DENVER -- Even as production and use of one drug continues to rise in Colorado, a Denver-area drug enforcement agency is getting national recognition.

Video

See The North Metro Drug Task Force In Action

There have been 65 meth lab busts in Adams County this year, up from 45 last year. Methamphetamine production and use continue to climb.

The increasing number of busts has put the North Metro Drug Task Force in the spotlight more than other enforcement agencies.

The task force and commander Lori Moriarty were honored by the White House Office of Drug Control Policy.

Unlike some other law enforcement agencies, the task force actively seeks out public attention and coverage of its frequent drug busts.

"The best way for us to bring meth labs and drug investigations into everybody's home in the state of Colorado is through the media," Moriarty (pictured, right) said.

When it comes to methamphetamine, Moriarty said that there's really no choice.

"Because it's such an addictive drug, and it's so easy to manufacture," she said. "It's a huge problem."

The White House drug control policy office named Moriarty its commander of the year, in part because she's tried to educate people about what meth is, and where and how it's produced.

Moriarty said that the community has responded.

"They've been calling us with the intelligence that they have, to help us shut down the manufacturing in the neighborhood," she said.

A Denver narcotics detective, whose name was withheld, said that getting residents to report a problem has often been the problem.

"There's no public outcry because people simply aren't educated," the detective said. "We don't have nearly enough eyes and ears and noses to find these labs."

Moriarty worries about lab leftovers that are turning up along highways and out in fields.

"They're taking their hazardous waste and spreading it around the state," she said.

It is another reason, she suggested, why meth is so dangerous and why her task force has tried to grab so much public attention.

"I think we've educated the citizens within our community as to what to watch for and how to keep their environment safe," she said.

Moriarty says Colorado is where California or Washington were several years ago, in terms of methamphetamine use. Meth use skyrocketed there. She said that she is trying to keep the same thing from happening here.