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The battle against meth Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Jackson County sheriff�s Lt. Jim Anderson examines a bag of methamphetamine seized Saturday in a Medford shopping center parking lot. The bust netted a half-pound of the noxious drug, which has authorities worried because its abuse appears to be reaching more casual users in addition to its usual criminal subculture. Authorities seize drug, arrest users in record numbers By Chris Bristol Drug traffickers continue to flood the local market with cheap but potent methamphetamine, resulting in record drug busts and dashing any hopes the crank craze has peaked. "This town is swimming in meth," said Medford police spokesman Tim George. "Hell, Southern Oregon is swimming in meth. It seems like you can�t go anywhere without running into it." New statistics show the Jackson County Narcotics Enforcement Team seized 11,875 grams of methamphetamine last year. At more than 26 pounds, the amount seized far outstrips the previous record of 18 pounds in 1997. Oregon drug deaths down, but fatalities from meth on the rise From wire and staff reports PORTLAND � Heroin continued to be the leading cause of drug-related deaths in Oregon last year, although such deaths overall were down 15 percent from the previous year. Methamphetamine-related deaths, however, were up 30 percent, according to the Oregon state medical examiner�s annual report on drug-related deaths, to be released Monday. In 2000, 209 people died from drug-related causes � down from 246 in 1999. The majority, 130, were related to heroin � a decrease from 195 the previous year. Fifty-six people died from meth-related causes, up from 43 the year before. Most lived in the three-county Portland metropolitan area and in Lane, Marion and Deschutes counties. Two deaths in Jackson County were attributed to overdoses on meth, according to figures provided by local medical examiner Spencer Smith. Overall, 11 deaths in Jackson County were blamed on drugs, including one from heroin and three from its methadone substitute. Five of the drug-related deaths in Jackson County, four from prescription medication and one from methadone, were ruled suicides. Ed Blackburn, director of chemical dependency services for Central City Concern, a Portland rehabilitation center, said a drug-awareness campaign by the Recovery Association Project contributed to the drop in heroin deaths. "It changed the way we�re dealing with it," he said. "The same attention and focus has not been put on the deaths related to other drugs." The jump in meth-related deaths means the drug � considered by many in law enforcement to be the most pervasive illicit substance in Oregon � has found a growing base of users. "Heroin is the one we see most often because it�s the most deadly drug," said Dr. Karen Gunson, state medical examiner. "But with meth there are just so many more people using it, it�s bound to catch up." While the overall numbers are down slightly, Gunson said there�s nothing to cheer about. "It�s still the fourth-highest year," she said. "As far as taking a big bite out of drug overdose deaths, we�re not." A quarter gram of methamphetamine is considered an end-user amount than can be consumed by one person in an evening. Twenty-six pounds divvies up into more than 47,000 quarter grams. JACNET agents also took down 15 meth labs last year, up from 13 in 1999 and more than all the lab raids combined from 1991 to 1996. Three more labs have already been rooted out this year. On a Saturday bust, undercover JACNET agents arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of selling a half-pound of meth in the Black Bird parking lot. That kind of success disappoints Lt. Jim Anderson, a veteran Jackson County sheriff�s deputy and commander of JACNET. "It seems like we seize more every year (and) we arrest more every year," Anderson said. "It�s frustrating. We�re not shutting off much." Deputy District Attorney Judi Harper, who is on loan to the U.S. Department of Justice as a special prosecutor assigned to target drug dealers and traffickers, said meth use is beginning to expand away from the criminal subculture that made meth its drug of choice. "You get a stereotype in your mind about what a meth addict looks like," she said, "but now they�re starting to look like you and me. It�s scary, because most people don�t realize how addictive the stuff is." Anderson agreed: "You�re seeing more middle class people experimenting with it, and they�re getting addicted. But it�s a regular thing with the criminal community." So pervasive is the drug in the region that, two or three years ago, meth-related arrests began gaining on arrests for drunken driving. Medford police made a combined 1,203 arrests for drunken driving in 1999 and 2000. Over the same period, Medford police documented nearly 1,700 drug cases � 1,105 of which were meth-related. Meanwhile, Jackson County court statistics show how wide the disparity has become. Over the past month alone, 90 different meth-related cases (many involving serious trafficking charges) were scheduled for trial. Over the same period, 45 DUIIs were set for trial. Compounding matters, a growing number of DUII arrests are actually for driving drugged, or drugged and drunk. JACNET seizures of other illicit substances dropped off dramatically. Only 33 ounces of cocaine was seized last year vs. a record 2,562 grams in 1996. Heroin fell to 72 ounces, from 653 in 1999. Marijuana busts went up as well. JACNET agents seized 31,675 grams last year vs. 16,843 grams in 1999. However, the 1992 record of more than 130,000 grams (roughly 290 pounds) remained unchallenged. Reach reporter Chris Bristol at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.