1 introduction preys on our society and our environment. simplicity of production and the vastness...

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Introduction

• Preys on our society and our environment.

• Simplicity of production and the vastness and open range of America provide suitable conditions for broadening market.

• Once predominately isolated to the western portion of the United States it is becoming more visible in other areas.

• Law Enforcement interdiction is on the front-line battling; however, their efforts are not enough in the battle against this scourge.

• If we are to be successful, our programs must be comprehensive and must attack meth on a variety of fronts.

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• First developed in 1919 by a Japanese pharmacologist.

• Although its initial uses were for medical purposes, its ability to increase energy and to enable users to function without sleep made it

attractive for military purposes during World War II.

• Many reports indicate the German army frequently distributed a form of methamphetamine to weary troops in attempt to counter battle

fatigue.

• The ease and quick turnaround of the ephedrine reduction method of manufacture is the “Nazi Method”.

Historical OverviewOrigin and Use

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Historical Overview

• Has undergone both legal and illegal uses in the United States. – As early as the 1930s it was used therapeutically to treat asthma and epileptic seizures.

• When the effects became more apparent its use was prohibited in the United States but major pharmaceutical companies were allowed to manufacture it for export.

– Substantial portion distributed in Mexico and Canada found its way back into the US and was sold on the black market for illicit purposes.

• Historically, outlaw motorcycle gangs operating on the West Coast controlled illicit meth production.

• The reemergence of a significant meth problem was realized as early as 1983 in California.

– NHSDA, ADAM and DAWN all indicate a pronounced increase in the manufacture, distribution and use of methamphetamine.

Introduction Into The United States

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Laws

The growth in clandestine labs has

spread across many sections of the

United States and the problem is

acute in the Midwest. The simple

manufacturing process, the

availability of precursor materials,

the longer high and the substantial

profit margin all contribute to increases in meth production and use.

The Law Enforcement response has been severe. Many states have

increased penalties for manufacture, distribution and use of

methamphetamine. Numerous multi-jurisdictional task forces have been formed to increase enforcement activities.

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Laws

Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996:

• Cracked down on the mail order industry and chemical supply companies.

• Increased penalties for possession, trafficking, and manufacturing of precursor chemicals and paraphernalia.

• Some jurisdictions now regulate the sale of ephedrine based cold medicines and many have cooperative agreements with retail facilities

to report purchases of meth ingredients.

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• Methamphetamine is a Schedule II drugs and is a member of a class of drugs known as “amphetamine.”

• Powerfully addictive dramatically affecting the central nervous system.

• Believed to cause the production of high level of neurotransmitter dopamine, which affects the pleasure center of the brain.

Description & AppearanceGeneral

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Forms

There are three forms of Meth, which are produced by using a different precursor chemical. They are:

• Dextro-Methamphetamine (d-Meth)

• Dextro-levo amphetamine (dl-Meth)

• Levo-Methamphetamine (l-Meth)

Description & Appearance

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Forms, Makeup & Potency

Methamphetamines have two stereoisomers and their type is derived from their molecular makeup.

• Dextro-Methamphetamine (d-Meth)

• Sample may consist of 100% d-Meth, 100% l-Meth, or a roughly 50-50 composition of both creating dextro-levo Meth, or dl-Meth.

• Levo-Methamphetamine (l-Meth)

D-Meth is the most widely manufactured and abused form of Meth in the US; 2 to 3 times more potent than dl-Meth; as much as 5 times as potent than l-Meth.

• Ice: Is to Meth as crack is to cocaine. Extremely powerful smokeable freebase form of d-Meth hydrochloride having a purity of 90% - 98%.


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Street Appearance

• Generally a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that is easy dissolved in water or alcohol.

– Color and consistency varies as a result of either how it was refined or sloppy manufacturing

– Higher refining techniques produce higher quality, which is a white crystalline powder

• Sloppy manufacturing techniques produces - generally a yellowish to brown in color, sticky, and may be very granular or solid in

appearance.

• Ice is is clear, but may be also be clear yellowish in color and looks like a broken piece of glass. Very pure smokeable freebase.


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• All methamphetamine is clandestinely manufactured

• Clandestine methamphetamine labs may be found most anywhere. They are very easy to set up and have been found in:– Trunks of cars

– Single and multi-family residences

– Hotel rooms

– Abandon buildings

– Farm and ranch buildings in remote rural areas.

• Labs very in size from some local labs producing small weight qualities, to super-labs capable of producing 10 pounds or more in one run.

GeneralProduction & Manufacture

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Manufacture Processes

Manufacturing is not difficult because the required chemicals, with a few exceptions, are readily available in open markets.

There are three commonly used illicit manufacturing techniques –

• P2P Amalgam• Ephedrine/Pseudoephedrine Reduction• Nazi Method

Production & Manufacture

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P2P

• Once the most commonly used method but rarely used today

• Two primary precursors for this method are:– Phenyl-2-propanone (P2P) – Methylamine– Along with mercuric chloride, hydrochloric acid, aluminum, isopropanol, and sodium hydroxide

• In 1980, P2P was classified as a Schedule II drug under the CSA making it difficult to obtain.


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Ephedrine/Pseudoephedrine

• Ephedrine/Pseudoephedrine Reduction is easier vs. P2P Amalgam Method

• Produces a more potent form of Meth – d-Meth

• Relatively inexpensive to produce

• This process consists of three stages: – Cooking– Extracting– Salting


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• Cooking: Ephedrine/pseudoephedrine, hydriodic and red phosphorus are mixed and heated over a 12-hour period – Acidic mixture is then strained

• Extracting: – Acidic mixture is mixed with sodium hydroxide to convert it to a

base and may also be iced to keep the mixture cool. – Mixture is placed in a separation vessel with a spigot at its base. – Freon is added, which mixes with the d-Meth oil and both settle to

the bottom of the vessel. – The Freon and d-Meth oil are drained from the vessel through the

spigot.


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• Salting: – Hydrogen chloride gas is

bubbled through the freon and d-Meth oil

– Creates d-Meth in white crystalline form, which settles out of the mixture

– Excess freon is squeezed out through the use of presses leaving nearly pure d-Meth


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Nazi Method

• Fast becoming the most popular method of producing d-Meth

• Process is quick, requires very little setup time, chemicals are easier to obtain, and it produces a high yield of d-Meth

• Manufacture:– In addition to ephedrine/pseudoephedrine, the process uses ether,

sodium metal or lithium metal, and anhydrous ammonia.– Sodium metal and lithium metal is mixed with

ephedrine/pseudoephedrine powder and cooked.– Anhydrous ammonia is then added and is later evaporated at

which time ether is added and the mixture is poured through a coffee filter or fine fabric to extract the Meth.


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• Proliferation of Mom and Pop labs in recent years has become more and more evident in rural and urban areas across America.

• Manufactured by –– Untrained persons

– Inferior equipment

• In all most all cases –– Labs are unkept

– Unorganized with dangerous processing chemicals left in the open or improperly stored

– Use resources and appliances available in the home all of which pose extreme dangers to children.

Drug Endangered Children Program

Production Hazards

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The dangers posed to innocent children are horrifying.

• Absorb the deadly ingredients by walking barefoot across the floor of

a contaminated lab.

• Might pick up a soda bottle used in making the drug and spill hydrochloric

acid upon themselves

• May drink from a soda bottle only to ingest lye, which burns the esophagus.

• Exposed to cooking and chemical fumes, which affects their lungs leading to respiratory problems –

– Coughs– Asthma– Allergy-type symptoms


Production Hazards

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• Legislative Action– In response to the increasing number of

children being exposed to drug dangers – Passing laws to protect children found in

these environments

• In response to laws concerted coordinative efforts are being established among –

– Health– Social– Law Enforcement

• Protocols are being established at all levels– Law Enforcement reporting procedures to Health and Social Services– Medical protocol procedures for examining and testing children for exposure and

treatment– Social Services placement and follow-up of children placed in foster care

• Laws and Programs may very from state-to-state - all have the protection of children in mind.


Production Hazards

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Threats to LE & EMS

• Quickly assess individual for use and abuse –– Binging

– Tweakers• Can be physically explosive• Pose threat to all around

• Isolate and restrain

• Safeguard themselves against HIV

Production Hazards

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Threats to Law Enforcement

• Toxic chemical fumes and their combustible state

• Other Dangers Include:– Suspects & Weapons– Booby Traps & Obstacles– Objects to arouse curiosity

Watch For– Ground Depressions and Terrain Disturbances– Something of Value or Out of Place

Never Use Electricity or Light Switch

Untrained Law Enforcement Officers should never enter a Clan Lab or Dumpsite

area!

Production Hazards

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Threats to the Environment

Every pound of Meth generates 6 pounds of hazardous waste!

• Sites vary from opened pit to garages

• Hazardous Materials:– Freon cans & compressed

cylinders – Discarded clothing, respiratory and dust masks– Filtering materials

• Hazards– Toxic Fumes– Explosive & Combustible – Water table contamination

Production Hazards

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• Domestic production & trafficking, are concentrated in the west, southwest, and midwest

• Increasingly available in portions of the south and east, especially – Georgia – Florida

• Clandestine laboratories in California and Mexico are the primary sources of supply for methamphetamine available in the United States.

General

Manufacture & Distribution

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Sources

• Outlaw motorcycle gangs & independent trafficking groups

• 1995 - Mexican-based trafficking groups entered and now dominate

market

• Mexican environment factors:– Ability to obtain multi-ton quantities of precursor chemicals – Established smuggling and distribution networks– Control over labs capable of large-scale production


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Sources

• “Super Labs” producing 10 + lbs per production run

• Majority of Mexican-based meth is produced in California and other Western states

• Dramatic increase in Meth labs in certain states:– Kansas – Missouri– Arkansas– Many others popping up in other Western, Midwestern, and

Southern states


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Availability & Supply

• Initially concentrated in West & Southwest states particularly:

– California & Utah– Arizona & Texas

• Expansion of Mexican-based traffickers and increase of

independent labs has dramatically increased availability and abuse in:– Pacific Northwest– Midwest– Growing portions of the Southeast– Evidence of production and distribution in Mid-Atlantic States

stretching into New England– 1998, Labs discovered in New Jersey, Delaware & Massachusetts


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• In 2001, approximately 8,000 clan labs were seized– 298 Super Labs up 130 from 2000

• Tijuana Residence Office (TJRO)

Baja California Norte in 2001– 24 Super Labs up 22 from 2000

• US Federal seizures in 2001

– 2,807 kilos down from 3,373 kilos in 2000

– US Postal Facilities Oakland, Los Angeles, and Honolulu

• In 2000, 301,697 SEA meth tablets up from 39,917 in 1999

Seizures & Precursor Chemicals


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• Tough precursor chemical laws in CA– Trafficker diversified to nationwide

pseudoephedrine/ephedrine suppliers• Black Market upward to $5,000 lbs

• Small-scale operators commonly buy over-the-counter in small amounts from legitimate retailers

• Large quantities from Canada– Minimal chemical control laws

• March 2002: 10,000,000 Pseudoephedrine Tablets seized in Lynwood, CA + $1.5 million

• Purchased from unscrupulous US distributors

• Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), available at livestock store, health, and nutrition stores

– Cut increasing profits may be result of difficulty obtain precursor chemicals

Manufacture & DistributionSeizures & Precursor Chemicals

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Trafficking

• Mexican manufactured PrimaryPoints of entry:

– California, particularly San Ysidro

– South Texas, particularly Laredo

– Commonly smuggled in cars, trucks, & 4-wheel drive vehicles

• EPIC – seizures of Mexican manufactured Meth has dramatically increased since 1992 exploiting Mexican-Americans in:

– Midwest meat processing plants– Northwest forest industry


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• Vary throughout different regions of the United States

• $3,500 a pound in parts of California and Texas

• Upwards to $21,000 a pound in the southeast and northeast

• Retail $400 to $3,000 an ounce

Prices


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Methamphetamine is a scourge on our society. The vastness of the United States provides suitable conditions to illicitly manufacture it in clandestine labs. The ill effects associated with its manufacture and sales are being felt in most every part of America. Children are the innocent victims in its manufacture in mom-and-pop labs. Society is speaking out against their victimization and states legislatures are acting in their defense. Another element of our society – the user – is falling prey to its lethality.

Summary

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Pictures from the scene.

1 introduction preys on our society and our environment. simplicity of production and the vastness...

Documents

forms of meth

form of methamphetamine

significant meth problem

purchases of meth ingredients

illicit purposes

simplicity of production

united stateslawsthe

increased penalties