A new report issued last week by the Minnesota Department of Health stated there has been a significant reduction in the number of methamphetamine labs and users across the state during recent years as a result of anti-meth legislation.

“Methamphetamine has taken a huge toll on Minnesota,” said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Sanne Magnan, in a news release. “Lives have been lost or damaged forever, the judicial system has been overburdened with meth cases, homes and neighborhoods have been damaged by meth labs and communities have experienced a rise in crimes that often accompany meth use.”

According to the release, between 2003 and 2007, the number of reported meth labs across the state decreased by 92 percent. The number of reported meth labs in Minnesota peaked in 2003, at nearly 500.

“I do agree with what they’re saying,” said Freeborn County Sheriff Mark Harig. “We had a surge in meth labs in 2003 and 2004, where it got busy and we were catching one a month.

“It’s slacked way off.”

Significant meth use and meth manufacturing took hold in Minnesota beginning in the mid- to late 1990s. The problem intensified through 2005, the year Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Legislature enacted comprehensive anti-meth legislation. The measure contained tight restrictions on the sale of cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine. It is credited with the dramatic reductions in meth labs.

Harig said he thinks a lot of the success in reducing the labs and usage has come from working closely with the pharmacies — pharmacists notify law enforcement officials if someone suspicious is trying to purchase ingredients.

“I think the biggest success was when ephedrine was put behind the counter,” he said. “Right now I think there’s a decline in labs. I think it’s a lot safer for the community and safer for the officers.”

Legislation passed in 2005 included notice and cleanup requirements for properties that contained a meth lab. This has helped protect residents and home buyers from living in former meth labs where dangerous chemicals have been used.

In addition, the legislation provided ongoing funding for 10 Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents dedicated to combating meth throughout the state.

Despite the successes that have come in recent years, Harig said law enforcement officers do occasionally see meth labs pop up.

“We still have the drug problems; meth is still here,” he said. “I think people are still trying to get labs going, but I think part of the decline in the labs is that a lot of the people that were caught were sent to prison.”

Now, to produce more meth, new people are having to learn how to make the drug.

Meth crimes found by one agent from 2004-08
2004: 87 meth cases and 11 labs
2005: 106 meth cases and 8 labs
2006: 23 meth cases and 2 labs
2007: 35 meth cases and 1 lab
2008: 12 meth cases and no labs yet
— Cases completed by South Central Drug Investigation Agent Corey Farris, a deputy with the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office. Other cases completed by other officers and deputies are not in this tally.

Harig said while meth is becoming harder to make — especially to get the ingredients — locally law enforcement officials are actually seeing a surge of cocaine usage.

Meth, a strong stimulant drug that causes the release of high levels of dopamine and other chemicals in the brain, comes in various forms, most commonly as a white odorless powder.

It is made by chemically extracting and converting the common decongestant pseudoephedrine. The manufacturing process uses toxic chemicals to extract and convert it.

Long-term effects of meth use can include severe weight loss, diminished memory, mood disturbances and psychosis, extreme tooth decay, aggressive and violent behavior and irreversible damage to certain brain functions.

Meth abuse and addiction often lead to criminal behavior, such as theft and burglary to provide cash to buy the drug, as well as violent crimes such as physical and sexual assault.