WHAS11 coverage

(WHAS11) - With six more meth labs discovered in Louisville in less than a week, WHAS11 News has learned that Louisville is on pace to see a 40% rise in meth lab discoveries by the end of the year.

At the current rate, with 59 meth lab discoveries so far in 2008, Louisville is on pace for 96 this year.

That's compared with:

68 in 2007,

56 in 2006 and

47 in 2005.

The eyepopping numbers are not only a reflection of more meth abuse – but of a comprehensive effort by Metro Police to find meth labs.

“(We) just want to grab people's attention to make them aware of how dangerous this is,” Metro Narcotics Sgt. Stan Salyards told WHAS11’s Joe Arnold.

While metro police say the use of methamphetamines is up, they say an awareness campaign on billboards, buses and a soon to be launched TV campaign have also increased meth busts.

“Our public knows what to look for and we're getting a lot more complaints from them,” Salyards said.

As the meth trend has increased, meth labs have continued to be disproportionately in Southwest Jefferson County.

And Salyards says because Louisville has many more pharmacies than the rest of Kentucky and Southern Indiana, pseudoephedrine - a critical meth ingredient - is more readily available here.

He says meth manufacturers find ways to get around the limits on how much cold medication any one person is allowed to purchase.

“We call them ‘smurfers.’  Their job is to do nothing more than go out and buy this at the pharmacies, pay 6 or 7 bucks for it.   The manufacturer will pay you about 25 to 50 bucks a box.”

Salyards says while a high from cocaine or crack cocaine lasts about 40 minutes, the meth high lasts hours.  So, drug abusers get more bang for their buck.  But - the community pays for it in the toxic and volatile substances left behind.

“A lot of these chemicals are caustic. you're dealing with acids and bases.  Something you don't want to breathe and something you don't want to touch.”

“You never know, the person next door happens to be cookin' (meth) might catch their house on fire, might catch your house on fire.” Salyards said.

The dangers of meth labs were obvious at University Hospital yesterday -- when police say a Bullitt County man sought treatment for burns.

They say the ingredients for a meth lab were found in his truck outside -- the 57th meth lab of 59 so far this year in Louisville.

Metro police plan another Meth Lab 101 class for citizens in October.