take a distant second. Kidsare not going to be cared for, fed orbathed with any regularity."

When a working meth lab isdiscovered by police, the childrenare automatically removed fromthe home, given a mental healthscreening and moved to fosterhomes. After they are removedfrom the toxic environment, theybegin the healing process. Theroad to recovery, though, is a longone for children addicted to thedrug.

"They go through withdrawalsand feel terrible," Jorgensen said."We see developmental delays and

hearing loss."The adverse effects are not just

physical. Experts fear the meth-house epidemic will create a classof social deviants, people prone toviolence and who abhor law offic-ers.

"In tweakers' homes we seedrugs, guns and very hard-coreporn," Jorgensen said. "We get alot of very neglected and sexuallyabused kids."

Jorgensen said people on methfrequently enjoy pornography andsome like to take photographs ofthemselves and others engaging inlewd acts. The pictures and porno-graphic magazines are often scat-tered around the home, easily ac-cessible to children.

"I've seen a 3-year-old who candescribe sexual acts and sees noth-ing wrong with it," Jorgensen said."These kids — and I'm talking 10and under — seem to have noinhibitions."

Children who live in the methculture learn from parents whohave loaded handguns scatteredaround the house and are willingto use gunfire to protect their ille-gal operations, experts say. The

drugs can net about $25 on thestreet for two hits, but many methcooks make the drugs to satisfytheir own cravings, Knell said

"People on meth become vio-lent, paranoid, and they're well-armed," she said. "To them, every-one is a cop."

The burgeoning meth culturedoesn't seem to be slowing down inUtah, officials say. Last year, forexample, 266 labs were discoveredby police around the state. Onlyfour other states — California,Missouri, Arkansas and Arizona— had more. On a per capita basis,Utah remains the No. 1 meth statein the United States, a dubioustrend that began a few years ago ina state known for its squeaky-cleanimage.

Meanwhile, the boys found inthe Salt Lake City drug house aredoing OK, but will live with the ef-fects of glowing up in a meth labfor some time.

"They slept for two days, theywent through sweating, cramping,diarrhea and have developmentalproblems," Jorgensen said. "Theyare in a foster home and are goingto be in counseling and rehab foryears to come."

DESERET NEWS, THURS. P.M./FRI. A.M., AUG. 34 , 2000

Meth tears apart the lives of childrenThey live in filthy,dangerous homes,social worker says

By Jennifer DobnerDeseret News staff writer

OGDEN — Social worker LisaJorgensen has a lot of chilling andsad stories about how the drugmethamphelamine has ravaged thelives of her clients.

On Wednesday at the 13thAnnual Mountain West Conferenceon Child Abuse and Domestic Vio-lence at Weber Slate Universityshe told this one:

After two years of using, hermale client has lost most of hisability to complete basic dailytasks. He exhibits violent tenden-cies and is antisocial, believingthat societal rules don't reallyapply to him. Physically, he suffersheart problems and hearing lossfrom the drug use. He is off thedrug now but continues to exhibitall the classic signs of withdrawal.His whole life has revolved aroundmeth, as has that of his family, most

of whom are doing time in the stateprison.

He is 5 years old."At best, I'd say his prognosis is

guarded. Where do you get a 5-year-old into (drug) treatment?"said Jorgensen, who handles childprotection cases for the Division ofChild and Family services. "In fiveyears of investigating child protec-tive cases for DCFS these are abso-lutely the most abused andneglected children I've ever seen.They are the worst cases I've everworked."

Meth kids typically live in cha-otic environments that are filthyand filled with dangerous chemi-cals. They are mostly unsuper-vised. Their homes are usuallyfilled with unsecured firearms andlots of pornography. If their par-ents are meth cooks, which most ofthem are, the kids live in constantdanger of fire and deadly explo-sions. Their parents, who are con-sumed by paranoia because of thedrug, "don't eat, don't sleep... stopcaring about anything except thedrug, and (they) don't take care oftheir kids," Jorgensen said.

Among her other clients are a 3-year-old who has watched hermother act out scenes from porno-

graphic movies with a boyfriendand an 8-year-old who can givedetailed descriptions of the methcooking process, which sheexplained as the "scientific experi-ments" mom and her boyfriendperformed in the kitchen.

"On the same stove where thefood was cooked," Jorgensen said.

As a member of a one-year-oldmeth task force, Jorgensen worksin partnership with Salt Lake andWest Valley police, the DrugEnforcement Administration andstate and county attorneys to getthese kids out of danger faster.When the cops bust down the doorof a suspected meth home, Jor-gensen is right behind them, whisk-ing the kids away to shelter care.

Between Jan. 29 and March 27,the task force was involved in 164meth incidents. There were 54 chil-dren in those raided homes, and 35were removed into DCFS custody.A recent survey of social workersin Salt Lake County showed thatabout 65 percent of the childrenbeing removed from parental cus-tody are in some way related tometh. The average age of childrenin custody in a meth case is 5.8years, Jorgensen said.

But as concerned as she is for

the children, she is also concernedabout the risks meth homespresent to social workers. Manytimes other care issues mean thatDCFS workers are alreadyinvolved in the lives of these fami-lies. When a social worker makes ahome visit, he or she could beexposed to harmful meth chemi-cals.

"Before I understood what I waslooking at, I was walking into methhomes all the time," said Jorgensen.

Workers should be immediatelysuspicious of homes where theysee large quantities of matchbooks, over-the-counter decongestants, bottles of acetone or lye. Hos-es, funnels, and science-lab glass-ware are also good clues.

If a worker walks in and seesparaphernalia like that, turnaround and walk right out, Jor-gensen advised.

"I always say it's a really goodtime to get a page," she said grasp-ing the pager clipped to her belt."Be careful, you don't want to con-front them. And you don't everwant to let the user know that youknow what you just saw. Just getout of there and call the police."EMAIL-dabnei@desnews.cam

The Salt Lake Tribune UTAH Friday, September 29,2000 B'c

Cops May Be Gaining in WarOn Meth Production in UtahState no longer No. 1 in per capita busts of illegal labs, DEA reports

BY MICHAEL VIGH

THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Utah's infamous run as the na-tion's leader in methamphetamineproduction may finally be ending,according to the federal Drug En-forcement Administration.

Following a six-year trend inwhich meth lab busts sharply in-creased in the state, the DEA onThursday reported an 18 percentdecline for the fiscal year, whichends on Saturday.

"No one is saying we don't havemore work to do," said Don Men-drala, DEA agent-in-charge, at anafternoon news conference indowntown Salt Lake City. "Thenumber is still too high."

Utah law officers seized 225 labsin fiscal 2000, compared with 266the year before. The Beehive State,which has been the nation's percapita leader in meth lab seizuresfor several years, has now droppedto No. 2—just behind neighboringNevada.

Overall, Utah ranks 10th in the

total number of meth labs uncov-ered by police. Last year, only fourother states — California, Missou-ri, Arkansas and Arizona — hadmore busts than Utah.

Mendrala credits a metham-phetamine task force — comproz-ing the DEA, police and prosecu-tors — for the sharp decrease. Healso credits an emphasis on lawsthat make methamphetamine in-gredients — ephedrine, iodine andred phosphorous — illegal in largequantities.

"And people are finally startingto go to jail for these crimes be-cause of aggressive prosecution,"Mendrala said.

Methamphetamine abuse isamong the top causes of crime inUtah, police say, and can lead tochild abuse and homicide. Thehighly addictive, toxic — andcheap — drug is cooked on homestoves across the nation. Metham-phetamine is smoked, injected, in-haled and even eaten.

Young children are particularlyat risk when adults brew toxic

chemicals. For example, flaskscontaining poisonous mixtures of-ten are placed or stored near chil-dren's milk or food. Officers haveeven found vials of drugs next toinfants' bottles and pacifiers.

Criminals who use the drug be-come paranoid, often arm them-selves and are more prone to vio-lence, according to police.

Mendrala said more than 90percent of Utah meth labs are dis-covered along the Wasatch FrontHe conceded, however, that ag-gressive enforcement has pushedthe labs to rural areas.

"We see meth labs happen inneighborhoods all over the valley,"said Salt Lake City Assistant Po-lice Chief Scott Folsom. "Meth iseverywhere and that's what makesit such a crisis in the community."

Folsom said methamphetamineis the most popular drug in the ar-ea. "We are seeing gigantic in-creases in the use of meth," he said."Club drugs, like Ecstasy, are justnow appearing on the radarscreen."

SPEED TRAP

BY JACOB SANTTNI and ASHLEY ESTESTHE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Tifhey Smith went from a size 10 to a size zero.Single mother Suzi Cappelli got by on two hours sleep, using the extra hours to clean her home and entertain

her 5-year-old son.For a couple of minutes of work, Alesha Schmidt made at least $400 a day.At first, the women said, methamphetamine seemed the answer to their problems. But the drug that seemed to

give them so much quickly turned on them, eventually taking over their lives and turning them from superwivesand moms into junkies.

Like thousands of women across Utah who have tangled with meth, 26-year-old Jill Bartschi of Salt LakeCity had divided loyalties. First came meth. Then came her husband and 3-year-old son.

"There were a lot of times I'd put a movie on [for my son] and say, 'God, just watch the movie and let me gethigh,'" said Bartschi, who worked as a school principal's assistant for two years while using meth. "I had allthese little rationalizations, justifications, addict rules - you can't use it if he's in the room. But if he's in thebathtub, I can run in the other room and get high."

The stories of these women, all recovering meth addicts, aren't unique. There is an alarming sameness tothem: At first, meth seems like a wonder drug that makes everything possible, from losing weight to findingendless hours of stamina.

Almost inevitably, though, users lose everything they thought they gained, and much, much more.Simply put, methamphetamine is a powerful, cheap stimulant that lures users at nearly every socioeconomic

level. It is the one drug Utah women abuse at a rate nearly equal to that of men, and the repercussions affectchildren, families and even state government.

In 1999, 34 percent of the women booked into the Salt Lake County Jail tested positive for meth, accordingto a National Institute of Justice report. Of 34 metro areas surveyed, only San Diego, at 36 percent, was higher.

The same report ranked Salt Lake-area men third in the nation for using meth — but they were only 25percent of those booked into jail.

In 2000, nearly half of the 3,449 people who entered publicly funded treatment in Utah for meth werewomen, according to the state's Division of Substance Abuse. By comparison, women have made up fewer thana third of users seeking treatment for other drugs.

The scope of the meth problem is undoubtedly much larger, however, since these numbers reflect only usersreceiving publicly funded treatment, said Angela Smart, a research consultant for the division.

Even more frightening: The female meth user is most often also a meth mother.State statistics show 90 percent of women admitted for meth treatment have dependent children. And most

female users are between the ages of 18 and 32, typical child-bearing years.Officials are sounding a warning: if the current rate of abuse by women, particularly mothers, continues,

nearly all state agencies, from child services to education and drug treatment, will be affected."I've worked with child protection for six years, and these are absolutely the most abused and neglected

children I've seen," said Lisa Jorgensen, a caseworker for the Division of Child and Family Services.

Skinny Supermoms: Smith, now 29, was looking for more hours in the day when she tried meth four yearsago. She had a 6-year-old son at home in Clearfield and worked a full-time job. "It just seemed like there wasalways somewhere to be, something to be doing," she said.

On meth, she said, "I'd feel I could paint the side of the house with a toothbrush."Meth's attraction to women is simple: a single dose — snorted, smoked, swallowed or injected — awakens a

user's senses and supplies them with a feeling of overwhelming vigor. They stay awake for days or even weeksduring binges.

Smith's closet was a study in meth-triggered obsession. Black shirts on black hangers. Green ones on greenhangers. White on white. All of her pants hung on rose-colored hangers. T-shirts, also hanging on whitehangers, were alphabetized by the words on them.

"I don't think a lot of [women] are trying it for recreation," said Smart, who surveys incoming inmates at theSalt Lake Metro Jail and state prison each year. "They're taking it to clean their homes after coming home fromworking two jobs."

Michelle Young, a mother of three from Kearns, initially found family happiness with meth. One morning, afriend offered her a line of meth to snort. Over the next several months, Young, a high-school dropout who hadearned a GED and become a gas station manager, began doing a line or two every other day, spending about$20 a week.

"I could spend time with my children. I had time for my husband. I was getting all of the housework done.Everybody was happy.

"I was a foster parent. I was a room mother. You name it, I was doing it. That's why I liked meth so much. Itmade me supermom."

That was in 1994. By the time she was arrested six years later, Young was a meth fiend, smoking as much asan ounce daily.

There's also another attraction for women — quick weight loss. Meth works as an appetite suppressant,similar to "generic speed" diet pills popular decades ago. Some women call meth "Jenny Crank," a reference toJenny Craig diets.

Trying the drug for the first time, Bartschi was amazed to find she hadn't snacked in hours. At the time of herlast arrest in late 2000, Schmidt had dwindled to 98 pounds — 32 pounds below her normal weight.

Thrill Ride: For many, using meth is a thrill ride."Have you ever been skydiving? It's the biggest thing you've ever done that's so scary but the funnest," Smith

said.Smith started using meth after watching her boyfriend come home from a 20-hour work day and still have

energy to wash his truck. She endured the eye-watering, gagging effects of snorting before she began smokingthe drug.

"I'm not going to lie, meth is a lot of fun," says Smith, who is currently in a treatment program at the DavisCounty Jail's Work Center.

Cappelli, a 32-year-old with auburn curls and wholesome looks, started using drugs arid alcohol at age 13,moving on to cocaine in her 20s.

A single mom, she initially pledged to stay away from meth. But friends told her it produced a better highthan cocaine, and lasted longer. Plus, she said, it was cheaper.

Friends told her she would be fine if she remembered to lie down for two hours a day and to eat something.She would sleep from 4 to 6 a.m., then have a cup of coffee and a hit of meth before waking her son for school.

"I used to tell people I was a functional drug addict because I could hold down a job," said Cappelli, who heldvarious jobs — operating a cement mixer, driving a truck — during her addiction.

Good Intentions: West Valley City Police Lt. Charles Illsley says meth addiction follows a predictable cycle."It starts out a well-meaning attempt to organize a household, to look better and get a husband and to hold downajob."

But the love affair between women and meth sours quickly.The 22-year-old Schmidt graduated from Roy High School in 1998 with a 3.5 GPA. Shortly before

graduation, she was introduced to meth by her boyfriend's mother. She became a manager of a warehouse for ascrapbook company, and her meth use increased — to as much as a "teener," a sixteenth of an ounce, daily.

She soon lost that job because of meth. Even as her habit increased, Schmidt became a certified nursingassistant and worked at an assisted living center. But chronic lateness, which she blames on her meth use, gother fired.

Schmidt's habit was soon costing her hundreds of dollars a day. She started selling meth. At her peak, shewas selling an ounce of meth a day and turning at least a $400 profit in just minutes while sending S900 to hermeth cook.

.Besides the easy money, Schmidt fell in love with the methamphetamine lifestyle that included plenty ofpower and no responsibilities.

"Quick money. Fast money. People will do anything to get high," said Schmidt, who is completing the final

weeks of the court-ordered drug treatment program."I was smart. I really was at one time," Schmidt said. "Being high all the time - it's got to do something to

you."Today, she thinks she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and is nagged by forgetfulness.Meth is "going to nail anybody who fools around with it for more than two or three months," said Alex

Stalcup, medical director of the New Leaf Treatment Center in Concord, Calif., who is widely regarded as aninternational expert on methamphetamine.

As addiction takes hold, users begin consuming more and more, while neglecting family, home and work.Lack of sleep, coupled with drug use, results in paranoia.

Cappelli saw people following her, looking through her blinds. She picked at her face until it bled. Shechased one woman with a crowbar. "I thought I was 10 feet tall and bulletproof," she said.

In the grips of addiction, many women are unable to keep their jobs, clean their homes or even take care ofthe basic needs of their children. Their behavior turns compulsive.

Cappelli spent a lot of time taking her car apart, trying to fix it and make it run better. "I know absolutelynothing about cars," she said. "But if you would have asked me then, I would have told you exactly what I wasdoing."

Longtime meth users become increasingly recognizable, authorities say. Their teeth fall out. Their hair thins.They become malnourished.

"Everybody talks about the people in New York or the guy living under the railroad bridge who is shootingheroin into his gums because he can't find a good vein. That's disgusting," said Patrick Fleming, director of thestate Division of Substance Abuse. "If you see a person that's used methamphetamine for a long time, they'renot much different."

Like Schmidt, many women rum to selling the drug to fund their own habits. Some help manufacture it."I couldn't stop," Young said. "I started running out of energy. My whole life became chasing crank."By 1997, after three years of meth use, she was selling the drug and helping cooks get the chemicals to make

it."My world was crumbling," she said. "I was losing my house. I lost my husband. I was about to lose my car.

Shortly after that, I lost my job."She eventually went to jail. But some addicts — and their children — pay an even higher price.Dayna Pittman, 42, of La Verkin, gave birth to a stillborn daughter on Jan. 17, 1998. The medical examiner's

office found methamphetamine in the baby's system. Pittman was charged with felony child abuse homicide, thefirst Utahn charged in the drug-related death of a fetus. She pleaded no contest and was imprisoned for up to 15years.

In a recent telephone interview from Utah State Prison, a tearful Pittman said she knew immediately thebaby's death was her fault. She could not look her husband and eldest daughter, 23, in the eyes.

A counselor talked her into holding the baby. "I just remember it being the worst moment in my life," shesaid. "Looking at her, it made me sick.

"How could I be so sick to ignore a human inside me? It nauseates me," Pittman said.Pittman had used meth in the past, but began relying on it in 1996, when her husband, a concrete worker,

broke his pelvis and could not work. She went from being a stay-at-home mom to their daughter, 15, and son,14, to working two jobs — hotel housekeeper and restaurant cook — while also selling tamales out of herfamily's mobile home.

Meanwhile, she said, she was drinking dozens of beers a night and using meth to keep her upright.After her release from prison, she wants to show other women the tiny casts of her dead daughter's hand and

foot and urge them to prevent future deaths.

Smallest Victims: The little girl was adamant - her parents didn't use drugs.But. she told Jorgensen. the DCFS caseworker, they frequently conducted "science experiments."Jorgensen saw a different story inside the child's home. A container of acetone on the floor and iodine stains

on the stove pointed to a clandestine meth lab. Until recently, Jorgensen took care of children while the SaltLake Police Department executed search warrants and busts of homes suspected to contain drug labs. Sheestimated 75 percent of those cases were meth-related.

Most mothers using meth try to keep the drug from their children. Cappelli did not allow drug deals in thehouse — unless her son wasn't there or was asleep — and kept the drugs out of his sight. Her stash was kept in adresser drawer, too high for him to reach; Cappelli would retreat to her bedroom, sometimes accompanied byfriends, to get high.

"I'm sure he knew," she said. "When Mom goes and hides in the bedroom for four hours at a pop, I'm sureyou know something's going on."

In meth homes, contamination shows up on objects like baby bottles or children's beds. "That's not just in labhomes. That's in high-use homes," Jorgensen said. One of her photos shows an open drawer with a meth pipelaying next to a pacifier.

Some children experience withdrawal after being removed from a meth home. "We had one little 5-year-old -- the shelter mom didn't know what was wrong with him. He slept for 48 hours," then began to vomit and shake,she said.

Bartschi's son, the one stuck in front of a television so his mom could get high, tested positive for meth andmarijuana when he was removed from her home in March 2000 after her arrest for meth.

"The only time they took [the handcuffs] off was so I could pack him a little suitcase," she said. "I couldn'tsay, 'I'll see you soon' because I didn't know when I'd see him. I could just say, 'Mommy loves you.'

"He was going down the front walk looking over his shoulder. I dont ever want to see that look on my son'sface again, as he's leaving with a stranger and his suitcase and his teddy bear."

Effects of meth on children have not been widely studied. But Karen Buchi, associate professor of pediatricsat the University of Utah, said recent studies show adults' brains are permanently changed after chronic methuse. "If it can do that to an adult, what is the effect on a more immature nervous system?" she said.

Children in meth homes also become used to neglect, paranoia and sometimes violence, Buchi said.Jorgensen estimates she found guns and pornography in some 95 percent of meth homes.

Trouble may be in the future for children of addicts, as well — those who were exposed to the drug, or tochemicals used to make it, may be predisposed to become addicts themselves.

"This is a monster. You should be preparing now for these kids," Stalcup said.

End of the Line: The final straw for Cappelli began with a strange fluttering in her stomach. A nurseacquaintance asked her if she might be pregnant.

In reality, she was in her sixth month. She had had no idea.Cappelli confessed her drug use during pregnancy to her doctor, who alerted the Division of Child and

Family Services. Her daughter, now 18 months old, was taken into state custody as a newborn. She weighed 5pounds, 7 ounces and was severely dehydrated at birth.

Cappelli got her back after proving she had been clean for a month and attending court-ordered treatment."The fact that she's healthy is a miracle," she said.

Bartschi also completed a treatment program in order to get her son back. "It was either drugs or my son," shesaid. "For me, it was very easy."

Smith nearly killed herself before she stopped using meth.In 2000, Smith entered drug court and passed every drug test for 10 months. She was still using meth, but

every day she ate a toxic dose of two chlorine tablets — the ones used to keep hot tubs clean — in a successfulstrategy for passing urine tests.

"It was like having the flu so horribly bad I couldn't move. My eyelids hurt. I felt constantly like I had topuke but I couldn't," Smith said.

Finally, she deliberately allowed herself to test positive, thinking she'd get thrown in jail for a couple ofweeks — enough time to clean her system. Instead, she was ordered to a four-month Davis County Jail program.

She now works as a receptionist at a real estate company.The women admit they're still tempted. Young recently turned down an offer to get high on a drive to

Wendover.Cappelli. who works in customer service for a car rental company, sometimes misses her circle of drug-using

friends. She sees some of them occasionally - on the nightly news.Others are in prison for crimes like aggravated kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon. "Today, I

would never even dream of letting these people in my house," she said. "The thought of it makes me cringe."

alt Lake City Becoming an Unlikely Battlefield in the War on DrugsIditor's note: While the Tribuneas covered Salt Lake City's melh-mphetamine culture before, theillowing is offered as a look atow other parts of the countryiew Utah.

BYPAULPR1NGLE

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS3ioneer Park was named for thein-living founders of theirch of Jesus Christ of Latter-< Saints. The neatly groomedimon of shade trees and foot-is is six blocks from Templeare, world headquarters of thermon faith.t is also a prime location forring drugs.'They're here if you want::n," said Kathy Kennedy, 48, anTitled alcoholic and formeroin addict who has dabbled inline and methamphetamine.Jnemployed for years, she wasing the afternoon in the park, asdoes most days. "There's every1 of drug. This isn't differentl any other city."lalt Lake may be the last placewould expect to find a thrivingcotics culture. After all, the:hings of the Mormon Church,ch remains Utah's dominantitution and is the wellspring oflaw-and-order politics, forbidi coffee and cigarettes,lut the drug scourge has not~ed the Utah capital, for rea-j that Mormon leaders concede' be beyond the church's pow-of spiritual persuasion. Theyude the same earthly tempta-s, family failings and youthfulilliousness that bedevil anymunity.I wish we knew why thesegs happen," said Haroldwn, management director ofchurch's social services pro-ns. "We have our share ofjlems. We wish we didn't.")ver the past few years, au-

Drug Abuse Up in UtahUtah is experiencing an unprecedented increase in drug abuse, asrecent statistics indicate.

Utah drug arrests1996 1999

5,601 12,518

Utah drug seizures in grams

HeroinMarijuanaCocaineMethClub drugs*'In doses

1998

1,365430,474

59,20842,922

3,034

_J999J955

110,74792,15871,83813,586

2000**

4,191 j447,82^1

28,2926,835$!

120,827 ."Throuuh.Julv 9

Meth lab seizures, 1999California

HHHHSBBHHHI2429

WashingtonH I 552Missouri• I 414Oklahoma••391

NOTE: lulals do not include liyures from some smaller, non-reporting police agencies.

Enforcement Administration.In the early 1990s, the DEA and

local police agencies raided about ahalf dozen labs a year in the Bee-hive State. They busted 266 in 1999— mainly hi the Salt Lake region—and are on a pace to at least equalthat number this year.

The typically closet-sized labsare turning up throughout the cityand county, from downtown hotelrooms to suburban garages to foot-hill shanties along the emeraldWasatch Mountains.

Outside Salt Lake, meth makersfavor the deep recesses of Utah'snational forests. The state has alsoposted record confiscations ofspeed smuggled into the country

Knight Milder Tribune

in the building's third-floor view oftemple spires, the skyline's signa-ture feature. "It was surprising."

The magnitude of the meth epi-demic also surprised Lisa Jor-gensen, a state children servicesworker assigned to the Salt Lakepolice. Her job is to rescue young-sters from drug-infested homes. InSalt Lake County, 65 percent ofchildren taken from their parentsby the state come from meth dens,according to the Utah Departmentof Human Services.

"They live in just deplorable,chronic, horrible neglect," saidJorgensen, who was hunched overa computer at the downtown policestation. "We get 20 to 25 cases a

whole. Nevertheless, the Utahtrend for all drugs has beentroubling.

Seizures of heroin, cocaine,marijuana, ecstasy and GHB areup by substantial margins, theDEA says. Ecstasy and GHB topthe list, soaring from 3,034 dosestwo years ago to 13,586 in 1999 and120,827 in the first five months ofthis year.

"We hate to see it," said SaltLake police Capt. Roger Winkler."Utah has always been above this.It hits home."

Ecstasy and GHB have explodeddespite a Salt Lake club scene thatis virtually dormant by non-Utahstandards. The Mormon influencetranslates into tough limits on al-cohol sales. Most bars require cus-tomers to buy memberships beforeimbibing. And they are often re-stricted to serving low-alcoholbeer.

But there is a sprinkling ofnightspots in and around SaltLake's hotel district, where con-struction is booming hi anticipa-tion of the 2002 Winter Olympics.The blue laws have done little tokeep ecstasy and GHB out of thehands of young revelers.

"People can always find a con-nection," said Jan Ilansen, a 20-year-old college student who wassipping a latte at Cup of Joe, adowntown coffeehouse.

"Lots of things are frowned onhere, but people still use them,"said Hansen, a Salt Lake native. Hesported a silver stud in his lowerlip and a pair of earrings. "I'vetried 'ex.'"

His buddy and fellow student,Garrett Smith, 21, also told of sam-pling ecstasy. "At my high schoolhere, there were only 20 goodMormons," Smith said. "The restwere, like, jocks who just wanted toget stoned."

Salt Lake's drug counselorsknow the type. They have seen the

Lake County's drug abuse pro-grams, considers the church amixed blessing in her mission. Itsanti-drug strictures, she says, haveundoubtedly steered countlessyoung people away from narcotics.

Then again, Hardy added, thechurch's preeminence may havefostered a false sense of security.Utah's population of 2.1 million is70 percent Mormon, a Figure thathas been fairly constant for fourdecades. About 60 percent of theSalt Lake region's 1.2 million resi-dents belong to the church.

"It's easier here to look theother way and say the drug prob-lem doesn't happen," said Hardy."Denial is a wonderful thing."

Church spokesman Dale Billssat down to discuss drugs in a pan-eled conference room at the JosephSmith Memorial Building. Thegem of marbled columns andstained-glass ceilings was once theHotel Utah. It's across Main Streetfrom Temple Square, whose six-spired worship hall is Salt Lake'stangible heart and soul.

"Our message is the same, thedoctrine is the same, the principlesare the same," said Bills, referringto the church's stance on drugs."We set a high standard, but not allkids are perfect."

The church offers its own drugtreatment programs, including 57weekly group-counseling sessionsin Utah. "It's sort of our take onAA," said James Goodrich, thechurch's welfare director fornorthern Utah.

Attendance is modest, however;15 to 20 people turn out at eachmeeting. Brown, the Mormon so-cial services executive, said thechurch has yet to see a marked up-swing in demand for help.

"It has not been reported to methat we have any dramatic in-creases," he added. But he ac-knowledged that admission rolls at

lorities in'the greater Salt lakerea have reported sharp increasesi the trafficking of heroin; co-line; marijuana; methamphet-nine, also known as crank orieed; and so-called club drugs likestasy and GHB. The prolifera-jn of meth laboratories has beenpecially dramatic."Meth is all around," said

jnnedy, who moved here fromregon last fall. Bone thin andsary eyed, her face pitted withres, she pointed toward a distantrner framed by maples and elms.ou can buy meth right downare. You can buy anything."Utah ranks among the top 10ites for total meth labs, and No. 1- "speed" cookeries per capita,wording to the U.S. Drug

by Mexican dealers."1 didn't think there would be

this much of a problem here. All Iknew about Salt Lake City was thereligion and things like that," saidKeith, a Salt Lake DEA investiga-tor who joined the federal bureauin 1998, after 15 years as a Dallaspolice officer. He asked that his lastname be withheld because heworks undercover.

The 38-year-old agent, who waswearing a Dallas Cowboys T-shirt,fought off a yawn. He had been upsince 4 a.m. to kick in the door of asuspected meth lab. The target wasa small house in a quiet, blue-collarneighborhood within a mile of theDEA building.

"There's a lot more meth herethan in Dallas," said Keith, taking

month."The DEA has expanded its Salt

Lake staff to root out the meth labs.Federal prosecutors have alsocracked down. They are zeroing inon meth peddlers who use Utah'ssparsely inhabited highway corri-dors to ship the drug from Mexico.

Since 1996, the U.S Attorney'sOffice in Salt Lake has prosecutednearly 1,000 Mexican nationals fordrug crimes, most involving meth.

"We're the crossroads of theWest [for] Mexican meth," saidU.S. Attorney Paul Warner.

Meth aside, Utah is not afflictedwith the level of drug-related of-fenses found in much of the metro-politan West. Its violent crime rateis roughly 35 percent below that ofWestern states and the nation as a

demand for treatment spike 20percent since the mid-1990s, drivenlargely by meth users under age 35.Clinic operators say that whilemost speed addicts are lower-income white people, the methplague has cut across the socioeco-nomic spectrum.

"I don't know why we're seeingproportionately more meth herethan other places," said Bruce Ja-cobson, director of the Corner-stone clinic near downtown. "Wewonder about that ourselves.

"Obviously, we live in a moreconservative area. But I can't saywith any confidence or certaintywhat the influence of the MormonChurch is on the drug problemhere."

Barbara Hardy, who heads Salt

secuiar cmucs mignt paint adarker picture.

Don Mendrala, now in hisfourth year as chief of the DEA'sSalt Lake office, says he had envi-sioned a much brighter picturewhen he transferred here afterstints in St. Louis and Chicago.

"I thought this would be a nice,quiet community," he said. Hisdesk phone was ringing. Night hadbegun to fall, a busy tune. "I'd beencompletely unaware of theproblems."

The phone bleated away. Men-drala had to iron out the details of apredawn raid set for the followingmorning. "We want to get 'emwhile they're sleeping," he said.

It was another meth lab. Not farfrom Pioneer Park.

Salt Lake City Methamphetamine Initiative:Utilizing Community Oriented Policing toAddress Clandestine Labs and otherDangerous Drug Activity

Salt Lake City has a substantialmethamphetamine problem. DrugEnforcement Administration (DEA) ranks Utah#2, per capita, for clandestine lab sites. A teamof professionals is co-located with the DrugAbatement Response Team (DART) to addressfour issues related to narcotics:immediate/proper response to drug endangeredchildren, rehabilitation andthe reuniting of families,community health/safety,and public awareness/education.

Through this approach, thechild "victim" receivesimmediate attention. SaltLake City Police ^ ^ ^ ^ ^Department's (SLCPD's)approach utilizes local, stateand county personnel who are dispatched tothe crime scene. Youth and Family Specialists(and when necessary. Child Protection Serviceworker) accompany police at the crime sceneto minimize the impact on children. Procedureshave been implemented based onindividualized cases, i.e., link withcommunity services, seek medicalattention, kinship/shelter placementand/or dependency drug courtreferral.The Public Awareness Campaignconsists of Public ServiceAnnouncement's (PSA's),Billboards, Direct NeighborhoodContacts, Educational Videos,Pamphlets, and a collaborativetraining effort initiated through thepartnering agencies to publicschools, landlords, utilities, socialservice agencies, hospitals, etc.The objective is to educate thepublic to the health risks/dangersthat exist because of meth use/labsin their neighborhoods.Once children and families areremoved from the scene, the Healthworker closes the residence tooccupancy/entry. He then works

... The Public AwarenessCampaign consists ofPSA's, Billboards, DirectContacts, EducationalVideo's, Pamphlets...

with and trains the landlord to decontaminatethe property and prevent future problems.

Through our new approach we have increasedthe efficiency of social, judicial, andenforcement agencies in the treatment ofvictims and the prosecution of suspects. Agencyadministration and on-line workers meetmonthly to develop agency protocol andlegislation. Thirty plus agencies combine tomake up the Partners Work Group. Theseagencies include: Law Enforcement, Judicial,Social Services, Prosecution, Medical,

Substance Abuse, ChildProtection, Schools,Public Safety,EnvironmentalProtection.

Problems theProgram Addresses

Since the initiation of thisproject Salt Lake City has resolved 200clandestine lab sites. This shows a substantialproblem notwithstanding that Detective JeffPayne of the DEA Metro Narcotics Task Forceestimates that only one in every ten clandestinelab sites is discovered.

UNOA-3

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Children present at clandestine lab sites are exposedto chemicals, pornography, and loaded handguns.Lisa Jorgensen the Division of Child and FamilyServices (DCFS) worker assigned to the Initiativestates, "These are the most neglected children I haveever seen, and we are just skimming the surface".These drug issues include child neglect and abuse,filthy homes and other neighborhood issues includingcontamination, increased traffic and crime.

Children and elderly present at these sites are thevictims eighty percent of the time. These victimsmust be decontaminated and placed in protective care.Of these, 37% are testing positive for narcotics in theirsystems. The removal of victims from these sitesplaces a substantial burden to the community and itsservice agencies.

There is a cost of approximately $15,000 to preparea residence for occupancy following the discovery ofa contaminated site. The owner of these properties(often the victim) bares the cost of cleanup and rehab.Decontamination and discovery costs are born by thetaxpayers.

The indicators of methamphetamine productioncontinue to elude citizens and landlords due to theirlack of awareness. Law enforcement will continue torespond to the problem, but understands that educationand community involvement is the kev to resolution.

Significant Achievements

Among the thirty partnering agencies the mostsignificant achievement is the collaboration that

UNOA -4

streamlines the protocols/procedures for cases.Representatives from key agencies are co-

located and respond as a team. Joint decisionsmade by the Mteam" strengthen cases andbridges the gap between agencies. Further,the entire team meets regularly to set goals,problem solve and develop needed legislation.

Through this initiative the Child and ElderlyEndangerment Statute was implemented,enhancing charges from misdemeanor tofelony. Additionally, state legislation has beenintroduced to mandate timelydecontamination/rehabilitation of property.Until this legislation passes, the healthdepartment continues to encourage propertyowners to comply with county health codes.

The intelligence office is staffed by data andintelligence analysts who answer hotline calls,taking complaints of drug related activities inneighborhoods. In 1998 the hotline processed426 complaints. With the implementation ofthe Intelligence Office, 997 complaints wereprocessed in 2000. Not only did the numberof complaints increase, but also the averageresponse time decreased from eight weeks totwo weeks. Analysts now receive and preparecases, freeing up detectives to investigatesubstantial cases.

This collaborative team recognizes thateducation/awareness is prevention. With thatfocus, the team has conducted 168 trainingsinvolving 6500+ participants including socialservices, landlords, motel/hotel staff, hospitals,schools and child care professionals.Representatives from the collaborative teamhave presented at statewide and nationalconferences as well as conducting health andsafety fairs. Additionally, a public awarenesscampaign has placed billboards and media adsstatewide.

Beneficiaries of the Project

Children/Elderly: Children and the elderly,by living in their own homes, become victims.Through this initiative they receive immediatecare and are placed in protective custody.

Families: Families are impacted throughongoing support of Dependency Drug Court,DCFS, Work Force Services, Guardian adLitem and treatment providers. Offenders aregiven the opportunity to take responsibilityfor their actions, accept the support of available

ttf, V§ CIA1TOTM LABS^̂ ^̂

services and ultimately make the life changesneeded to be reunited with their children/loved-ones.

Citizens: Through education and the PublicAwareness Campaign, citizens becomeknowledgeable as to the indicators ofclandestine meth labs in their community.Additionally, they understand the cost bothfinancially and in terms of neighborhood safety.

Neighborhoods: Neighborhoods impacted bythe presence of clandestine meth labs, aredecontaminated and neighbors are free to livewithout the fear of crime and health hazards.These neighbors receive immediate responseto their concerns, gain confidence in their localauthorities (collaborative team) and arereassured about their personal safety in theirhomes.

Replication of the Program

Replication of this project is already inprogress, Drug Enforcement Administration,West Valley City Police Department and SaltLake City Police Department worked inpartnership to develop the pilot project.Midvale Police Department has partnered withWest Valley City Police Department inimplementing a Meth Initiative in theirjurisdiction. The four jurisdictions are workingin partnership with Salt Lake City'scollaborative efforts. We view trie project as

having a triangular effect on the stateof Utah. The initiative was implementedin Salt Lake City, and as a result, theefforts have expanded to effectfamilies/consumers statewide, throusha comprehensive plan. &*The plan includes medical proceduresfor potentially methamphetamine-exposed children, child protectionprocedures for children exposed to aclandestine lab site, increased chargesfor child and elderly endangerment°enhanced prosecution, a highly visiblepublic awareness and training campaign,increased treatment successes throush'Dependency Drug Court and clean upstandards.

The U.S. Department of Justice, Officeof Community Oriented Policing

Services in their Interim Report July foOOpublished by the Institute for Law and Justiceand 21st Century Solutions state(www.ojp.usdoj.gov), "This particular programis large and dynamic" "the establishment ofcooperative relationships among agencies isseen as perhaps the biggest success".

The National Institute on Drug Addictions(NIDA) has chosen the state of Utah to conducta national study of the longitudinal effects ofchildren exposed to metharnphetamine, becauseof the groundwork that has already beenimplemented. COPS Office has placed Utahand California at the forefront of successfulsolutions to child endangerment at clandestinelab sites.

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S.L. hopes to keep Meth Initiative going without grantFpfl<s n i l i t fiinflinp from Community Oriented Policing combined grants from COPS and Division ofChild and Family Ser- ment, whether prosecutors notified ber of meth lab seizures has gone1 c u a L[UU l u i i u i i i g Services (COPS.) the Bureau of Justice Assistance, vices, Health Department and an the others how specific cases were down almost 17 percent from 1999ii J _ C _1_i! Tn Tulir inQD Dpoci^ant Plintnn W/\nr1cai>4 nUnrnoir (Wira fka Cqlf T ata Pnnnhr anina in OOTttX Rllt ihnt Hrwcn't nppoccnrilu

Feds quit fundingthe drug-fightingprogram in October

By Laura Hancock

Descret News staff writer

With a little penny-pinching, SaltLake City is hoping to breathe newlife into a program to battle meth-amphetamine. City officials say theprogram is vital to the community.

Grant money for the Meth Initia-tive ran out at the end of October.However, city officials said the pro-gram will mostly stay intactthrough June 30 and perhaps evenlonger.

"We're looking to see how toextend it countywide and evenstatewide," said Marjean Wood,coordinator for the Meth Initiative.

The Meth Initiative was a grant

from Community Oriented PolicingServices (COPS.)

In July 1998, President Clintonannounced the pilot program.Grants were given to seven cities —Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Minneapo-lis, Oklahoma City, Dallas, LittleRock, Ark., and Quincy, 111.— thosewith notoriously high methamphet-amine production and usage rates.West Valley City and Midvalereceived smaller grants in Septem-ber 1999.

Salt Lake City has operated itsprogram with about $1 million in

combined grants from COPS andthe Bureau of Justice Assistance,Wood said.

Jeff Thorson, communicationspecialist for the COPS program inWashington, DC, said states wereallowed to use the money to fundprograms they designed them- 'selves.

By February 1999 in Utah, eightpeople from various local, stateand federal agencies had beenhired to work full and part time onthe Meth Initiative, including peo-ple from the police department, ,

Division of Child and Family Ser-vices, Health Department and anattorney from the Salt Lake CountyDistrict Attorney's Office.

Wood said these people meet atleast weekly, sometimes daily, onspecific meth cases. They also lookat the general challenge of prevent-ing more people from cooking andusing the drug.

Wood said the gathering of theagencies was new. In the past, itwas "hit-and-miss" whether thepolice contacted DCFS, whetherpolice contacted the health depart-

ment, whether prosecutors notifiedthe others how specific cases weregoing.

But now the money is almostgone, and Wood said the futureemployment of some people whowork on the Meth Initiative is inquestion. "But our goal is to behere longer," she said.

There has been little oppositionto the Meth Initiative in Salt LakeCity. And people who work in itbelieve it's successful

Pat Dunn of the Drug Enforce-ment Administration said the num-

ber of meth lab seizures has gonedown almost 17 percent from 1999to 2000. But that doesn't necessarilymean the number of people usingthe drug has decreased, becausethe DEA believes most meth iscooked outside of Utah and smug-gled in from Southern Californiaand Mexico.

Thorson said COPS officials planto visit each participating city andevaluate its programs in 2001. Hewould not say when they'll be inSalt Lake City.EMAIU hanradi&fesnaBxoni

The Salt Lake Tribune — Over the Years, Meth Made Steady Ma.. Page 1 of 3

Over the Years, Meth Made Steady, . . _. . . . . ' ' September 2,March Into Utah 2001

Utah's meth troubles have been decades in themaking. Until 1998, when the state limited sales ofprecursors such as iodine crystals, meth cooksfrom around the West flocked to Utah to purchasetheir ingredients.

"Utah has been naive about methamphetamine,"said West Valley Police Lt. Charles Illsley, whospecialized in meth undercover work for 19 years."We were a magnet for cooks. We were a supplierstate for 32 other states."

Although cooks use a variety of recipes tomanufacture the drug, a common one, invented bya Fruit Heights man, is called the "matchbookmethod."

That method has three primary ingredients:Ephedrine or pseudoephedrine ~ commonly

found in cold medications such as Sudafed;extracted by diluting or soaking the pills.

EMAIL THISARTICLE

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Iodinecrystals ~ acorrosivesolid. The

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The Salt Lake Tribune -- Over the Years, Meth Made Steady Ma.. Page 2 of 3instant iodineis exposed toair, it turnsinto a gas, = = = = = = = _ _ _ _ _ ^ _ _ =Illsley said. "It will eat the finish off a firearm." Italso corrodes the mucous membranes of anyonewho inhales it, especially children.

Hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, acetone, etherand lye can also be used to manufacture the drug.The substances can be bought at grocery stores,gas stations, hardware stores, agricultural supplystores and even veterinary clinics.

Also known as crank, crystal, ice or speed, methcan be swallowed, snorted, smoked or injected,although injection appears to be primarily a man'smethod.

The meth "high" is experienced just secondsafter using the drug, said Annette Fleckenstein,assistant professor of pharmacology andtoxicology at the University of Utah.

Meth triggers release of dopamine, a naturallyoccurring brain chemical released by activitiessuch as eating a favorite food and engaging in sex.But meth "causes a release of dopamine far, far inexcess of anything that happens physiologically,"Fleckenstein said. Over the long term, dopamineneurons are destroyed. Other effects on long-termusers still are being studied.

In the past decade, the state's meth problem hasexploded. In 1999, Utah ranked fifth in the nationper capita for meth lab busts, followed by otherWestern and Midwestern states. In the East, methis not a primary problem. In 1999, for example,New York had only one meth lab bust.

Meth use cuts across socioeconomic andreligious lines. Recovering addict Jill Bartschi, forexample, said she had the "classic LDS raising."

Illsley said, "[Utah is] a Republican strongholdand the headquarters of the Mormon church. Therehas been a long view that all is well in Zion.. . .For almost 20 years, we have had a lackadaisicalattitude toward meth- amphetamine."

No more. Utah authorities have been cracking

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The Salt Lake Tribune — Over the Years, Meth Made Steady Ma.. Page 3 of 3

down on meth suppliers, who can face lengthyprison terms. First-time offenders can besentenced to a just a few months in jail if they aresent to drug court treatment programs.

- Jacob Santini and Ashley Estes

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DESERET NEWS. WED. P.M/THURS. A ,M.. MAY 2930. 2002

WEDNESDAY. MAY 29, 2002

Whenamethuser isyour momByPatReavyDeseret News staff writer

The homes are so filthy, so con-taminated by drugs that police won'tenter them without donning specialprotective gear.

Inside, police often find more thandrugs, dealers and dirt. They findchildren.

"People using drugs aren't con-cerned about housecleaning andhygiene," said Lana Taylor of theSalt Lake District Attorney's Office."These kids are living in horrendousconditions."

But dirt isn't all there is. The chil-dren often show other signs of eating,sleeping and playing among drugs.They have drugs in their systems.And in their lives.

Earlier this month, a Syracusefifth-grader was suspended for bring-ing methamphetamine to school. The11-year-old had found it at homewhile making breakfast for her 2-and 9-year-old brothers. Stuck to the2-year-old's back was a bag of meth-amphetamine. Police say the boyhad siept with his mother the nightbefore.

The girl's mother and boyfriend

Please see KIDS on A 7

KIDSContinued'from AI

were arrested. The girl and herbrothers were taken into pro-tective custody.

Police and prosecutors aretaking increasing steps toaddress the problem of chil-dren living in drug houses.Sometimes children are takenfrom their homes and tested fordrugs. Sometimes the homesthemselves are tested/And

' police are exploring ways to: maintain parent-child contactduring rehab.

Statistics show the Syracusecase is not an isolated incident.

In 1999,85 children were; found in nouses in the SaltLake area where drugs were

; either being used, stored, man-ufactured or distributed, saidMarjean Wood, project coordi-nator for the Salt Lake CityPolice Department's COPS

• methamphetamine initiative.' Thirty-nine of those children •were taken into protective cus-tody.

In 2000,122 children were |found in drug houses, and 40 Iwere taken into state custody.In 2001,62 Salt Lake childrenwere found in drug houses, and20 were taken into protective

, custody, Wood said.Many of those children

tested positive for drugs.Primary Children's Medical

. Center tested 63 drug-housechildren in 2000. Twenty-fourof them tested positive fordrugs in their systems, Woodsaid. In 2001,43 of 88 childrentested positive. For the firstthree months of 2002, about 15children were tested and 11came back positive for drugs.

In one case, a child takenfrom a house was turning blueand having trouble breathing,Wood said. Doctors found bothcocaine and heroin in his sys-tem.

Most of the children tested

are younger than 10, and mostof those are between 3 to 6years old. Wood said. Metham-phetamine. cocaine, opiatesand Valium are among thedrugs found in their systems.Usually the children test posi-tive for a combination of drugs,she said.

Lawmakers addressed theissue in 2000 with child-endangerment laws enhancingthe penalties for adult drugusers who have children intheir houses.

West Valley police took theirdrug-house investigations astep further. Using an ion scan-ner, they can detect drug resi-due on baby bottles, toys andeven the bedsheets where aninfant sleeps.

After all the investigations,however, life has to go on. Utahofficials are trying to figure outhow to help that happen.

Last week, Utah law-enforcement officers, prosecu-tors and judges attended theU.S. Department of Justice'sannual COPS Methamphet-amine Conference in LasVegas. One of the programs theUtah contingent talked aboutwas an open-treatment facilitythat allows children found indrug houses to continue to seetheir mothers while momundergoes rehab.

The idea is to preserve thosecrucial bonding years formother and child. Wood said.But at the same time the childneeds a safe environment.

"We can't afford to take careof every single kid in our com-munity who has been exposedto drugs. We don't have thefunds to put them all in fosterhomes, and it's not necessarilythe best thing to do," Woodsaid.

The first of these facilities isscheduled to open July 1 inSalt Lake City. If it is success-ful, three others are already inthe planning stages.E-MAIL preavy@desnews.com

The Salt Lake Tribune - Agencies Join to Attack Abuse, Drug Cycle Page 1 of 2

Not Rimnfng System: Worfcs'

Agencies Join to Attack Abuse, Drug Cycle Thursday, October3, 2002

BY JACOB SANTINITHE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

OGDEN — The effects of drug abuse too often travel fromgeneration to generation, creating a cycle leading to child abuse andneglect, which in turn can lead back to drugs. Utah's Department ofHuman Services wants to break the pattern.

To address that goal, the department announced Wednesday it iscreating a link between its two divisions that specialize in thoseareas. The Division of Child and Family Services and the Divisionof Substance Abuse and Mental Health plan to team up in hopes ofcurbing the intergenerational cycle of drug and child abuse. Theannouncement was made at a substance abuse conference inOgden.

DCFS officials report that between 60 percent and 70 percent ofthe children in foster care come from homes in which their parentsabused drugs or alcohol.

The collaborative effort will aim to offer services to the drug-addicted mothers and their abused children at the same time, saidRobin Arnold-Williams, the executive director of the Departmentof Human Services.

Those services are highlighted by protecting children whilegetting drug users, primarily mothers addicted tomethamphetamine, treatment. In 2000, 29 percent of the womenbooked into the Salt Lake County Jail tested positive formethamphetamine, one of the highest rates in the country,according to a federal report.

Collaborative approaches to the problem are gaining strengthnationwide. The federal government recently awarded a five-yeargrant to form the National Center for Substance Abuse and ChildWelfare.

Nancy Young, director of the Irvine, Calif.-based Children andFamily Futures Inc., in Ogden for the conference, said agencieshave to go beyond thinking "collaborating is coming to each other'smeetings."

The first glimpse of collaboration in Utah may be in Salt LakeCounty. The divisions plan to request federal grants to open aresidential treatment facility for mothers addicted to meth. Thedependent children of those mothers also would live at the home.

Not only is the mother treated for her addiction, but DCFSworkers would be able to provide services and treatment for

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The Salt Lake Tribune - Agencies Join to Attack Abuse, Drug Cycle Page 2 of 2

children who may have been abused. But experts warned thecollaboration between the divisions will fail if drug-addictedwomen fear their children will be taken by the state because theyask for help battling their addiction.

Another roadblock to collaboration in the past: confidentialityrules that prevent therapists from telling child welfare workersabout a person's treatment or history of abuse.

The divisions are working on those issues, officials said.

© Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune All material found on Utah OnLine is copynghted TheSalt Lake Tribune and associated news services. No material may be reproduced or reused withoutexplicit permission from The Salt Lake Tribune.

http ://www. sitrib. com/2002/oct/1003 2002/utah/3 515. htm 10/3/2002

Looking for a car,

deseretnews.com

Wednesday, March 5, 2003

!=•)Format storyfor printing

= «•E-mail a copyof this story

Pulling a loadtii winter?

Rescuing kids of drug addicts

By Sheryl WorsleyKSL Newsradio 1160

A trail winds through several feet of garbage. The stench of humanwaste permeates the air. There's no running water. No working toilets.In homes like this narcotics officers find the smallest victims of thedrug trade: the children of addicted parents.

Statistics kept by the Salt Lake Police Department show 52 percentof the children taken from homes where methamphetamme is beingproduced test positive for narcotics.

And those children are often traumatized when police officers, gunsdrawn, come into their homes and arrest their parents.

'They're terrified, screaming, crying," says Salt Lake Police Sgt.Michael Ross. "On the last home where I served a warrant, one littleboy asked, 'Are you going to take my father to jail again?' You're takingaway the most important person in their life."

Ross says 80 percent of the warrants he serves involve children.And many, he says, are not only exposed to drugs but are facingneglect. "They're obviously not fed very well," he said. "There's no foodin the refrigerator. Our first priority is to get these kids treatedmedically."

Dr. Karen Buchi seesS children from homes like

these every week at theSouth Main clinic. "Oftenit's the first time thesekids have ever seen adoctor," she said.

Buchi said in onehome officers found aningredient to makemethamphetamine in therefrigerator next to somechicken. "They actuallytested the chicken, and ittested positive for meth,"

http://deseretnews.eom/dn/view/l, 1249,465031110,00.html 3/10/2003

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she said.Buchi said that drugs

\ \.~.t cause brain damage andi ! ̂ are linked to prolongedj \ developmental andI ; behavioral problems. But! Z1ONS INSURANCE AGENCY \ what doctors don't know| A s u a s j o i A R v 2 - ; J O M 5 sAt iK : is how much of that is! ; caused by neglect andI I exposure to thisi j environment. "There are! i loaded guns lying aroundI i the house because theI _ _ _ _ I parents are paranoid,"

she said. "Their mind-setis on their next fix. Not

the nurturing of their children or making sure they're eating well orbeing tended."

Salt Lake deputy district attorney Lana Taylor said officers testkitchen tables, cribs and diaper bags. "The surface is testing positive fornumerous drugs," she said.

But the damage is beyond drug exposure."These children are also the victims of physical and sexual abuse,"

Taylor said. 'You'll find pornography hung up on the walls in children'sbedrooms. It's pervasive."

Taylor said older children and teens in these homes are not onlybecoming addicts themselves. They're also learning how to cook methand prepare other drugs as well.

"Kids are bringing bongs to school for show and tell. They'relearning the criminal behavior," said officer Marjean Searcy, head of anewly formed task force on drug-endangered children.

Searcy's team last year helped 170 children from these homes. Andwith $300,000 in federal money this year and interest from other citieslike West Valley City, Searcy hopes that number will grow. "We're atlast addressing the real victims of drug abuse," she said. "Hopefullylong term we'll see fewer kids in these environments."

Ross says he'll continue to beat down front doors. "Even thoughdragging away their parents is very difficult, we know the kids will bebetter in the long run," he said. "It's their only chance at a better life."

E-mail: shenjl.worslev&ksl.com

World & Nation + Utah + Sports + Business + Opinion + Front Page

© 2003 Deseret News Publishing Company

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Agencies Step In to HelpChfld Victims of Meth

BY JACOB SANTINITheSakLake Tribune

The rise of methamphet-amine labs in Utah did morethan catch the attention of po-lice and prosecutors.

Those labs put a bright lighton the endangerment of chil-dren being poisoned as theirparents mixed explosive mate-rials to cook the highly addic-tive drug.

Today, labs are dwindling inUtah. The number of childrenliving in danger because theyare exposed to drugs is not

"We have thousands andthousands of kids in drughomes that we're overlooking,"said Sue Webber-Brown, a de-tective from Butte County,Calif., who helped create thenation's first program to attackthe meth epidemic with multi-ple agencies. "They're livingnext door. They're our kids'best friends."

Helping such children was amain topic of the EndangeredChildren Conference in SaltLake City, sponsored by theUtah Division of SubstanceAbuse and Mental Health. Theconference, which includedsessions for police, socialworkers, health care workersand court employees from 14states, ended Friday.

The number of meth labsfound in Utah dropped by morethan half between 1999, when272 labs were discovered, and2002, with 132 labs. Officials arequick to point out that meth isstill prevalent in Utah as Mexi-can cartels traffick the drug.

"Even if we shut down thelabs, methamphetamine is notf;oing to go away," said Richard

"We have thousandsand thousands of Tads

in drug homes thatwe're overlooking."

SUE WEBBER-BROWNCalifornia detective

McKelvie, an assistant U.S. at-torney for the state.

That also means childrenwill continue to live aroundmeth-coated pipes and needles.But the safety of- children'shomes goes beyondmethamphetamine.

Richard Anderson, the di-rector of Utah's Division ofChild and Family Services,said the agency needs to be in-volved in any case in whichparents are abusing substanc-es, such as the parent who iscaught driving drunk withchildren in the car.

"We've moved from a soci-ety that didn't believe thesethings happen to children intheir own homes," Andersonsaid. "Now, with child endan-germent you don't have to hityour child or refuse to feedyour child. If you put them in adangerous environment, youare responsible."

In 2000, state lawmakersgave prosecutors the ability tocharge parents with a second-degree felony, punishable by 15years in prison, for endanger-ing their children with drugs.

Prosecutors in Salt LakeCounty have used the statute262 times, said Lana Taylor, aSalt Lake County deputyattorney

Long-Term Cost of'MethIncludes Brain DamageComplete rewiring: Expertssay successful treatment mustaddress neurological changes

I5v MATTCANMAMIhrSdll httif Dilmitr.

The liearl pumps faster The need tosleep disappears and Food is Forgotten.Anxiety and paranoia creep in, but gelpushed aside; by an uncontrollablewave of energy and excitement.

When inelhnmplielamine lakescontrol of a user, everything evapo-rates bill (lie desire to remain high.

"II became my downfall and my bestfriend all at the same lime," said Melissa Tinsley, 40, from North Ogden,who is haUling her 12-year nielh

addiction.Mike Johnson, 39, of Sail Lake City,

also talks almost fondly of the drug hestarted snorting 16 years ago.

"The instant up you could achievefrom it, man, I was hooked after onetime," Johnson said. "Melh made youfeel like you had 25 hours in the day."

Hut researchers are nuding Ihatwhen long term meth addicts like Tin-sley and Johnson decide to end theyears ol abuse, they must battle notonly the continuing hue of addictionbul the obstacle of brain damage.

Research is increasingly indicat-ing heavy meth use may lead lo a com-plete rewiring of the brain, leaving theaddict depressed and forgetful,.-with atendency lo make poor decisions and

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Fit ANCISCO KJOI-SETII/77W:.S"<I/(l.afa ho

Mike Johnson credits the staff at Salt Lake City's First Step Mouse with helping him fighttwo decades of drug addiction. He has been clean for a year and a half.

MethCan RewireBrain, Experts Say»Continued from Dl

have a short temper.Meth and related drugs are the only

widely used illicit substances that dam-age the brain for years, if notpermanently.

"I'm more worried about meth thanany other drug out there," said KellyLundberg, a psychiatrist at the Univer-sity of Utah who specializes inaddiction.

Meth is the drug of choice amongUtahns in treatment programs, accord-ing to 2002 statistics recently released bythe state. A little more than 18 percentsay they used the drug, which far ex-ceeds the national rate of 4 percent.

Meth releases large amounts of neu-rotransmitters, mainly dopamine butalso serotonin. These natural chemicalsare vital in brain functions that controlmood, memory, sleep, movement, deci-sion making and appetite.

The drug leaves the user feeling eu-phoric and full of energy at first, but ifan addict takes meth multiple times aweek for a period of three to Five years,

the neurons that release these chemi-cals become damaged, according toGlen Hanson, acting director of the Na-tional Institute of Drug Abuse.

Hanson is also a professor at the U.,who with the help of his research part-ner, Jim Gibb, has investigated thephysical effects of meth abuse for years.

Their research has found that heavymeth users lose about 50 percent of theirability to produce dopamine. "It doesn'tseem to come back," he said.

Hanson and Gibb's results has beenduplicated by researchers at UCLA,among others, and these scientists haveobserved that the damage remains atleast four years in animals.

People with methinduced braindamage are constantly irritable, losetheir appetite, have insomnia, forgetcomplex memories, can not stay stilland almost never feel joy. They may alsoexperience shaking hands similar tosymptoms of Parkinson's disease, sinceextreme dopamine depletion leads tothat disabling disease.

Johnson complains about forgettingmuch of his childhood and Tinsley saysshe feels a constant sense of anxiety,both problems that stem from depleteddopamine.

Researchers want addicts likeJohnson and Tinsley to know that ifthey remain clean, they can regain con-trol of their lives, but the symptoms ofbrain damage may never dissipate.

Treatment centers need to take this intoaccount, Hanson said.

"How do we get them around whatthey did to their brain? How do we trainthem to go out and get a job after theydamaged their executive functions?" heasks.

Lundberg says the answer remainshi a mixture of patience, persistenceand continuing research. Treatmentcannot change an addict's permanentdisabilities, but it can explain it to theaddicts and provide tips to cope.

Counselors address both physicalsymptoms — the extreme fatigue, de-pression, malnutrition, and dentalproblems common to addicts — and theemotional reasons people abuse drugs.

Tinsley first tried meth when a co-worker at an elderly care facility offeredit to her. She was in her late 20s sup-porting four children and working twojobs.

"The more energy the better. Itsounds insane but that was my thoughtprocess," she said.

She had previously dabbled in mari-juana and occasionally drank a beer.She almost immediately became a dailymeth user.

"I loved my children, but I continu-ously chose dope over them," she said.

Tinsley lost her children, her job andher home. She became a dealer to sup-port her own habit until she decided toget help in 2001, when she enrolled her-self in the Bridge Program, an

outpatient treatment facility in Ogden.She relapsed after six months, and

credits her 18-year-old son for sendingher back to the Bridge Program monthslater. "He brought me a rose and he said,'Mom, we forgive you,'" she said.

The average user in Utah is a womanin her late 20s or early 30s, often withchildren. State statistics indicate that30.5 percent of women in treatmentabused alcohol, followed closely by methat 28.3 percent; 13.5 percent of men intreatment used meth.

Johnson did not make the choice toget counseling. He was ordered by thecourt to enroll in the First Step House,an inpatient facility that counsels about60 drug abusers in Salt Lake City.

Johnson has abused drugs since hewas 14 and once worked as the collectorfor his dealer. He has a history of do-mestic violence, and served his most re-cent jail sentence for beating his live-ingirlfriend after she caught him smokingmeth with their neighbors in 2001.

Johnson has spent the last threemonths in the First Step House and isconvinced that he has finally beaten thehabit that has consumed his life, thoughhe knows he is far from having a stableexistence.

"I took a lot of years to mess my lifeup," he said. "It is not going to get betterovernight."

Early treatment involves identifyingthe personal issues that led to drugabuse. Johnson spends two-hour each

Drug-Endangered Children "• Law enforcement, medical personnel and drugcounselors will gather for the first Drug .." [Endangered Children Conference today and Friday:at the Sheraton City Centre Hotel in Salt Lake City.1

Panel discussions and speeches will focus on h o wmethamphetamine abuse affects the home,families and especially children.

day in a support group, where members';discuss their past experiences.

Programs also help addicts learn theskills necessary to function in society,:,through lessons on how to balance a •check book, what makes a successful;̂relationship and how to find a job.

Tinsley says these classes are help-1

ing her more than any other part of heivout-patient treatment. She has learned/how to make a resume and plans to start.-a job soon. She wants to remain em-''ployed, become self-sufficient and sup-'port her children.

Johnson plans to hone his socialskills, be a decent father and manage his'own general contracting business. Bothplan to return to college. . ~.

Tinsley and Johnson credit their re-spective treatment centers for helping.them remain clean for so long, but manjt •in their position do not get help. Only 2]5Upercent of the nearly 90,000 drug abusersin Utah receive treatment due to a lack;,of funding from state and private.';resources. !-'

mcanham@sltrib. com \