Oklahoma : Meth lab busts sky-rocket in 2008.

More evidence that invasive I.D. and Sign programs failing:

Meth lab busts sky-rocket in 2008.



Benton County,Arkansas- It's only the first week of March, but already this year, the Benton County,Arkansas Sheriff's Office has shut down ten meth labs. That's more than all of 2007.

It's an alarming statistic for Benton County,Arkansas-ten meth lab busts in just a two month time frame.

Deputy Doug Gay said, "I don't think there's a law enforcement agency in the midwestern U.S. that would dispute that. That that's the drug of choice and it's the one that's given us, really, the most problems."

Arkansas and states like Missouri and Oklahoma have adopted laws in recent years to make the sale of products used to make methamphetimine, like ephredrine, harder to buy in large quantities. Investigators say meth production didn't subside for long.

Deputy Gay said, "Where there's a will, there's a way. There's that supply and demand issue going on. As long as you have demand, somebody's going to figure out a way to supply it."

Anyone who buys ephredrine has to provide picture ID and signature. That puts them in a database or network for retailers to keep track of who's buying how much, and how often they're buying it. Manufacturers have found a new twist to circumvent the law-they have their meth users buy those raw materials for them. The users spread out to multiple retailers, purchase the maximum amount of ephredrine allowed by law just often enough to stay under the radar.

Deputy Gay said, "...it can grow exponentially for one manufacturer."

Washington and Benton counties,Arkansas are 2 of only 4 counties in the state with a Gulf Coast High Drug Trafficking Area designation-a designation with some federal backing to it. The program will do whatever it takes to knock meth out of Northwest Arkansas.

The Bentonville,Arkansas Police Department has made several large marijuana busts in the last month, but say meth is still the most dangerous drug they're dealing with in the region.