War against meth : Felony arrests up 100%

MONTROSE — The percentage of felony drug arrests involving methamphetamine increased 100 percent over a five-year period, Montrose Meth Coalition numbers show.

According to specialized data provided to Western Slope meth coalitions, 40 percent of Montrose County’s felony drug arrests involved meth in 2002. For 2007, the percentage was approximately 81.

The numbers referred to arrests for narcotics violations that are chargeable as felonies, not necessarily actual prosecutions.

“It means that meth has finally come to Montrose and that we need to get the community involved and engaged in trying to stop this before it gets to the level it was in 2005 in Grand Junction (Mesa County),” Montrose Police Sgt. Paul Eller, coalition member, said Wednesday.

In 2005, slightly more than 89 percent of drug cases in Mesa County involved meth, according to the same data.

Montrose formed its meth coalition only a year ago. The coalition’s committees are working to educate the community and in the process of gathering data about the meth problem in Montrose.

Montrose County Sheriff Rick Dunlap said the numbers help confirm what the coalition already knew: Montrose has a serious problem.

“We didn’t have any concrete figures to back this up,” he said. “It’s actually worse than what we were thinking it was. We were estimating around 60 percent.”

Montrose’s percentage numbers for 2007 are higher than both Mesa County’s (72 percent for 2007) and Delta County’s (about 81 percent for 2006; figure not provided for 2007).

“We have now surpassed Mesa County and Delta County as far as our drug problem goes,” Dunlap said.

District Attorney Myrl Serra said he had not seen the numbers. In terms of prosecutions, he said meth may account for between 70 and 80 percent of cases.

Defining what is a “drug” case can be problematic though, because so many other crimes, such as burglaries, can involve drugs.

“You have to define what a ‘meth case’ is,” he said. “Those (cases) aren’t all distribution, possession or use cases, obviously, but unfortunately, it (the percentage) is probably accurate.”

Serra blames demand for the continued rise in meth and said support for the efforts of the coalition, the Seventh Judicial District Meth/Drug Task Force, treatment programs, and a proposed community corrections facility, was critical.

“We’re making inroads with the drug task force, but we need money. You can’t just take away the support,” he said.

“As long as there is demand, there will be supply.”

Task force agent Jim Fuller said new strategies are tackling the supply end of the equation. These include laws restricting the sale of meth’s active ingredients and sentencing enhancements that can increase prison sentences.

“The traffickers have reacted by importation from Mexico, instead of the big labs like we used to see,” Fuller said. He said earlier it’s become more expensive to buy meth, which is now running “neck and neck” with a surge in cocaine.

Fuller’s agency is grappling with continued funding cuts.

The coalition is also seeking more money and continues conducting research. Right now, its members are hopeful residents will turn in surveys so their knowledge of meth and what to do about it can be scientifically measured.

Dunlap said Mesa State College students recently concluded interviews of jail inmates, who were asked about drugs, particularly meth.

“We’re going to know very shortly. That’s just more evidence we’ve got a serious problem in Montrose County,” Dunlap said.