Has methamphetamine hit the Riverhead streets?

One week after a man was caught after cooking meth in the bathroom of a Greenport hotel last Monday, police say methamphetamine use is not widespread on the North Fork.

Methamphetamine, called meth, crystal, chalk, and ice, is an extremely addictive stimulant drug that is chemically similar to amphetamine, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It takes the form of a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder. Methamphetamine is taken orally, smoked, snorted, or dissolved in water or alcohol and injected. Smoking or injecting the drug delivers it very quickly to the brain, where it produces an immediate, intense euphoria. Because the pleasure also fades quickly, users often take repeated doses, in a ‘binge and crash’ pattern.”

Meth addiction can result in brain damage, fatal kidney and lung disorders, liver damage, chronic depression, paranoia and other physical and mental disorders.

The drug was widely used in the 1960s and ’70s, but virtually disappeared in the 1980s. It resurfaced on a massive scale nationwide in recent years and became well-known to the public after the success of the “Breaking Bad” television series. Its use remains more prevalent in the west and midwest.

According to Southold Town police, Timothy Stepp, 48, of Easton, Penn., was arrested at 11:49 p.m. at the Townsend Manor Inn on Main Street on June 2 after the Greenport Fire Department and Southold police responded to an activated fire alarm at the inn.

Upon arrival, officers found that a smoke alarm had been triggered by an occupant who was producing the drug methamphetamine in the bathroom of his hotel room, according to a police report. The occupant of the room fled prior to arrival of fire and police personnel, police said.

The immediate area was searched with no results, but during the subsequent investigation, police were able to locate and capture Stepp, a worker from a tree trimming crew who had been working in the area recently, police said.

Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley said Stepp was sharing the hotel room with a fellow contractor; the pair were from out of state, he said.

But despite the bust, Flatley said meth is not perceived as a pervasive problem on the North Fork.

“I don’t know if this is the first time in Southold Town, but it is the first incident I can remember happening. Meth has always been a concern, but for the most part is a drug more commonly used across the midwest and more rural locations. I’m sure it is also present on Long Island and the metropolitan area, but it is not as prevalent as heroin and cocaine has traditionally been. Police officers across Long Island have been instructed in its use and manufacturing, also, so they can identify it if encountered.”
Riverhead Police Chief David Hegermiller said he’s seen “evidence” of meth in Riverhead; last year, a glassine package with a skull and crossbones was found in Jamesport containing meth. “But no meth labs” have been found, he said.

Some feel there is reason to remain vigilant. Susan Toman, a drug prevention advocate with the Guidance Center in Southold who works with youth in Southold Town, warns that she’s seen instances of teens smoking marijuana laced with meth.

“Some of my information on meth is from the horror of parents who used Sheriff Vincent Demarco’s free drug testing kit and find that their children are testing positive for marijuana and meth. Apparently who ever is selling marijuana is tainting it with meth. This is locally,” she said.

Neither Flatley nor Hegermiller said they have seen cases with teens smoking meth-laced marijuana.

“I have not, but it’s always a possibility, especially if someone in the health profession saw it,” Flatley said.

“It doesn’t mean it’s not happening,” Hegermiller agreed.

Toman said she has been told in confidence by parents and even some young people who tested themselves and got the same results. Some young teens even ended up in the emergency room after smoking marijuana laced with meth, she said, and some get dependent on the mix, fueling the fervor to purchase drugs from dealers, she said.

“Today people who want to indulge in marijuana may need to check its purity,” she said. “Ironic that I would be suggesting that. A better suggestion would be to consider if there is a healthier alternative to attain what the user believes they are getting from the drug.”

Toman, a New York State certified alcoholism and substance abuse counselor, said teens often come back with heroin-laced marijuana, too — something John Corbett, a clinical case coordinator at Maryhaven in Riverhead agreed he’s seen.

Corbett said although he’s never seen meth-laced marijuana, parents should remain aware and vigilant against the infiltration of drugs into the community and marijuana laced with stronger drugs.

“The kids don’t know their pot is tainted with opiates,” Toman said. “It guarantees the dealer a comeback client and begins to whet their appetite for a little something more. This is their business; they are aggressive and cunning – and they are successful.”

Despite the instances reported by Toman, most agree that meth seems to be a problem seen more on TV than in North Fork hometowns.

“I haven’t heard of anything here in Riverhead,” Felicia Scocozza, executive director of Riverhead’s Community Awareness Program.

Jeffrey Reynolds, who recently announced he was leaving his post at the Long Island Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence, said he, too, has not heard of the meth-laced pot. “It wouldn’t make a ton of sense since meth costs more than pot.” But, he added, “I have seen quite a bit of contamination with cold medicines where sellers take low quality pot, add DXM-based meds and command a higher price by touting a better high.”

Stepp was charged with unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine in the third degree and criminal possession of precursors of methamphetamine, both felonies, as well as one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a misdemeanor.

Stepp was held overnight for arraignment in the Southold Town justice court, police said. He was held on $100,000 bail, officials said.

Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. By law, a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.