VERSAILLES - Missouri has the highest number of methamphetamine labs in the country, but starting in January, some areas in Missouri will not be covered by drug task force agents.
The Missouri Sheriff's Methamphetamine Relief Team, or MO-SMART, is losing its state funding. Members of the Mid-Missouri Drug Task Force say they will lose two members due to the cuts, and they want the governor to come up with some way to keep paying for the program.
Officers say the majority of the state's crimes go back to drug-related problems.
"Almost every call that we deal with, whether it be burglary or assaults, in some format leads back to somebody involved with drugs," says Deputy Shawn Stossmeister with the Morgan County Sheriff's Office.
Last year MO-SMART agents seized 1,288 meth labs, even though these agents are the only drug enforcement in some parts of the state.
To fund MO-SMART for 2008, the state would have to allocate $1.8 million.
"What we're asking for is the governor to consider some emergency funding for the MO-SMART project before it runs out on January 1, 2008 to continue it so we can try to keep the methamphetamine problem in check," says Captain Tony Wheatley with the Mid-Missouri Drug Task Force.
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