Indiana ranks No. 1 in meth lab seizures

Indiana led the nation last year in the number of meth lab seizures, a new law enforcement report says.

A total of 1,797 seizures took place throughout the state, a 5.8 percent jump from the 1,698 incidents reported the previous year, according to statistics from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The Missouri police compile the statistics from the Department of Justice’s National Clandestine Laboratory Seizure Report.

Whether the ranking is good news or bad news is difficult to determine. Law enforcement officials say it’s a bit of both.

“The problem is growing, and we are seeing more meth labs. But there is also a lot of good police work being done,” said Sgt. Niki Crawford, head of the Indiana State Police methamphetamine division. “As far as how many labs are out there, we have nothing but anecdotal evidence. ... We have been third in the nation for the last three years.”

State Police statistics credit Indiana police with even more seizures in 2013: 1,808. Vanderburgh County had the most incidents, with 115. Thirteen were reported in Marion County. Why the totals differ was unclear Tuesday.

Crawford said the public has played a significant role in busting the meth labs.

Since the formation of the state’s full-time methamphetamine suppression division in 2006, officials have been working to educate residents, community leaders, business owners and others, Crawford said. That focus has led to more people reaching out to police when they see what they believe to be meth-related activity.

The number of law enforcement officials with the training to respond to meth calls also has grown in recent years. In 2006, 23 people were considered full-time personnel, according to the Indiana Methamphetamine Suppression Section website. There are now 19 full-time personnel and an additional 111 volunteer lab team members.

In addition to the State Police, about 170 police officers in cities and counties throughout Indiana are certified to process meth labs.

Crawford said investigators must remain vigilant if they want to curb the growing meth problem. Statistics show that labs cranking out local product are in abundance, and the culture of the drug is one that allows individuals to go from addicts to cooks in a matter of moments.

“Unfortunately, addicts have easy access to manufacture their drug of choice,” Crawford said. “With most other drugs, you need a dealer or you need a large amount of cash. With meth, all you need is $8 to go down to your local store to buy a product containing pseudoephedrine, and in a few hours you can take that $8 and turn it into $50 worth of meth.”

Decadelong meth lab leader Missouri came in No. 3 in the new report, with 1,496 incidents. No. 2 was Tennessee with 1,616 busts. Totals include the seizure or dismantling of operational laboratories, chemicals, equipment, glassware and dump sites.

A federal law that went into effect in 2006 to curb meth production actually may be adding to the lab seizure totals. The Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 limits sales of pseudoephedrine and requires medicines containing the drug to be placed behind pharmacy counters.

Ralph Weisheit, a professor of criminal justice at Illinois State University, said when the law passed, the number of large scale meth operations dropped. But the restrictions helped give birth to smaller “one pot” and “shake and bake” operations, he said.

He added that the national incident numbers don’t necessarily paint an accurate picture of how meth may be impacting a particular state.

“In the case of labs you have a highly visible problem. … But, for example, look at a place like Oregon that may have fewer than 10 lab incidents, but they have a high meth problem,” he said.

Lab numbers are higher in Indiana and other areas of the Midwest, Weisheit said, because most of the meth is cooked locally. In the West and parts of the South where the number of seizures are often in the single digits, meth is imported from Mexico.

“The national trend is for the local mom-and-pop labs to be replaced by imported meth, and in the Midwest it would surprise me if that doesn’t happen in the future,” Weisheit said. “You’re really just deciding what kind of problems you want to live with. With labs, you have fires, explosions, the risk of contaminating the environment. ... With imported meth, you have people fighting over turf, fighting over money and violence related to the business.”

Weisheit said the real root of the problem continues to be the addictive nature of the drug itself.

Call Star reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.