Measure to fight meth in Mark Twain forest clears House panel

WASHINGTON -- A federal measure that includes $500,000 to fight methamphetamine production in Missouri's sprawling Mark Twain National Forest cleared a House committee Tuesday.

"These funds will give law enforcement the tools they need to crack down and rid our forests of this dangerous and deadly drug and the criminals who are cooking this poison," said Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, whose 8th District includes much of the forest.

The proposed funds are part of the fiscal year 2003 Interior Appropriations Act, passed Tuesday by the House Appropriations Committee. The measure still awaits House and Senate consideration.

In 2000, the Forest Service and local agencies uncovered about 450 drug labs and meth-related chemical dumpsites in Mark Twain's 1.5 million acres in 29 counties. Authorities were on pace to top that number last year before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 forced federal agents to focus on homeland security.

Agents already have found at least 30 labs and dumpsites so far this year, a number expected to increase rapidly this summer as visitors stumble upon lab sites. About 1.5 million people are expected to visit the forest this year.

Methamphetamine -- often called crystal or crank -- is an easy-to-make stimulant that can be smoked, snorted, swallowed or injected. It is made largely from legal ingredients such as over-the-counter cold pills and ether.

Looks like campsite

A typical forest meth lab looks like a campsite, and cooks usually work during the night, abandoning the lab before sunrise.

If the funds are approved, the U.S. Forest Service has said it would use them to hire additional officers to eradicate methamphetamine from the hilly, wooded forest in Ozark back country, and to fund cooperative efforts with local law enforcers.

Recently, federal forest officials started warning visitors to Mark Twain to watch their step in the forest. Sheriffs have said forest cooks have used everything from automatic weapons to pipe-bomb booby traps to guard their labs. Law enforcement officials say many methamphetamine makers are addicted to the drug and that it can make users violence-prone.