Mississippi is trying to curb a rising rate of illegal drug activity, even as the state's slowing revenues force the state's narcotics agency to hold off hiring more help.
Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Director Marshall Fisher said there were 2,944 drug arrests in the state during the fiscal year that ended June 30. That's 524 more than in the previous fiscal year.
Fisher cited an increase in methamphetamine labs and prescription drug abuse for the increase. Investigators have found 223 meth labs in the state so far this calendar year, he said. That's 50 percent more than in the same time period in 2008, he said.
Fisher said drug arrests have been made in every county this year. More populated counties with interstate traffic, such as Hinds and Harrison, show more illegal drug activity, he said.
State lawmakers tried to curb meth labs by passing legislation a few years ago that restricted the purchase of over-the-counter medication used to make the drug. Fisher said meth makers are now buying the medication at different stores and "making smaller batches."
The Methamphetamine Reduction Act of 2005, also known as the precursor law, put restrictions on products containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine - ingredients used to make meth.
Retailers removed medications with those ingredients from their shelves and put them behind counters. Customers must present photo identification to buy the products. They cannot buy more than two packages or six grams of products that contain those ingredients at one time or buy more than nine grams of any mixture containing the drugs in a 30-day period, unless there is a valid prescription.
But there is no central database, meaning meth makers can go to several stores to buy the drugs.
"The bad guys have adapted. They adapt very well," Fisher said.
Fisher said a federal grant could help him replace some of the 11 officers he's lost over the last year. Gov. Haley Barbour is urging state agencies to be careful with their spending since revenues fell 11.3 percent short of expectations in July, the first month of the current fiscal year.
Lawmakers put restrictions on Internet drug sales in the last session. Fisher said he plans to push for more legislation in the next session and and continue training programs for local law enforcement officials.
Methamphetamine busts recently made headlines in different parts of the state.
A Vicksburg couple was sentenced this week to decades in prison for making crystal methamphetamine in the home they shared with young daughters.
On the Gulf Coast last week, a Waveland apartment complex had to be evacuated after police said a meth lab exploded on the property.
Agency data show 110 drug overdose cases have occurred since January. Fisher said 104 of those resulted in death, but he questioned the data's reliability because it lists only three cases in the metro area.
The overdoses occurred in Rankin County with none in Hinds and Madison counties. But Madison County Coroner Alex Breeland said that doesn't sound accurate.
"If I had to say, I would say that I probably had (some overdoses)," he said.
State law requires coroners to report drug overdose deaths within 24 hours of the person's passing. But there is no penalty if they don't file reports.
Breeland and other metro-area coroners contacted by The Clarion-Ledger said they report the deaths to the state but keep no local database.
The most overdose cases occurred in the Gulf Coast counties of Harrison and Jackson, according to the data. Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove said the county has had 21 deaths so far this year.
"Most of our drug-related deaths are prescription drugs," he said, adding that the problem is not related to the lingering effects of Hurricane Katrina.
