Oklahoma among nation's leader in meth cases

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- The emergence of the World Wide Web may have contributed to an increase in methamphetamine usage in Oklahoma. <br><br>State narcotics officials say Oklahoma had ranked fourth nationally

Sunday, October 22nd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- The emergence of the World Wide Web may have contributed to an increase in methamphetamine usage in Oklahoma.

State narcotics officials say Oklahoma had ranked fourth nationally in the 1980s in the number of meth labs seized each year.

The numbers declined after state and federal laws were passed restricting access to the chemicals needed to make the drug.

D-E-A officials say recipes for the drug used to be expensive, guarded secrets. But now they can be found on the Internet for not much money.

Statistics show that number of meth labs seized has increased from 263 meth labs 1994 to 879 in 1996 and one-thousand-627 in 1998.

The numbers also show that the drug isn't as popular in Atlanta, Chicago or New York as it is in Oklahoma City, Las Vegas or Omaha, Nebraska.