The enduring effort of the Indiana State Police to eliminate the meth problem that plagues Greensburg and Decatur County took another step on Tuesday.

Indiana State Police Tpr. Chip Ayers of the ISP’s Clandestine Laboratory Team led representatives of the county’s hotel and hospitality industry on a methamphetamine-related course at the Hampton Inn and Suites this week, with a focus on how to recognize meth use.

Very often, manufacturers of meth, or “meth cooks,” utilize hotel rooms to hide their operations and sell the drug. To curb that trend, Tpr. Ayers and Tpr. Jeremy Franklin of the Connersville ISP District spearheaded the seminar.

According to Ayers, maintenance and housekeeping employees at hotels are likely to be the first to see the suspicious things happening in the rooms. However, the world of meth manufacturing is always changing and evolving.

“There isn’t a lab that goes by that there isn’t something different,” Ayers explained.

Keeping the hospitality industry up-to-date on how to identify meth provides more eyes on the problem for the ISP, Ayers added. It also keeps hotel employees and others safe.

One of the biggest problems with methamphetamines is that the materials to make them are readily available at local shops, stores and pharmacies. Despite its prevalence, vigilant observers should be able to notice when a potential meth lab or meth user is on the way or checking in. Signs of meth use include: dilated pupils; weight loss; twitchiness; sweating; body odor; bad teeth; scars; sores; and “crank bugs,” or blemishes on the skin caused by significant meth use.

In a room or building where meth is being manufactured, some items will always be present. Lithium is a key ingredient that is most commonly found in high-performance batteries. To get to the lithium inside the batteries, the outer casing must be ripped, which means tools like pliers will be nearby alongside the lithium strips. Coffee filters to filter the drug and makeshift funnels will also likely be present. Soda containers will be around, and may contain hydrochloric acid gas. Those dangerous containers are problematic for law enforcement because meth users often dispose of them by placing them in residential garbage cans or by tossing them out of car windows into neighborhoods, where children could stumble upon them.

Ayers and Franklin encouraged the class to also be aware of strange odors like ammonia, solvents or aromatic sweet smells. Fans will likely be placed near the meth lab windows to ventilate and wet towels will be used around doors to keep the odors from leaking out. Dismantled fire alarms, damage and etching around sinks or tubs, large amounts of chemicals and bottles or jars, blacked out windows to prevent light from getting in and elaborate fencing with heavy duty locks are possible signs of a working meth lab. Stained coffee filters, empty battery casings, light bulbs with the filament removed and crumpled or burnt foil also are indicators of a meth lab. The foil is used to hold the crystal meth while it is burned from underneath and then inhaled through a straw or pen casing. Once cooked, meth will normally appear white or off-white, but can be tan or yellow depending on how it is made. It will almost appear to have tiny shards of glass in it with a sheen to the substance.

Ayers and Franklin also provided statistics about the average meth maker to the group. The average meth cook will teach about 10 others how to make it every year, and every pound of meth produced leaves behind about five to six pounds of toxic waste that can cost up to $150,000 to clean up per site if the lab was big enough. Meth accounts for almost 90 percent of all drug cases in many Midwest communities, and meth-induced paranoia has led to increases in the numbers of murders and suicides. In 2009, about 1,350 meth labs were busted in the state of Indiana. The northeastern part of the state, along with the southwestern portion and counties like Decatur, Ripley and Jennings, have experienced an explosion of meth labs and meth use in recent years.

“This problem will knock on your door someday,” Tpr. Ayers explained. “It will affect everyone.”

Meth works by affecting dopamine levels in the brain and affecting the “pleasure center.” According to Ayers, it takes the human body about seven years to build up a full supply of dopamine. The first time meth is taken, it releases all of the brain’s dopamine at once, making it the most addictive drug. Meth users have about a 94 percent recidivism rate, meaning only about 6 percent will ever be free from the drug once they start.

While the ISP, the Greensburg Police Department and the Decatur County Sheriff’s Department continue to battle the meth problem in Decatur County, they are encouraging everyone to remain vigilant, watchful and safe. Indiana is one of the top three states in the country for meth production.