RutlandHerald.com - We Are Vermont

VSP: Meth lab discovery underscores trend

The discovery this week of a rudimentary methamphetamine lab in a vacant apartment in Barre highlights a growing concern from law enforcement over the highly addictive drug surfacing in the state.

"We are seeing an uptick in labs – both in what we call traditional labs and the one-pot cook method," said Lt. Jim Cruise, head of the Vermont State Police's Clandestine Drug Lab Enforcement Team. "That's consistent with the trend we're seeing across New England as well."

Earlier this year, police arrested two men in St. Albans for cooking and selling methamphetamine out of the back of a car. The prevalence of meth labs, according to official statistics, has remained relatively low in Vermont and since the state's first bust in Rutland County in 2004.

According U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, law enforcement authorities interdicted one lab in Vermont in 2005, five in 2006, two in 2007 and two in 2008.

But Cruise said the data doesn't include labs discovered by authorities "after the fact," or dump sites at which meth producers discard their chemicals and equipment.

"This year alone we're up to at least five labs we've either gone in on or encountered after the fact," Cruise said.

In the larger scheme of narcotics enforcement, Cruise said, methamphetamine still ranks low on the list.

"In the grand scheme of the drug spectrum we see out there it's still on the very low end of things as far as numbers," he said.

But the potentially severe impacts of meth production, he said, make a serious issue for law enforcement.

"You're dealing with a lot of unknown chemicals. In their commercial packaging, these chemicals are fairly innocuous and safe and are found in common household products," Cruise said. "But when mixed, they can produce anything from flammable vapors to highly poisonous gases."

Sodium hydroxide, an ingredient used in many meth labs, is acidic enough, according to Cruise, to "basically liquefy your skin almost instantly. It's not something you want to come into contact with. And when you mix it with acids or acetone or ether, you've got an unknown chemical cloud."

Cruise said the Barre apartment was deemed safe after the drug lab team found no evidence of harmful contamination.

Police agencies and substance-abuse officials in other states – particularly on the West Coast and Midwest – list methamphetamine as their single greatest narcotics problem. But its use does not appear to be widespread in Vermont.

"We actually are not seeing that much of an increase in the treatment side," says Barbara Cimaglio, deputy commissioner of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs at the Vermont Department of Health. "However, we are always vigilant about methamphetamine because it's a drug that has caused so much devastation in other states."

Cruise said there's strong evidence to indicate that meth use is on the rise in Vermont.

"Without getting into the details of how we know what we know, we are seeing an upward trend of meth use in Vermont," he said.

Alcohol and marijuana remain the top substances for which Vermonters seek substance-abuse treatment, followed by prescription drugs.

According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, methamphetamine, sometimes called "crystal," is a powerful and highly addictive substance that gives users an intense short-term "rush" of energy and feelings of euphoria. The drug, which can be smoked, snorted, injected intravenously or ingested orally, can ultimately lead to feelings of paranoia and has been linked to psychosis and chronic health problems in longer-term users.

In 2007, Vermont passed so-called "precursor legislation" that regulates the sale of over-the-counter cold medicines containing low doses of ephedrine, often used as the active ingredient in methamphetamine.

According to the 2007 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 4 percent of children in grades 8-12 have used methamphetamine at least once in their lives, down from 5 percent in the 2005 survey.

Nationwide, according to 2008 report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 5 percent of people ages 12 and older have tried methamphetamine. More than 40 percent were reported to have tried marijuana in their lifetimes.

Though Barre officials say the incident is cause for concern, they sought to underscore the very small size of the abandoned meth operation that led to the daylong closure of a quiet residential street and the temporary evacuation of residents in neighboring homes.

"This was not a situation where significant amounts of the drug were being produced," Barre City Police Chief Tim Bombardier said Thursday.

The ordeal began after the building's owner discovered an "unreported fire" in an apartment recently abandoned by the former tenants. When Barre City firefighters saw what looked like the makings of a meth lab, city police responded before turning the scene over to a Vermont State Police hazardous-materials team.

Bombardier would not say whether investigators have identified either a suspect or person of interest in the case, though he said detectives were looking to contact the most recent tenants at 11 French St. The building's owner, Michael French, was unavailable for comment Thursday.

Bombardier said evidence at the scene indicates that someone had at least been attempting to produce the drug.

"It has all the appearance of a meth lab and the information we have indicates that's exactly what was going on," Bombardier said.

Bombardier said Barre City residents are rightly concerned about the discovery. However, he said the operation was a far cry from the so-called "superlabs" that produce enormous quantities of the drug for widespread distribution.

"Anybody making any amount is a serious issue, but it wasn't like someone set up a superlab," Bombardier said. "From the size of what I saw, it doesn't look like there wasn't a large quantity of anything. This could well be a personal use thing."

Bombardier said the discovery of the meth lab Wednesday does not reflect a growing meth problem in his coverage area.

"Until this event we haven't really seen it here," Bombardier said. "Until yesterday, if you asked me if there were any indication that meth was here, I would have told you no."

Barre City Mayor Thomas Lauzon said the incident is troubling but that people shouldn't use the event to paint Barre as a source city for the stimulant.

"It shouldn't be a reflection on Barre, it should be a wake up call to the whole state," Lauzon said. "It doesn't mean we're a major source of the drug."