Transcript File

Introduction
• Preys on our society and our
environment.
• Simplicity of production and the
vastness and open range of
America provide suitable
conditions for broadening market.
• Once predominately isolated to the western portion of the United
States it is becoming more visible in other areas.
• Law Enforcement interdiction is on the front-line battling; however,
their efforts are not enough in the battle against this scourge.
• If we are to be successful, our programs must be comprehensive and
must attack meth on a variety of fronts.
1
Historical Overview
Origin and Use
• First developed in 1919 by a Japanese pharmacologist.
• Although its initial uses were for medical purposes, its ability to
increase energy and to enable users to function without sleep made it
attractive for military purposes during World War II.
• Many reports indicate the German army frequently distributed a form
of methamphetamine to weary troops in attempt to counter battle
fatigue.
• The ease and quick turnaround of the ephedrine reduction method of
manufacture is the “Nazi Method”.
2
Historical Overview
Introduction Into The United States
• Has undergone both legal and illegal uses in the United States.
– As early as the 1930s it was used therapeutically to treat asthma and
epileptic seizures.
• When the effects became more apparent its use was prohibited in the
United States but major pharmaceutical companies were allowed to
manufacture it for export.
– Substantial portion distributed in Mexico and Canada found its way
back into the US and was sold on the black market for illicit purposes.
• Historically, outlaw motorcycle gangs operating on the West Coast
controlled illicit meth production.
• The reemergence of a significant meth problem was realized as early
as 1983 in California.
– NHSDA, ADAM and DAWN all indicate a pronounced increase in the
manufacture, distribution and use of methamphetamine.
3
Laws
The growth in clandestine labs has
spread across many sections of the
United States and the problem is
acute in the Midwest. The simple
manufacturing process, the
availability of precursor materials,
the longer high and the substantial
profit margin all contribute to increases in meth production and use.
The Law Enforcement response has been severe. Many states have
increased penalties for manufacture, distribution and use of
methamphetamine. Numerous multi-jurisdictional task forces have
been formed to increase enforcement activities.
4
Laws
Comprehensive Methamphetamine
Control Act of 1996:
• Cracked down on the mail order
industry and chemical supply
companies.
• Increased penalties for possession, trafficking, and manufacturing of
precursor chemicals and paraphernalia.
• Some jurisdictions now regulate the sale of ephedrine based cold
medicines and many have cooperative agreements with retail facilities
to report purchases of meth ingredients.
5
Description & Appearance
General
• Methamphetamine is a Schedule II
drugs and is a member of a class
of drugs known as “amphetamine.”
• Powerfully addictive dramatically
affecting the central nervous
system.
• Believed to cause the production of high level of neurotransmitter
dopamine, which affects the pleasure center of the brain.
6
Description & Appearance
Forms
There are three forms of Meth, which
are produced by using a different
precursor chemical. They are:
• Dextro-Methamphetamine (d-Meth)
• Dextro-levo amphetamine (dl-Meth)
• Levo-Methamphetamine (l-Meth)
7
Description & Appearance
Forms, Makeup & Potency
Methamphetamines have two
stereoisomers and their type is
derived from their molecular
makeup.
• Dextro-Methamphetamine (d-Meth)
• Levo-Methamphetamine (l-Meth)
• Sample may consist of 100% d-Meth, 100% l-Meth, or a roughly 50-50
composition of both creating dextro-levo Meth, or dl-Meth.
D-Meth is the most widely manufactured and abused form of Meth in
the US; 2 to 3 times more potent than dl-Meth; as much as 5 times as
potent than l-Meth.
• Ice: Is to Meth as crack is to cocaine. Extremely powerful smokeable
freebase form of d-Meth hydrochloride having a purity of 90% - 98%.
8
Description & Appearance
Street Appearance
• Generally a white, odorless, bittertasting crystalline powder that is
easy dissolved in water or alcohol.
– Color and consistency varies as a
result of either how it was refined
or sloppy manufacturing
– Higher refining techniques produce higher quality, which is a white
crystalline powder
• Sloppy manufacturing techniques produces - generally a yellowish
to brown in color, sticky, and may be very granular or solid in
appearance.
• Ice is is clear, but may be also be clear yellowish in color and looks
like a broken piece of glass. Very pure smokeable freebase.
9
Production & Manufacture
General
• All methamphetamine is
clandestinely manufactured
• Labs very in size from some local
labs producing small weight
qualities, to super-labs capable of
producing 10 pounds or more in
one run.
• Clandestine methamphetamine labs may be found most anywhere. They
are very easy to set up and have been found in:
–
–
–
–
Trunks of cars
Single and multi-family residences
Hotel rooms
Abandon buildings
– Farm and ranch buildings in remote rural areas.
10
Production & Manufacture
Manufacture Processes
Manufacturing is not difficult
because the required chemicals,
with a few exceptions, are readily
available in open markets.
There are three commonly used illicit
manufacturing techniques –
• P2P Amalgam
• Ephedrine/Pseudoephedrine Reduction
• Nazi Method
11
Production & Manufacture
P2P
• Once the most commonly used
method but rarely used today
• In 1980, P2P was classified as a
Schedule II drug under the CSA
making it difficult to obtain.
• Two primary precursors for this method are:
– Phenyl-2-propanone (P2P)
– Methylamine
– Along with mercuric chloride, hydrochloric acid, aluminum,
isopropanol, and sodium hydroxide
12
Production & Manufacture
Ephedrine/Pseudoephedrine
• Ephedrine/Pseudoephedrine
Reduction is easier vs. P2P
Amalgam Method
• Produces a more potent form of
Meth – d-Meth
• Relatively inexpensive to produce
• This process consists of three stages:
– Cooking
– Extracting
– Salting
13
Production & Manufacture
Ephedrine/Pseudoephedrine
• Cooking:
Ephedrine/pseudoephedrine,
hydriodic and red phosphorus
are mixed and heated over a
12-hour period
– Acidic mixture is then strained
• Extracting:
– Acidic mixture is mixed with sodium hydroxide to convert it to a
base and may also be iced to keep the mixture cool.
– Mixture is placed in a separation vessel with a spigot at its base.
– Freon is added, which mixes with the d-Meth oil and both settle to
the bottom of the vessel.
– The Freon and d-Meth oil are drained from the vessel through the
spigot.
14
Production & Manufacture
Ephedrine/Pseudoephedrine
• Salting:
– Hydrogen chloride gas is
bubbled through the freon
and d-Meth oil
– Creates d-Meth in white
crystalline form, which
settles out of the mixture
– Excess freon is squeezed
out through the use of
presses leaving nearly pure
d-Meth
15
Production & Manufacture
Nazi Method
• Fast becoming the most popular
method of producing d-Meth
• Process is quick, requires very
little setup time, chemicals are
easier to obtain, and it produces
a high yield of d-Meth
• Manufacture:
– In addition to ephedrine/pseudoephedrine, the process uses ether,
sodium metal or lithium metal, and anhydrous ammonia.
– Sodium metal and lithium metal is mixed with
ephedrine/pseudoephedrine powder and cooked.
– Anhydrous ammonia is then added and is later evaporated at which
time ether is added and the mixture is poured through a coffee filter
or fine fabric to extract the Meth.
16
Production Hazards
Drug Endangered Children Program
• Proliferation of Mom and Pop
labs in recent years has become
more and more evident in rural
and urban areas across America.
• Manufactured by –
– Untrained persons
– Inferior equipment
• In all most all cases –
– Labs are unkept
– Unorganized with dangerous processing chemicals left in the open or
improperly stored
– Use resources and appliances available in the home all of which pose
extreme dangers to children.
17
Production Hazards
Drug Endangered Children Program
The dangers posed to innocent
children are horrifying.
• Absorb the deadly ingredients by
walking barefoot across the floor of
a contaminated lab.
• Might pick up a soda bottle used in
making the drug and spill hydrochloric
acid upon themselves
• May drink from a soda bottle only to ingest lye, which burns the esophagus.
• Exposed to cooking and chemical fumes, which affects their lungs leading to
respiratory problems –
– Coughs
– Asthma
– Allergy-type symptoms
18
Production Hazards
Drug Endangered Children Program
• Legislative Action
– In response to the increasing number of
children being exposed to drug dangers
– Passing laws to protect children found
in these environments
• In response to laws concerted
coordinative efforts are being
established among –
– Health
– Social
– Law Enforcement
• Protocols are being established at all levels
– Law Enforcement reporting procedures to Health and Social Services
– Medical protocol procedures for examining and testing children for exposure and
treatment
– Social Services placement and follow-up of children placed in foster care
• Laws and Programs may very from state-to-state - all have the protection of
children in mind.
19
Production Hazards
Threats to LE & EMS
• Quickly assess individual for use
and abuse –
– Binging
– Tweakers
•
•
Can be physically explosive
Pose threat to all around
• Isolate and restrain
• Safeguard themselves against HIV
20
Production Hazards
Threats to Law Enforcement
• Toxic chemical fumes and their
combustible state
• Other Dangers Include:
– Suspects & Weapons
– Booby Traps & Obstacles
– Objects to arouse curiosity
Watch For
– Ground Depressions and Terrain Disturbances
– Something of Value or Out of Place
Never Use Electricity or Light Switch
Untrained Law Enforcement Officers
should never enter a Clan Lab or Dumpsite area!
21
Production Hazards
Threats to the Environment
Every pound of Meth generates
6 pounds of hazardous waste!
• Sites vary from opened pit to
garages
• Hazardous Materials:
– Freon cans & compressed
cylinders
– Discarded clothing, respiratory and dust masks
– Filtering materials
• Hazards
– Toxic Fumes
– Explosive & Combustible
– Water table contamination
22
Manufacture & Distribution
General
• Domestic production & trafficking,
are concentrated in the west,
southwest, and midwest
• Increasingly available in portions
of the south and east, especially
– Georgia
– Florida
• Clandestine laboratories in California and Mexico are the primary
sources of supply for methamphetamine available in the United
States.
23
Manufacture & Distribution
Sources
• Outlaw motorcycle gangs &
independent trafficking groups
• 1995 - Mexican-based trafficking
groups entered and now dominate
market
• Mexican environment factors:
– Ability to obtain multi-ton quantities of precursor chemicals
– Established smuggling and distribution networks
– Control over labs capable of large-scale production
24
Manufacture & Distribution
Sources
• “Super Labs” producing 10 + lbs
per production run
• Majority of Mexican-based meth
is produced in California and
other Western states
• Dramatic increase in Meth labs in certain states:
– Kansas
– Missouri
– Arkansas
– Many others popping up in other Western, Midwestern, and
Southern states
25
Manufacture & Distribution
Availability & Supply
• Initially concentrated in West &
Southwest states particularly:
– California & Utah
– Arizona & Texas
• Expansion of Mexican-based
traffickers and increase of
independent labs has dramatically increased availability and abuse in:
– Pacific Northwest
– Midwest
– Growing portions of the Southeast
– Evidence of production and distribution in Mid-Atlantic States
stretching into New England
– 1998, Labs discovered in New Jersey, Delaware & Massachusetts
26
Manufacture & Distribution
Seizures & Precursor Chemicals
• In 2001, approximately 8,000
clan labs were seized
– 298 Super Labs up 130 from 2000
• Tijuana Residence Office (TJRO)
Baja California Norte in 2001
– 24 Super Labs up 22 from 2000
•
US Federal seizures in 2001
– 2,807 kilos down from 3,373 kilos in 2000
– US Postal Facilities Oakland, Los Angeles, and Honolulu
• In 2000, 301,697 SEA meth tablets up from 39,917 in 1999
27
Manufacture & Distribution
Seizures & Precursor Chemicals
• Tough precursor chemical laws in CA
– Trafficker diversified to nationwide
pseudoephedrine/ephedrine suppliers
• Black Market upward to $5,000 lbs
• Small-scale operators commonly buy
over-the-counter in small amounts
from legitimate retailers
• Large quantities from Canada
– Minimal chemical control laws
• March 2002: 10,000,000 Pseudoephedrine Tablets seized in Lynwood, CA + $1.5 million
• Purchased from unscrupulous US distributors
• Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), available at livestock store, health, and nutrition
stores
– Cut increasing profits may be result of difficulty obtain precursor chemicals
28
Manufacture & Distribution
Trafficking
• Mexican manufactured Primary
Points of entry:
– California, particularly
San Ysidro
– South Texas, particularly
Laredo
– Commonly smuggled in cars,
trucks, & 4-wheel drive vehicles
• EPIC – seizures of Mexican manufactured Meth has dramatically
increased since 1992 exploiting Mexican-Americans in:
– Midwest meat processing plants
– Northwest forest industry
29
Manufacture & Distribution
Prices
• Vary throughout different regions
of the United States
• $3,500 a pound in parts of
California and Texas
• Upwards to $21,000 a pound in the
southeast and northeast
• Retail $400 to $3,000 an ounce
30
Summary
Methamphetamine is a scourge on our society. The
vastness of the United States provides suitable
conditions to illicitly manufacture it in clandestine labs.
The ill effects associated with its manufacture and
sales are being felt in most every part of America.
Children are the innocent victims in its manufacture in
mom-and-pop labs. Society is speaking out against
their victimization and states legislatures are acting in
their defense. Another element of our society – the
user – is falling prey to its lethality.
31
Pictures from the scene.
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44