Methamphetamine cooks face more heat

Jace Radke

Wednesday, July 28, 1999 | 11:06 a.m.

Proposed legislation and cooperation between state and federal law enforcement agencies are making prison sentences more likely for those caught manufacturing drugs in Las Vegas.

The number of methamphetamine labs in Las Vegas has skyrocketed over the last three years, and the Metro Police Department is on pace to make a record number of arrests this year. Police have closed 210 labs so far this year compared with 257 busts all of last year.

Metro Police are working with the U.S. Attorney's office to take the federal route in prosecuting high-profile meth producers.

"We have started working closely with federal authorities to prosecute prolific meth cooks and those busted in the large labs capable of turning out pounds of drugs," Metro Narcotics Lt. Steve Gammell said. "By taking the prosecution federal, there is a greater chance of a prison sentence."

To make that easier, Sens. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, have introduced the federal Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act of 1999 meant to eliminate a loophole that has allowed meth manufacturers to escape federal prosecution in the past.

"There have been instances where someone is charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, and it turns out that what they actually made was amphetamine, causing the federal case to be thrown out," Bryan spokesman Dave Lemmon said. "The bill will correct that shortcoming in federal law by increasing the penalties for amphetamines to equal methamphetamines."

Both methamphetamines and amphetamines are synthetic stimulants that excite the central nervous system causing a high. The only difference between the two is a slightly different chemical makeup in the drugs.

On the street methamphetamines are known by many names and forms including ice, eve, ecstasy and crank.

"In Nevada it doesn't matter what kind of illegal amphetamine it is. As long as the drug is present, no matter the amount, we can prosecute," Gammell said. "It's like baking a Pillsbury cake mix. As long as you follow the directions you're going to get a cake in the end. It may taste a little different from someone else's, but it's still a Pillsbury cake."

The bill also would authorize $5.5 million for training of state and local law enforcement by Drug Enforcement Administration agents. If passed, another $6.5 million would be used to hire new federal agents to assist in shutting down meth labs nationwide.

Metro has already added more manpower to its meth lab detail, which partially explains the high number of arrests this year.

"I don't think the numbers of meth labs in the city has changed greatly in the last year as much as our apprehension rate has gotten higher," Gammell said. "I think we're going to see the numbers of meth labs continue to rise for a while until the word starts to get out that running a lab in Clark County will get you jail time."