By Brittany Whitley

Published: March 21, 2008

The number one drug of concern in Alabama is methamphetamine, said Greg Borland, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) for the state.

“The last couple of years, we saw a big shift, which allowed us to draw the conclusion that meth was our biggest threat,” he said.

There has been a steady decline in labs due to law enforcement raids and arrests, he said. But that decline has been supplemented by methamphetamine being trafficked across the Mexican border and into Alabama.

“People equate meth with meth labs,” he said. “But the amount of weight produced (in labs) is small compared to what is seen in Mexican trafficking.” Methamphetamine smuggled across the Mexican boarder also tends to be more pure, he said.

Drugs smuggled into Alabama usually go to Atlanta, Ga., first, he said. Then make their way back to the state.

Although methamphetamine is a big threat in Alabama, recent results from a HIDTA (the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program) threat assessment for the state reported crack cocaine and methamphetamine neck and neck, he said. Crack cocaine tends to be more of an urban drug, whereas meth is more rural.

But, obviously, he said, marijuana is the most prevalent controlled substance in use in Alabama.

Marijuana use spans all socioeconomic backgrounds and demographics. There is “a lot of domestic marijuana production here,” he said.

DRUGS IN LEE COUNTY

Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said the three most common drugs in use in the county are marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine.

“Probably in that order,” he said.

In Lee County, unlike the whole of Alabama, use of particular drugs is not contained to rural and urban areas, he said.

Meth use, for instance, is “across the spectrum.”

The ratio of marijuana arrests in Lee County to meth and cocaine arrest is about 8-10 to one.

Jones said clandestine meth labs vary on sophistication. He’s seen anything from a couple of cans on a riverbank to labs set up in hotel rooms.

“You’re dealing with some very volatile chemicals,” he said.

Jones said it is believed by some that Lee County has a meth problem.

“People say we have a meth problem, but we’re finding it,” he said. He said any county can have a meth problem, but it may not be reported because the labs have not been discovered.