Drug is main substance abuse problem countywide
Gilroy – Alarmed by methamphetamine use nationwide, the federal government has declared today National Methamphetamine Awareness Day – but here in South County, the highly addictive drug is a year-round battle for law enforcement.
Santa Clara County is fifth in the state for clandestine meth labs, according to Deputy Doug Ulrich and has one of the highest percentages of meth-using arrestees nationwide.
In Gilroy, “it’s there – trust me,” said Gilroy Police Sgt. Kurt Svardal, “and it’s become more prevalent over the past few years.”
The drug superceded cocaine in the past decade, preferred for its cheaper price and addictive high.
“You’re hooked after your first time,” said Ulrich. “People keep seeking that high, and their tolerance increases.”
Santa Clara County has become a hub for the drug, with Highway 152 and U.S. 101 piping meth from Mexico to the Bay Area. In the past three years, more than 50 methamphetamine labs were shut down countywide.
A decade ago, meth cooks bought pills such as Sudafed, which contains pseudoephedrine, a potential meth component, or teamed up to steal them en masse, a practice called “smurfing.” But after 2002, as statewide laws clamped down on pseudoephedrine, alternative sources such as horse feed and anhydrous ammonia, an agricultural chemical, have multiplied. Rural labs are on the rise, said Ulrich – and that includes South County.
“Those chemicals are big on the black market for theft,” he said. “Money-wise, it’s very lucrative. Now, you can do a successful meth cook in a five-gallon gas can, and in an hour and a half, yield an ounce of methamphetamine.”
That ounce sells for $500 to $700.
“Every day the drug world is changing,” Ulrich said. “We’re trying to get the word out to schoolchildren as early as possible: it’s a downfall. Physically. Socially. For your family. People that are under its influence are uncontrollable.”
