Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine production and abuse are expanding from Minnesota and Iowa into primarily rural counties in western Wisconsin. Methamphetamine is growing in popularity because it is less expensive and has a longer euphoric effect than crack cocaine. Mexican DTOs transport the bulk of the methamphetamine available in Wisconsin from California and other Southwest Border states. However, methamphetamine laboratory seizures are increasing at a substantial rate, an indicator that local production is also increasing. Methamphetamine production is causing serious safety and environmental concerns in Wisconsin.

Abuse

Methamphetamine abuse is most prevalent in western Wisconsin, but it is beginning to spread throughout the state. Iowa and Minnesota law enforcement officials note that methamphetamine production, sales, and abuse have been at high levels, and due to investigative efforts in those states, methamphetamine transporters are moving into Wisconsin. Methamphetamine abuse has spread from northwestern Wisconsin to southern and eastern Wisconsin. Eleven additional counties east and south of the initial problem area cited methamphetamine as a growing concern. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Methamphetamine Abuse Problem Areas, Wisconsin, 1998-1999

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  Existing Abuse Problem            New Abuse Problem
Source: Wisconsin Division of Narcotics Enforcement 1999 Report.

Other indications of increasing methamphetamine abuse in Wisconsin are emergency department mentions, which increased 47 percent, from 120 in 1996 to 177 in 1998 (see Chart 3), and TEDS admissions for methamphetamine abuse, which increased from 38 in 1993 to 68 in 1998. The U.S. Attorney for the Western District indicates that western counties are experiencing increases in treatment admissions for methamphetamine abuse. Typical users in Wisconsin are Caucasian males and females between the ages of 20 and 30. The Eau Claire DNE Regional Director reported that youth between the ages of 12 and 15 were injecting methamphetamine instead of snorting or smoking the drug.

 Chart 3. Methamphetamine Emergency Department Mentions, Wisconsin, 1996-1998

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Source: Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services,
Bureau of Substance Abuse Services.

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Availability

The availability of methamphetamine in Wisconsin increased in 1999, but then stabilized during 2000. The DEA and Wisconsin DNE both state that the availability of Mexican methamphetamine stabilized in 2000; however, the DEA maintains that methamphetamine is still an investigatory priority throughout the state. Most methamphetamine distributed throughout Wisconsin is produced in high-volume laboratories in Mexico and in the United States, mainly in California. The FBI estimates that between 10 and 20 methamphetamine distribution organizations with ties to California and Mexico routinely transport and distribute kilogram quantities of methamphetamine from laboratories in California to states as far east as North Carolina and as far north as Wisconsin.

Domestic methamphetamine availability and production are rapidly increasing in Wisconsin. According to the DEA Milwaukee District Office, methamphetamine availability is increasing especially in the Western District. Cookers and dealers are relocating from Iowa and Minnesota--states that have experienced significant increases in methamphetamine production and sales since 1995--to new market environments such as Wisconsin. Suggestive of an increase in methamphetamine production and availability is the decline in retail prices in Wisconsin from 1996 to 1999. Prices dropped from $115 to $105 per gram.

Methamphetamine arrests and seizures in Wisconsin are on the rise, indicating an increase in methamphetamine availability. The Wisconsin DNE seized 26 methamphetamine laboratories in the first 9 months of 2000, and the number of Wisconsin Drug Task Force methamphetamine investigations more than doubled from 1994 to 1999. The West Central Drug Task Force, Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, and Janesville Police Department stated that the number of methamphetamine investigations, arrests, and seizures increased in 1999. The Janesville Police Department seized its first two laboratories in 1999. The number of State Crime Laboratory cases steadily increased from 16 in 1991 to 101 in 1999.

Violence

The potential for violence associated with methamphetamine is a significant problem. Methamphetamine abusers tend to be violent and can endanger themselves and those around them. As methamphetamine's euphoric effects begin to diminish, abusers enter a stage called "tweaking" in which they are prone to violence, delusions, and paranoia. Many abusers try to buffer the effect of the methamphetamine "crash" with other drugs such as cocaine or heroin. These effects, in combination with severe sleep deprivation, can result in a very unpredictable, uncontrollable individual.

Methamphetamine abuse is the cause of much of the drug-related violence throughout western Wisconsin. According to the Wisconsin DNE, violent methamphetamine abusers are affecting rural and suburban communities. An increase in methamphetamine abuse in western Wisconsin is linked to significant increases in domestic violence and child abuse and neglect cases. Documented cases of child neglect indicate that users often leave children unattended while they seek the drug. One northern county reported a 100 percent increase in domestic violence cases in a 1-year period (1998), a situation which the U.S. Attorney for the Western District and law enforcement officials attribute to a rise in methamphetamine abuse.

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Production

Methamphetamine production is increasing in western Wisconsin. The Regional Director of the Eau Claire DNE reports that laboratory seizures and methamphetamine production have increased in 2000. The Lafayette County Sheriff reports an increase in methamphetamine laboratory activity, further stating that 10 abandoned methamphetamine laboratory sites were found and 3 working laboratories were seized in 1999, an increase from the previous year. Responses to a 1999 Wisconsin Department of Justice survey of local law enforcement agencies in seven southwestern counties show that 30 methamphetamine laboratories or waste sites were found in 1999, compared with just 2 the previous year. The U.S. Attorney for the Western District reports that approximately 10 percent of the methamphetamine consumed in the district is produced locally. The Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance reports that high school and college students are downloading methamphetamine recipes from the Internet, producing the drug, and selling it in their schools.

Methamphetamine production in Wisconsin is connected to other states in the region. In 1999, the Eau Claire DNE seized a laboratory that was established in a boathouse on the Mississippi River; the laboratory operators were from Minnesota. DNE officials indicate that methamphetamine producers, or cookers, from Arkansas came to Wisconsin to teach Wisconsin cookers how to produce methamphetamine. Out-of-state cookers who began production operations in an apartment in Madison, Wisconsin, operated another laboratory seized in 1999 by the Wisconsin DNE. The cookers were arrested, jumped bond, and were again apprehended operating a mobile laboratory from a truck. In another instance, a temporary methamphetamine laboratory seized in 1999 in Milwaukee County was set up in a hotel room; the precursor chemicals found originated in Missouri.

Wisconsin's large national forests and wilderness areas are ideal for clandestine methamphetamine laboratory operations. Wisconsin operates 42 parks, 4 recreation areas, 10 state forests, 13 state trails, as well as 6 million acres of hunting land. The parks range in size from Devil's Lake, with 8,864 acres, to the largest single state recreational facility, the Northern Highland Legion Forest, with 221,946 acres. State trails total 8,928 acres. Limited law enforcement presence makes these areas ideally suited for operating methamphetamine laboratories and disposing of the resulting toxic waste. Furthermore, Wisconsin's proximity to Canada gives local laboratory operators another advantage over law enforcement efforts. Precursors such as ephedrine, pseudo-ephedrine, and P2P (phenyl-2-propanone) are more readily available in Canada where prices are lower and regulations regarding these chemical precursors are less restrictive.

There are several methamphetamine production methods, but the "Nazi" method is the most popular in Wisconsin. Western Wisconsin is rural and home to hundreds of farms that store anhydrous ammonia, a key ingredient in the Nazi method, as fertilizer. The Wisconsin DNE states there have been increasing anhydrous ammonia thefts from farms and farm supply outlets. A Wisconsin State Representative stated that there have been frequent thefts of 1,000-gallon containers of anhydrous ammonia from farm fields in western Wisconsin. In February 2000, the Wisconsin State Legislature toughened penalties for stealing farm fertilizers used in methamphetamine production. The Walworth County Sheriff has urged farmers to be aware that methamphetamine production often requires agricultural chemicals and to keep locks on storage tanks. One indication that efforts to curb anhydrous ammonia theft may be working is a report by the Wisconsin DNE that the ephedrine reduction production method, which uses red phosphorus and ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, is becoming more prevalent. The Regional Director of the Eau Claire DNE reports that pseudoephedrine bulk purchases are increasing in the region.

The toxic and hazardous waste associated with any methamphetamine production method increases the threat to law enforcement, surrounding communities, and the environment. Wisconsin law enforcement officials indicate that methamphetamine laboratory operators are pouring toxic waste into thermos bottles, coolers, and other containers and then dumping them into highway ditches. The Lafayette County Sheriff reported that several thermos bottles and water containers containing by-products were found along roads in that southwestern Wisconsin County. State officials report that waste dumped from backwoods laboratories into ditches poses a threat to road crews and volunteers gathering litter along highways. In February 2000, the Wisconsin State Legislature toughened penalties for dumping the hazardous waste associated with methamphetamine production.

DNE officials report that it takes significant time, physical effort, and money to clean a dumpsite. Remediation costs are between $3,000 and $10,000 per site. The Regional Director of the Eau Claire DNE reports that money for laboratory cleanup is nonexistent, forcing the DNE to coordinate with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to continue laboratory cleanup. The Regional Director also reports a significant increase in the number and size of toxic dumps in southwestern Wisconsin.

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Transportation

Mexican DTOs dominate methamphetamine transportation operations in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin DNE reports that most methamphetamine in the state comes from laboratory operators along the Southwest Border and is distributed throughout Wisconsin by Mexican DTOs. For example, a cooperating individual stated that he traveled to San Diego, California, to purchase methamphetamine. The methamphetamine was smuggled into San Diego from laboratories in Mexico. The cooperating individual transported the methamphetamine back to Milwaukee. In 1999, a DEA investigation centered on a member of a Mexican methamphetamine trafficking organization based in Fresno, California. The organization was responsible for transporting methamphetamine in quantities up to 25 kilograms to Wisconsin and three other states.

Mexican DTOs control most methamphetamine laboratories throughout Mexico, California, and Texas, the principal methamphetamine source areas for Wisconsin, and they transport methamphetamine throughout the Great Lakes Region. Known transshipment points in the Midwest include Chicago, Illinois; Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota; Des Moines, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; and Kansas City, Missouri. The FBI estimates that between 10 and 20 Mexican DTOs with ties to California and Mexico routinely transport and distribute kilogram quantities of methamphetamine from laboratories in California to states as far east as North Carolina and as far north as Wisconsin. In 1999, the Wisconsin DNE investigated a husband and wife distributing methamphetamine from Superior, Wisconsin. The couple received approximately 4,000 grams of methamphetamine from Texas through postal services. The Regional Director of the Eau Claire DNE reports that a significant amount of methamphetamine is produced in Minnesota and transported to Wisconsin by Caucasian males.

Transporters primarily use private vehicles to transport methamphetamine into the state. For example, a detective with the Central Area Drug Enforcement Group reported a methamphetamine seizure from a private vehicle traveling from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Wausau, Wisconsin, in early 2000, and in Marshfield, Wisconsin, authorities seized 20 ounces of methamphetamine concealed in a private vehicle. Utility trucks, tractor-trailers, parcel services, and airlines are secondary transportation methods. In 1999, a female alleged drug courier from Los Angeles was arrested at the General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. Agents discovered 1 kilogram of "peanut butter meth" (so called because its consistency and appearance are similar to that of peanut butter) held around her waist by a girdle.

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Distribution

Mexican DTOs are the predominant methamphetamine wholesalers in Wisconsin. The Milwaukee HIDTA and Wisconsin DNE state that Mexican DTOs distribute cocaine and marijuana in Wisconsin and use the same drug distribution networks to facilitate wholesale methamphetamine distribution. Mexican DTOs also infiltrate Hispanic communities located around poultry and meat packing plants as well as farming communities to help facilitate distribution throughout the Midwest and possibly in Wisconsin. The communities surrounding these plants and farming communities are attractive to trafficking organizations because members can blend in with the growing Hispanic population. One method of operation is for illegal aliens, some of whom are migrant workers, to transport the drugs to the United States. If arrested, they return to Mexico, obtain new identities, and begin the process again.

Methamphetamine transportation organizations started their operations along the Southwest Border and have moved through the Rocky Mountain states to the Midwest, largely following Hispanic migrant workers at farms and poultry and meat packing plants. Law enforcement officials in Des Moines suggest that the upsurge in methamphetamine in their jurisdiction might be related to the increasing number of legitimate Mexican workers working at meat packing plants.

The DEA also links the increasing availability of methamphetamine in the Midwest to a concurrent rise in the presence of migrant workers, some of whom may be used by Mexican DTOs to facilitate distribution. The DEA indicates that methamphetamine distributors in South Dakota are infiltrating the Hispanic population surrounding meat packing plants. The DEA also confirms that methamphetamine availability is increasing in Marshalltown, Iowa--the site of a large meat packing plant only 140 miles from the Wisconsin border.

Wisconsin is facing a methamphetamine threat from traffickers moving to the state from Iowa and Minnesota that may parallel the methamphetamine problem plaguing the Midwest. There are large and midsize poultry and meat packing plants throughout Wisconsin. The state also has a large migrant farm worker population. Early indications show that the movement of methamphetamine into Wisconsin via the Hispanic worker populations at poultry and meat packing plants may already have occurred. For example, the city of Green Bay, home to a poultry packing plant employing a large number of Hispanics, reports an increase in methamphetamine trafficking.

While Mexican criminal groups likely use migrant workers and existing distribution networks to distribute methamphetamine at the retail level, no single group dominates methamphetamine retail operations. According to the Regional Director of the Eau Claire DNE, methamphetamine retailers are predominantly middle- to lower-class Caucasian males between the ages of 20 and 30. They operate primarily in rural areas and typically have no gang affiliation. Some methamphetamine cookers travel to Wisconsin from other states such as Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri to sell their product. Small, independent operations usually produce enough methamphetamine for personal consumption, although operations in predominantly rural areas may produce enough methamphetamine for broader local consumption.

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