FEARS OF CRYSTAL METH CRISIS RISE IN NYC

NEW YORK - Skeletal women surface at 12-step programs once exclusive to gay methamphetamine addicts.  An aspiring fashion designer is indicted after federal agents claim he was overheard trying to collect cash from a meth deal.  A disc jockey at a popular dance club makes no attempt to hide his drug of choice: meth.

Barely noticed in New York outside the gay community just a year ago, meth - and new signs of its spread - has created a citywide scare.

The highly addictive stimulant "could be the crack ( cocaine ) of the 21st century if we don't do something to stop it," New York Democratic Sen.  Charles Schumer said last month at a Manhattan news conference warning of meth's eastward march.

The drug has been a problem for years in many parts of the country.  But until recently, New York - a city normally at epicenter of drug trends - wasn't on the meth map, said Anthony Placido, head the Drug Enforcement Administration's New York office.

"It's ironic and sad," Placido said, "but part of the reason is the widespread availability of other stimulants like coke and crack."

Horror stories already abound in the gay community, where meth's reputation for boosting stamina and sex drive made it too tempting for some.

"It was euphoric beyond anything I'd ever experienced," said Alan, a 45-year-old magazine editor who adheres to the first-names-only credo of Crystal Meth Anonymous.  That euphoria soon degenerated into sleepless days and deep depression.

"We all thought we were dabbling in a party drug," said Eduardo, a 37-year-old publicist.  It took overdoses and watching his teeth fall out - "I looked like a jack-o' lantern" - for Eduardo to clean up.

The stories would have little shock value in states like California, Oklahoma, Missouri and Florida.  Authorities there dismantle thousands of clandestine laboratories each year that serve a cross-section of "tweakers" who snort or smoke a drug commonly known as crank, speed or tina.

Similar homemade labs have cropped up in rural upstate New York: 73 were reported last year, up from 45 in 2002.

But in the northeast, cocaine and heroin have been far bigger problems.  Between 1999 and 2003, the DEA's northeast crime lab analyzed about 52,000 pounds of cocaine and 4,500 pounds of heroin seized in investigations.  Only 15 pounds of meth was tested.

Local authorities say the city has now been targeted by large-scale suppliers fed by sophisticated "super labs" in California and Mexico.  In February, agents arrested six suspects, including the fashion designer and a lawyer, and confiscated 13 pounds of the drug after discovering that it was being distributed at Manhattan nightclubs.

About a month later, police raided the 30,000-square-foot Sound Factory club in midtown Manhattan and arrested the owner, alleging the nightspot condoned the sale of meth and other drugs.  Court papers alleged one disk jockey kept a bag of meth "in open view" during all-night parties.

In all, federal authorities in Manhattan have seized 25 pounds of meth - - with a street value of $2.5 million - and charged more than 30 people in meth-related cases in the past six months, compared to 11 arrests in all of 2003.  Another 28 suspects have been charged in unrelated state cases since early last year.

The city's special narcotics prosecutor, Bridget Brennan, still views meth as a "niche drug."

Defying meth's reputation elsewhere as "poor man's cocaine," the version reaching the city is purer and pricier, Brennan said.  Dealers charge about $120 a gram, versus $30 for a gram of cocaine, in private transactions with friends, Brennan said.

"But if crystal meth breaks out, it's going to be a big problem," she added.

Overflow crowds at Crystal Meth Anonymous meetings demonstrate the threat.

Four years ago, there was one daily meeting with a half dozen recovering addicts, organizers said.  Today, the more than 20 meetings scheduled throughout the week can draw up to 100 people at a time.

CMA member Amy, 35, hit bottom by smoking meth non-stop - behind the scenes at her dot-com job in San Francisco, on camping trips, even before yoga classes.  She smoked more than she ate, dropped 20 pounds and turned delusional about her haggard appearance.

"You didn't have to worry about dieting," she said.  "I thought I looked really good."

She tried leaving her habit in San Francisco.  But, after transferring to New York, she had the drug mailed to her.  On Jan.  21, 2002 she quit, and now founds herself at recovery meetings surrounded by gay men.

"I don't feel like an outsider because it's the same issue," she said.  "It isn't just a gay problem."