MAPP-SD, a project of Prairie View Prevention Services, Inc., is a comprehensive Methamphetamine awareness and prevention project. 
MAPP-SD is dedicated to:
u   Increase awareness of Meth and the problems associated with its use, manufacture and distribution;
u Provide, at no cost, professional Meth awareness and prevention education to groups and organizations on a community, regional and statewide level;
u Be a no-cost, ongoing resource for South Dakota citizens to deal with issues rising from the manufacture, use and distribution of Meth.

Snapshot Feb. 1-7, 2006

February 7
In Arkansas - Two Benton parents were arrested after police said they discovered the couple allegedly manufacturing and using Meth around their children.  The 32-year-old woman and 34-year-old man were arrested after police found what they believe to be a Meth lab in the family's home.  The couple's three children - ages 1, 4 and 7 - were taken into custody by officials with the state Department of Health and Human Services.

In Wisconsin - Detectives say Meth users are stealing big-ticket items to pay for their drug habit.  They say two people recently stole snowmobiles, four-wheelers, a golf cart - and even a casket.  The Barron County Sheriff's Department was investigating a suspicious vehicle last week when it found a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old with stolen property.  Detectives say the two suspects planned to sell those things for Meth.

In New Zealand - The top Auckland surgeon accused of selling thousands of pills used to make Meth spoke in his own defense during his trial.  The doctor faces seven charges of supplying a precursor substance which police say could have made up to $13 million worth of Meth. Over nine months he bought and sold 220,000 tablets, at times making $25,000 per hour.  He maintains he didn't know the pills were being used to manufacture drugs; he claims he thought they were being sent to China.

In Texas - An 89-year-old grandmother, whose home officials believe was being used to manufacture Meth, was placed in the care of her granddaughter after a hearing before a judge.   The 24-year-old woman was appointed temporary guardian of her grandmother based on testimony that the grandmother's son, was arrested last week and charged with manufacture of Meth.  The 55-year-old man lived with his elderly mother.  He is an uncle to the young woman who gained custody. She told the court her grandmother suffers from Alzheimer's disease and that when she came to visit the woman's home, there were no prescription medications or food.  She called police in January when she arrived at her grandmother's house to find what appeared to be a Meth lab in the guest bathroom.

February 6
In Florida - What started as a vehicle pursuit by deputies in Georgia ended in an arrest in Florida of a man on several drug charges. Deputies in Georgia alerted Leon County deputies to a car heading their way.  When they pulled over the 23-year-old driver, they found a gallon-size jug containing a clear substance, suspected to be a precursor of Meth and other Meth lab ingredients such as acetone, tin foil and pseudo-ephedrine.

In Tennessee - A man who was convicted of supplying large quantities of Meth from Atlanta to the Chattanooga area has been given a 20-year prison sentence.  During the sentencing hearing, the prosecutor called the suspect a leading figure of an active drug ring.

In New Zealand – A couple has been sentenced to two years, four months in prison for cooking Meth in their bedroom.  The 28-year-old man and 34-year-old woman both pled guilty to manufacturing Meth. In court, reports show police discovered a sophisticated clandestine lab in the master bedroom of their rented property in August.  Their defense attorney claimed the pair had learned how to make the drug on the Internet and produced it only for personal use.


February 5
In Tennessee – Rhea County sheriff’s deputies uncovered their first Meth lab in several months after intercepting a drug delivery bound for a local industry.  A deputy received a tip from a confidential informant that a 34-year-old woman would be transporting a large amount of Meth to sell at a plant in a local industrial park.  The deputy was able to pull the woman over because he learned her driver’s license was expired.  Her 31-year-old boyfriend and her 9-month-old son were also in the car. The woman handed over six plastic bags of Meth and consented to a search of her mobile home.  The search turned up several Meth-making components under the kitchen sink and, under the bathroom sink, a Meth lab itself with several liquid components being separated out in glass jars.  During police interviews, officers learned that the suspects had been dating for several months and cooking Meth together.  Two children, the 9-month-old and his 2-1/2-year-old sister, had been present during some of the cooks.  The two suspects face aggravated child abuse charges in addition to the Meth-related charges.

February 4
In Washington – Washington State legislators are considering a law that would track Meth cooks.  Legislators propose a bill that would require felons convicted of making Meth to notify the sheriff when they move into Snohomish County.  Neighbors would be notified.  Under HB 3004, neighbors would be told of a felon drug maker's residence much the same way that communities are notified when convicted sex offenders move in.  Data on Meth cooks would be available online, just like the sex offender registry.  The county hopes to be a pilot site for the law, which could be expanded to the entire state if it is successful.

In Illinois - Governor Rod Blagojevich wants his state to build "Meth prisons" to deal with the ever-growing threat of Meth-related crimes.  The prisons would offer treatment aimed at reducing the number of people addicted to Meth who return to the prison system after being released.  Illinois currently has one Meth prison, the Sheridan Correctional Center in northern Illinois. 

In Wisconsin - A Rice Lake man convicted of distributing Meth received a 20-year federal prison sentence.  The 27-year-old sold Meth to several undercover agents.

February 3
In New Zealand - An Auckland heart surgeon has said he does not believe he committed any crime by purchasing thousands of boxes of drugs.  The trial has the doctor facing seven charges of supplying a precursor substance.  Authorities say he provided enough decongestant tablets to make up to $13-million worth of Meth.
Police charge the surgeon bought $50,000 worth of the pills from a pharmaceutical company knowing they would be used to cook Meth.  The defense argues that the doctor believed the medicine would be shipped to China, where the pills were not available.  The suspect apparently then sold the pills to a 22-year-old Asian student who has left New Zealand.

In Alabama - A 40-year-old man was arrested and charged with manufacturing Meth in the same home where he was caring for his bedridden, elderly father.  The suspect was allegedly in the middle of a cook when investigators arrived.  Agents found him breaking glasses supposedly containing Meth in a liquid form and pouring it down a drain.  Authorities found some bags containing finished Meth.  The suspect’s father, an 84-year-old suffering with cancer, was unaware of his surroundings and was taken to a hospital.  Local officials said this was the first time they had to call protective services to remove an adult from a Meth lab for his own safety.

February 2
In Nevada – A jury is faced with the task of deciding if a Meth induced suspect should be found guilty of murder or if the very use of the drug means he was not capable of intent.  The case revolves around a 26-year-old man charged with murder for shooting a man twice in the head while the victim was driving under an overpass.  During testimony, the suspect’s frequent Meth use became a focal point for both sides.   The defense claims the suspect, under the influence of Meth at the time of the murder, was not capable of the intent to kill.  But the prosecutor counters that suspect had every intention of killing the victim.  The prosecutor told a local television station, "I don’t think that when you fire a weapon at least six times at a man's head that you can come in (to court) and try to explain that conduct by saying you used too much Methamphetamine."

In Oklahoma - A 43-year-old woman is charged with Meth possession with intent to distribute.  Drug Task Force agents went to the suspect’s residence to question her about drug activity, and according to an affidavit, she agreed to a search. An agent found six small baggies of a substance that tested positive for Meth in her purse.  Agents also found four more baggies containing residue, several items used to consume the drug and a set of scales.

In Texas – Sheriff Deputies attempting to serve an arrest warrant for a probation violation ended up busting a Meth lab.  When they arrived at the home, the smell of Meth cooking alerted them to the lab. After getting a search warrant, they found a wide array of chemicals for making Meth just feed away from an outdoor children’s play area.  After arresting the 42-year-old man in his front yard, authorities noticed the suspect trying to keep his front door shut.  Agents went inside the home and found everything necessary to cooking Meth.  A 3-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl also lived in the home.  Deputies also collected a surveillance camera on the property that they say was used to keep an eye out for law enforcement.

February 1
In Oklahoma - Narcotics agents closed down the second largest Meth lab they’ve uncovered in the last two years, removing Meth with an estimated street value of up to $30,000 and making one arrest at the time.  When agents searched the suspect’s home, they discovered glass dishes and jars containing a white powder believed to be pseudoephedrine, two-layer liquids of Meth in its separation stage, liquid iodine, red phosphorous, ephedrine, and other containers with Meth residue in them. They also found numerous pipes, tubes, buckets, plastic baggies and other paraphernalia. Three of the one-gallon jars were what they called the “mother jars” and were about three-quarters full.  The suspect is charged with aggravated manufacture of Meth.
 

In North Dakota –A 25-year-old man faces mandatory life in prison if he is convicted in a federal drug trafficking conspiracy case that has ties to defendants indicted for murder, money laundering and selling drugs.  He has earlier drug convictions that will make a life sentence mandatory.  His case is part of a six-person alleged drug ring responsible for a complex money-laundering scheme and the sale of at least 33 pounds of Meth in the Red River Valley.  

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