METH STILL REMAINS BIG PROBLEM

It has been two years since the Southeast Missourian did a week's worth of in-depth reporting about methamphetamine in Southeast Missouri. That week concluded with a newspaper-sponsored community forum attended by more than 200 individuals whose awareness about the meth problem had been heightened by the more than 40 stories that were published in August 1998.

The goal of that massive reporting project -- which went on to win several state and national awards -- was to make as many readers as possible aware of the growing use and production of meth in Southeast Missouri.

Meth is a highly addictive substance made from ingredients widely available in our area. The ease of acquiring those ingredients along with the relative isolation of rural Southeast Missouri makes our area one of the top meth-producing locations in the country. Unfortunately, the process for making meth, while fairly simple is extremely dangerous. So meth is a double threat: It destroys lives through addiction, and it can maim or kill anyone who mishandles some of the ingredients used in making meth. This last group includes law-enforcement officers who seize meth labs and clean up the mess that is left behind.

Top government officials continue to look for ways to address the meth problem. This week, Gov. Mel Carnahan of Missouri and Gov. George Ryan of Illinois met with 70 law-enforcement officials from across the Midwest to discuss ways to work together to fight the powerful stimulant.

It was evident from news reports about the conference that there is still a problem in the way the scope of the meth problem is gauged. In 1998, when Southeast Missourian reporters were gathering information for this newspaper's series of stories, it was obvious that the measure used most often was the number of meth labs seized by authorities. Indeed, many government-funded efforts to stem the production of meth are based on this statistic.

As a result, California with more than 2,000 meth labs seized last year is considered the top meth-producing state. Missouri officials closed down nearly 1,000 meth labs.

This doesn't take into account such factors as the number of law-enforcement agents available to go after meth labs. California has a huge budget for fighting meth, while Missouri agencies have shared a slowly growing amount of meth-fighting dollars.

Moreover, Missouri doesn't require centralized reporting of drug busts, which means some agencies that are closing down meth labs never report that information.

Meth was a big problem two years ago. It is a big problem today.

In large part, getting rid of meth and the labs that produce it depends on the willingness of all of us to report any suspicious smells or activities to the proper authorities. Do your part.