DEA HEAD LAUNCHES METH TOUR IN INDY

Charles Wilson -South Bend Tribune (IN)

Fri, 26 Apr 2002

INDIANAPOLIS ( AP ) -- The head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began a cross-country tour focusing on methamphetamine abuse Thursday in Indianapolis, which authorities say is a hub for transporting the illegal drug across the nation.

While meth making is a booming cottage industry -- Indiana State Police reported dismantling 681 meth labs last year -- as much as 70 percent of the drug sold in the state is cooked in "super labs," mostly in California, DEA Director Asa Hutchinson said at a statewide meth summit.

Whether made on the West Coast from ingredients imported from Canada and Mexico, or cooked in someone's garage from cold pills and batteries bought at the local drugstore, "I believe in rural America, it is the number-one drug problem," Hutchinson said.

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