You're driving down a country road and see a garbage bag dumped in a field or a ditch.

You're in a rural area and see what appears to be a car parked on an isolated lane.

As you go past a house, the smell of anhydrous ammonia or ether is prevalent, even though there is no fertilizing or mechanical work occurring nearby.

Everyone who lives in rural areas has probably seen evidence of "crystal meth" production and didn't realize it. The circumstances noted above are just some of the signs that crystal methamphetamine is, or has, been manufactured around you.

Crystal methamphetamine, or "meth" for short, is being manufactured in Central Illinois, and more predominantly, in rural areas. The tools to make the drug can be found in nearly everyone's home, and ingredients are readily available in garages, pharmacies and discount stores. And, according to one Drug Enforcement Agency officer, the manufacture of meth is on the rise.

Master Sgt. Bruce Liebe, on loan to the DEA Task Force from the Illinois State Police, says since October 1997, when he started working in the office, there were one or two encounters with the drug a month. "Now there are two to three a week," he said, stating that those statistics do not cover routine stops and arrests by state police and other local authorities. And those numbers are just in Central Illinois.

"There is more meth in the central and southern parts of the state than the north," he said, attributing cocaine use in the northern and more metropolitan areas near Chicago. "If there is a large amount of cocaine in an area, people don't make the jump to meth. If they go to meth, they don't go back," he said.

One of the reasons meth has become common in the rural areas of the state is the availability of one of the main ingredients in its manufacture - anhydrous ammonia. Liebe mentioned that Illinois is the number one user of the fertilizer in the country, mainly

10   ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING JUNE 2000

• "THERE IS MORE METH IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE STATE THAN THE NORTH."

TOTAL REPORTED* STATEWIDE METHAMPHETAMINE ENCOUNTERS** 1999 *Updated March 30, 2000 - reflects additional 1999 information received in calendar year 2000 ** Encounters are defined as stationary, box, abandoned, and mobile labs; seizures, anhydrous thefts, dealers, and purchases.

relating to the adaptation of anhydrous ammonia to soil temperature. Liebe also commented there are some 160 recipes for meth on the internet.

As a result, anhydrous ammonia theft has been on the rise. Those who manufacture meth, called "cooks," get their anhydrous from tanks left in farmers' fields and by breaking in and taking the substance directly from wholesale dealers. This is particularly dangerous according to Liebe, as these "cooks," often addicts themselves, will turn the valve on tanks wide open to create a dangerous ammonia cloud in order to make their escape if caught in the process.

Liebe cited epinephrine, found in medications like pseudoepinephrine, Sudafed®, Acrifed®, and other pills, as another main ingredient. Liebe said cooks will use thousands of these pills at a time. Other items necessary for the process, such as starter fluid and lithium batteries, are readily available at discount stores. "These people love Wal-Mart and other stores like that," Liebe said.

"When clerks see customers buying these items in large amounts, that is an indication of a possible suspect," Liebe explained. He went on to say that many "tip-offs" come from clerks at businesses which sell the ingredients. Although an arrest cannot be made solely on the basis of a purchase, that information can be used to indicate potential subjects.

The "labs," contraptions made from common kitchen items in which the meth is made, are quite simply bottles, Tupperware®, or other similar vessels with plastic tubing extruding from one end. They can be found in homes, garages, basements or even moving vehicles.

Many times, cooks will dump their garbage at the site of production. And it's the garbage which usually holds the most incriminating evidence against them. Hundreds or thousands of the bubble packaging for the epinephrine, batteries with the casings peeled off (to obtain the lithium - there is no other known use for doing this other than making meth), the strong smell of ether or ammonia fertilizer, an unusual number of coffee filters, starter fluid cans with holes punched on the end, iodized salt containers and other similar findings are indications of meth production.

Liebe cautions about opening garbage sacks found on rural properties and urges those finding them to call their local law enforcement agency. "There could be some dangerous gases and fumes," in the discarded garbage bags from meth labs that only certified personnel should open, Liebe said.

Some might ask, "What does a meth user look like? How does he act?" According to Liebe, over 99 percent of meth users are white, generally blue collar and low income. Initially, he said, meth users were in their 30s, but that age continues to drop. He cited one case in March where two 15-year-old females were actively involved in meth manufacture.

Meth addicts are paranoid people, Liebe said, and, after "coming down" from a typical two-week high without sleep, are prone to violent activity. Due to these long periods without sleep, addicts will appear gaunt, hyper, excited, talkative and delusional. As a result, Liebe said, many domestic calls by police are between husband and wife who are both "coming down," or as it is known, "tweeking."

But just what should anyone who finds symptoms of meth production do? "Don't try to be a hero," Liebe cautions. "These people, especially if they are tweeking, are dangerous people. Call your local law enforcement agency, and they will get in touch with us."

Where in Illinois are the heavy areas of meth encounters? By nearly two to one, Coles County is the prime area,

JUNE 2000 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 11

• Ingredients and utensils sit outside in a yard after a "bust" of a meth labaratory. As can be seen, many ingredients are common household items, but are found in abundance for meth use. Photograph provided by Illinois State Police

with 63 reported encounters in the first three months of 2000, according to statistics from the Illinois State Police (see accompanying maps). Counties surrounding Coles to the west and south are also relatively high compared to most others, with an average of about six reports thus far this year.

The electric cooperative serving this area is helping to combat the problem. According to Sandra Fisher, service representative - member services of Coles-Moultrie Electric Cooperative, members of the East Central Illinois Task Force have conducted seminars at the coop. As a result, she said, employees now know what to watch for during their work.

"If they see anything, they will report it," Fisher said. She also states that employees may either notify their supervisor or go directly to authorities.

Another area hit hard in the state is Jackson County, served by Egyptian Electric Cooperative Association. According to the Illinois State Police, Jackson County has had 34 reported instances since the beginning of the year.

According to Bryce Cramer, district office manager for Egyptian Electric, employees were shown a video on safety hazards of investigating materials, like the garbage bags. "Employees are being told what to look for for their own protection," Cramer said.

Other counties in the state, which have had large numbers of encounters since Jan. 1, include the western counties of McDonough with 24 and Adams with 23. Clay County, in southeastern Illinois, had 19. Meth use in most counties is on the rise.

One co-op, which wished to remain unidentified for an employee's safety, said an employee found a dumping site for meth wastes and reported it. The site was investigated and several meth labs' waste was found nearby. Officer Liebe stated that one pound of meth will produce six pounds of waste.

• Epinephrine, found in medications like pseudoepinephrine, Sudafed, Actifed, and other pills, is another main ingredient.

Some areas which have seen few, if any encounters, exist down-state. The eastern portion of Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative's service area has only seen two encounters by state police since 1997. This includes the counties of Cass, Morgan, Scott, Greene and Calhoun counties. Fayette and Clinton counties in the Southwestern Electric Cooperative, Inc. service area have also seen only one incident since 1997.

These statistics should not be misrepresented by inferring there is no activity in these areas, Liebe said. It just means there have been no state police encounters here.

The two points the officer would like the public to remember are one - the items involved are only signs of meth production if found in abundance - and two - don't be a hero if meth production is found or suspected. Call the local law enforcement authorities to deal with the situation!

12 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING JUNE 2000