Just six hours after an announcement of a new $195 million national campaign warning about the dangers of methamphetamine use, Utah law enforcement officers seized a meth lab - their fourth in two days in the Salt Lake Valley.
Four West Valley residents were arrested early Thursday for operating what police are calling a "large" methamphetamine lab.On Wednesday, Drug Enforcement Agency agents seized three labs, including one in Murray and one in South Salt Lake, DEA special agent in charge Don Mendrala said.
The West Valley lab was apparently turning out a "couple of pounds a batch," West Valley Police Lt. Charles Illsley said. Most labs only produce about three ounces of meth per batch, he said.
Methamphetamine, also known as "crank," "crystal-meth" and "speed," is a central nervous system stimulant that produces an increase in the brain chemical dopamine, which allows the body to experience the sensations of alertness and elation. Long-term use of meth, however, destroys the body's ability to produce any dopamine. Common side effects of the drug are paranoia and insomnia.
West Valley police served a warrant on the residents at 1512 W. Russett St. (2840 South) and discovered the lab in operation. In addition, officers discovered three guns, two live bombs and about 300 feet of detonator cord, which is used in the production of bombs, Illsley said.
Houses on all sides of the residence were evacuated for several hours while the Salt Lake County bomb squad dismantled the devices.
Police have not yet released the names of the four suspects arrested.
More than 80 working labs have been dismantled in Utah since January of this year, Mendrala said.
That's almost three times more than the city of Los Angeles, where about 27 labs have been dismantled during the same time period, according to information presented during a Partnership for a Drug-Free America press conference in Los Angeles Wednesday. The conference was broadcast by satellite to Salt Lake City, where local law enforcement officers emphasized how big the problem is in Utah.
In July, the partnership will launch a $195 million media campaign that specifically targets methamphetamine use. Slick MTV-style TV commercials and radio spots are designed to catch the attention of American teenagers and alert them to the dangers of meth use, said Thomas A. Hedrick, Jr., vice president of the organization.
In addition, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America has created an interactive video game that will pit teens against a large-headed, eight-legged meth monster. The object of the game, which is pattered after the popular video game "Quake," is to destroy the meth monster and its meth lab. The game will be up and running on the Internet in July at (www.meth.com), Hedrick said.
Nationally, about 53 percent of "regular" meth users are 15 years old or younger, according to the group's statistics. A regular user is someone who uses a drug at least once a month. About 64 percent of regular users are males.
In most cases, teens perceive meth as a low-risk drug that is available at minimal cost and carries a big payoff in terms of a "high," Hedrick said.
"That perception is all wrong," he said. "This is a very, very dangerous drug."
In Utah, dealing with the problem of methamphetamines has become the No. 1 priority of DEA agents and other law enforcement agencies, local officials said. For example, five years ago, the Utah Department of Public Safety had two officers assigned to meth cases. Today, 16 officers work only on meth cases, and officials say that's not enough.
"Our guys can hardly do anything else," Mendrala said. "And we still have a cocaine problem, a heroin problem, and LSD is coming back."
Mendrala anticipates Utah agents will dismantle some 200 meth labs before the year is over. In the late 1970s, when meth first surfaced in Utah, a meth lab was seized only about every 18 months, Illsley said.
Illsley also says that meth is a contributing factor in many other types of crime across the valley, including about 65 percent of all domestic violence cases. It is also the the "No. 1 common denominator" in most kidnapping cases, he said.
Officials said meth manufacturing and use in Utah continues to grow because it is an easy drug to manufacture. Anyone can purchase the basics for meth production at the corner grocery store, Illsley said. Among those ingredients are ephedrine, commonly found in over-the-counter cold medicines.
"You don't have to have a background in chemistry, and in a matter of hours, with minimum of investment, you can produce a couple of thousand dollars worth of meth," Illsey said.