OHP wants storage space for illegal weed

<br>TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ The Oklahoma Highway Patrol plans to build a facility to house evidence seized in drug raids, a project that's expected to be completed in October or September. <br><br>That

Saturday, January 20th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ The Oklahoma Highway Patrol plans to build a facility to house evidence seized in drug raids, a project that's expected to be completed in October or September.

That can't come soon enough for the OHP.

``We are taking so many drugs off of the roadways in this state, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has run out of places to put it,'' said Pete Norwood, spokesman for the OHP.

Normally, drugs confiscated by highway patrol troopers are taken to the OSBI to be analyzed and stored. But the OSBI has notified other law enforcement agencies that it will hold evidence for only up to two years after that evidence has been analyzed, agency spokeswoman Kym Koch said.

After that, the OSBI will return the evidence to the confiscating agency or destroy it, Koch said.

During 2000, troopers seized 14,778 pounds of marijuana, compared with 9,182 pounds the previous year, Norwood said. The highway patrol also seized 485 pounds of cocaine, up from 331 pounds in 1999, Norwood said.

Troopers seized 128 pounds of methamphetamine, an increase from 54 pounds seized the year before, Norwood said.

``There is more out there,'' Norwood said of the increased seizures. ``The drug problem is rising.''

Part of the reason for increases in confiscations is an increase in personnel assigned to the task, he said.

The OSBI is one of the few agencies that stores evidence after it has been analyzed, Koch said. The OSBI lab is seeking accreditation with the American Society of Crime Lab Directors, which has strict regulations regarding evidence storage, she said.

``It is a very intense process,'' Koch said. ``We have been working on it for three years.''

The OSBI doesn't have the manpower to ensure that evidence stored over lengthy periods is properly sealed, she said.