LAWS REDUCE REGION'S METH MAKERS

But Cartel Traffic From Mexico Rises

They may mean hassle at the pharmacy counter, but new regulations
limiting pseudoephedrine sales are being lauded by law enforcement
for curtailing the rise of the neighborhood meth lab.

Under the laws -- which restrict who can buy the key methamphetamine
ingredient and in what quantities -- dozens of states have reported a
dwindling number of clandestine manufacturing operations.

Authorities in Kansas and Missouri say less of their time is spent
breaking up small-time labs, the often explosive, always hazardous
operations that frequently remain undetected until someone's garage blows up.

But while the restrictions may signal twilight for the household meth
cook, the drug is still readily available.

That's because most of the Kansas and Missouri meth supply isn't
produced locally, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Some areas of the state with historically high numbers of labs saw
more local meth in the past, but traffickers such as Mexican drug
cartels have been steadily increasing their market share.

And law enforcement now thinks that the out-of-state suppliers are
more prolific than ever.

The Mexican product, in particular, is cheaper and more potent than
when the cartels first entered the market. And ready buyers are easily found.

"The problem isn't going to go away because one law is passed," said
Sgt. Jason Clark, spokesman for the Missouri Highway Patrol's
criminal division. "This drug has been around so long now, people are
starting to realize there's big money in this."

More laws, fewer labs

Since 2004, more than half the states have passed restrictions that
in many cases have moved pseudoephedrine products such as Sudafed
behind pharmacy counters, required ID for purchase or clamped down on
the amount a consumer can buy. A similar federal law is in the works.

Laws in both Missouri and Kansas went into effect in June.

Both states have seen declines in reports of so-called meth incidents
- -- the discovery of a lab, paraphernalia or a dump site -- since the
restrictions took effect. The two are among roughly 30 states that,
barring a particularly busy end of the year, should fall well short
of 2004 totals, according to data compiled by the DEA's El Paso
Intelligence Center.

Missouri still outpaces other states in meth-related incidents this
year, with 1,243 logged through Nov. 1. The next-closest state,
Indiana, claimed 851.

But while Missouri's tally remains high, the decrease from last year
- -- even with two months of reporting to go -- is sharp. In 2004,
there were 2,799 such incidents.

In Kansas, the count is down from 583 to 304.

The meth labs still being discovered are mostly small-time
operations. The typical neighborhood cook gets an ounce or two of the
drug for his trouble.

In contrast, superlabs, on the decline in California and on the rise
in Mexico, pump out hundreds of pounds at a time, according to the
DEA. Border seizures are increasing, but plenty of Mexican meth still
reaches the states.

"It was true several years ago that most of the meth was coming from
the clandestine labs," said Michael Hand, head of the Jackson County
Drug Task Force. "Now it's almost easier for users to go buy imported
meth than to go buy the ingredients."

Shirley Armstead, a DEA spokeswoman, said law enforcement in Missouri
has seized more meth that is not related to lab shutdowns this year
than last year: 274 pounds versus 236.

"The number of labs is going down, but you still have the same number
of people who are addicted to it," Armstead said.

Fighting imports

Mexican drug cartels are going for a bigger piece of the U.S. market.
The drug is more profitable than cocaine or heroin because the
cartels make it themselves, said Doug Coleman, supervisory special
agent of the DEA's Dangerous Drugs and Chemicals Section.

"In the past, the Mexican organizations didn't really own their own
dope. They bought it and transferred it for a cut of the profits,"
Coleman said. "Within the last three or four years we've seen the switch."

The cartels buy pseudoephedrine in bulk from other countries, he
said. Mexican authorities are still working out ways to fight it.

"They're where the U.S. was 25 years ago with this problem," Coleman
said. "They're at the infancy stage. It's a relatively new problem there."

A lot of the meth produced in Mexico is in "ice" or crystallized
form, rather than the powder more common in the United States. The
difference is frequently negligible.

Locally, law enforcement officials report seeing more ice on the
streets, and Clay County Undersheriff Roger Yates said there were
indications that the Mexican meth might be causing a market glut.

Undercover officers have found, on occasion, eight balls -- 3 1/2
grams -- going for as little as $200, Yates said. A few years ago the
price would have been twice that.

George Barrios, a Kansas City police detective on the Metro Drug Task
Force, said that in Kansas City, meth prices had been holding steady
at $900 to $1,200 an ounce.

It's unclear how much the pseudoephedrine laws can be credited -- or
blamed -- for the increases in trafficked product.

An increase in trafficked meth became evident in Oklahoma before the
state adopted the country's first strict pseudoephedrine limits, said
Mark Woodward, spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and
Dangerous Drug Control. "We've seen ice since the mid-'80s, but it
really took off in 2002, 2003, right before our law passed," he said.

Keith Rutledge, state drug director in Arkansas, which passed a
pseudoephedrine law in March, said the cheapness of imported meth
coupled with the pseudoephedrine restrictions might have helped
convince lab operators to cut back.

"If I'm a guy who's going to deal with meth, and in Arkansas
manufacturing can get 10 to 40 to life, why should I risk that when I
can buy $1,000 worth of the stuff and sell it for $10,000?" Rutledge said.

In Missouri, meth-related incidents were declining before the
restrictions passed.

"People were becoming more aware of the problem," said Clark of the
Highway Patrol. "This has been enemy No. 1 for the state of Missouri
for probably 10 to 15 years now."

The pseudoephedrine restrictions weren't envisioned as a way to end
meth use, said Jessica Robinson, a spokeswoman for Gov. Matt Blunt.

"It's not just about reducing supply, but also increasing safety,"
she said. "This drug is being manufactured in kitchens and homes and
back yards near children."

Law enforcement prefers fighting traffickers to fighting small-time
labs, said Kyle Smith of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, because
"traffickers don't blow up, don't cause fires."

"We can deal with importation groups easier," he said. "When Beavis
and Butt-Head go to their local Walgreens, they have little exposure
until they blow up their garage. ... Importers are a little easier to
deal with.

"Given the choices, we'll take fewer labs."