Meth Lab article

[garrettwc]

Denny and Rich,

Have you guys considered doing an article on meth labs? Living in the semi-rural midwest, it has gotten to the point where a day without a meth lab getting busted is news.

It would be great to have some of the quality intel, such as the MS-13 features have, that cover the meth subject.

[Denny Hansen]

garrett,

Meth is an underrated source of destruction in this country, devastating the lives of those who use it as well as the folks related to them. Good idea, we’ll work on it.

Denny

[garrettwc]

Thanks for the consideration. Hope it works up into something that we can all benefit from.

[almark]

A house in my old neighborhood sat quietly for years with a (seemingly) nice couple living there until one day it exploded and caught the houses on either side of it on fire... turns out they'd been cooking meth for quite some time and finally had the inevitable kaboom. Characteristics of a meth lab would be something good to write about... strange odors to look for or characteristic hardware being brought into the house (for instance, should I be watching my neighbors for bulk packs of tylenol and batteries?). Basically, things to watch out for so you can report a possible meth lab next door before your house goes up in smoke because of it. I'd definitely order a copy of the magazine if you could answer these questions for me (meth labs are starting to become a real problem here, too).

Anyway, thanks for listening to my rambling.

[Crosshair]

Really sad that we make all the "safe" drugs illegal so meth looks like a good alternative. Really crazy stuff.

[westphoenix]

Meth is a huge problem here in Phoenix.
I even posted some pictures awhile back of a meth lab that blew up in my neighborhood.
Some of the meth dealers and buyers are using firearms in their violent crimes.
They get extremely paranoid and can be very violent when under the influence.
I would like to see an article on this topic.

[Derby FALs]

Tweakers have been around since before I was born. Meth has been legally sold by pharmacies since the '40's. It was popular in the 70's and died off to see a resurgence in use in the past few years.

[VaughnT]

Someone told me (I think) that the biggest clue is the overwhelming odor of urine. Said it was way worse than a state park toilet and you could easily smell it even on a breezy day.

Of course, this guy probably never spent much time in the low-life trailer parks I have to go into. It's like a third-world country!

I still remember the time in high school when I saw the cops swarming on an auto shop. I asked one of the other guys in class what was going on (this shop was on the main drag and seemed to be a good place to get work done) and he's the one that clued me in on the meth production. Turned out that he'd known about it for a long time, but didn't say anything because he knew the people and most of the customers! What an ass.

Needless to say, I would be very interested in the article.

[Venison_Jerkey32]

So I have to ask the inevitable question:

Would you buy meth if they solved the KB problem?

Seriously, it would be nice to know exactly what effect meth is having on our country, although this is likley out of the scope of any magazine.

[Capt. Charlie]

Would you buy meth if they solved the KB problem?

Not for anything on the planet, VJ. There are drugs, and then there are Drugs. Crystal meth is by far the worst out there.

Don't believe me? National Geographic lists it as the most dangerous drug in the world, with the danger further compounded by the fact that it's so easily made. Their TV show, "Explorer", recently did an hour special on meth. They occasionally repeat it. Watch it if you can; it's a real eye opener.

But that's a TV show. To see a meth addict in real life is even worse. Meth is just now making an appearance here, and I recently saw a local lady-of-the-night that had been using meth for about 6 months. She used to be fairly attractive, and was actually quite intelligent. Six months on meth made her a pale, hollowed out shell of a person with sunken, dead eyes, and her teeth are falling out. She itches all over, constantly, with numerous scratch marks all over her face and arms to prove it. Her arms, legs and head are in constant, random movement. Her mind is basically gone. She can't answer simple questions or concentrate on anything for more than a few seconds. Without help, she'll undoubtedly be dead soon, and death would be a blessing to her.

In years gone by, dot gov exaggerated the effects of some drugs, but meth is the real deal. Do yourself, family & friends a big favor: Stay away from it.

[Venison_Jerkey32]

turns out they'd been cooking meth for quite some time and finally had the inevitable kaboom.

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...d.php?t=228748

I understand meth is a serious subject and I apologize if I offended you, or anyone else, with my earlier post.

[oldbillthundercheif]

The dumb bastards don't use tylenol and batteries...

They use sudafed and starting fluid (ether). If you smell ether call up the local blueguys, the odor can't be mistaken for anything else and always means trouble. If it's not a lab, it's someone dumping dangerous industrial waste. Both scenarios are bad news.

[Capt. Charlie]

Would you buy a Glock if they solved the kb problem?

Ah ha! I see what you meant now .

In either case, no offense taken, VJ. The sad fact is some would ask that question seriously. Some will try it for the first time today, and for them, it will be the beginning of the end. Some will try it for the first time tomorrow, with the same results. It'll go on and on, with no end in sight .

Seriously, it would be nice to know exactly what effect meth is having on our country...

It won't be our downfall, but we will be diminished. The only question is, to what degree?

[Venison_Jerkey32]

Do you think that leagalizing softer drugs would help the current meth problem? Or does meth cater to a different crowd of druggies, those that want the cheapest, most effective, most "bang for the buck" type of drug. I'm guessing that most meth users aren't "recreational" users, and that they would still use it regardless of the legal status of marijuana.

[Capt. Charlie]

I'm guessing that most meth users aren't "recreational" users, and that they would still use it regardless of the legal status of marijuana.

You're probably right. I think most start out as recreational users and have no idea what they're getting into. They won't believe the warnings. After all, dot gov lied about the effects of "killer weed". It's not long though, before the smiles fade and reality sets in.

It's a two-fold problem. There's the users and the problems they create, and there are the problems posed by meth labs.

If we encounter a lab, our training dictates that we back away very carefully, evacuate surrounding buildings, and call in the fire dept. and HAZMAT teams. NO WAY are we going to enter and try to dismantle a lab! Even HAZMAT experts shudder at the thought.

[Eghad]

Meth has been around a while. We had the Sheriff of an adjoining county that was convicted because he ran a meth ring. The local law enforcment agencies are reporting less meth lab busts than prior years. However, they all agree that the supply is still there. The smaller labs that depend upon buying ingredients are dwindling because of the law here effecting over the counter sales. So now the meth is shipped in from other big labs that are in Mexico. The good news was that meth lab busts are down but more meth was seized in 2005 than the previous couple of years. So in essence we have just shifted the source from local to outside our borders. The war on drugs keeps rolling along.......

[orionengnr]

Doing the jobs Americans won't do?

[Crosshair]

You're probably right. I think most start out as recreational users and have no idea what they're getting into. They won't believe the warnings. After all, dot gov lied about the effects of "killer weed". It's not long though, before the smiles fade and reality sets in.

Meh, when I was in school weed was just like tobacco. Nobody I knew went into anything heavier. The lies about pot may make some people think that all drugs are harmless, but we figured out on our own the "safe" drugs like pot, and others and what stuff to stay away from.

[locknid]

Yep here in AZ meth is a huge problem. a lot of the producers will buy a relatively nice house in scottsdale(rich part of town) and make it in there because usually rich people aren't as suspicious about their other rich neighbors. I have seen its effect on people and its sad. People who have kids and instead of buying food they buy meth for themselves, or they are on welfare, food stamps because their other money goes to meth. Just the other day i saw a video on tv of a woman who was so high on meth she was running into oncoming traffic on the freeway, eventually a cop had to taser her to get her cuffed. after the fact she didn't even realize what happened.

my theory is that meth is so popular because so many people either have two jobs, or kids and simply during a 24 hour day with sleep can not accomplish everything, so they look for ways to stay awake to either work or take care of their kids and then end up getting hooked. I would have to agree to legalizing softer drugs probably wouldn't do much good with this crowd, but it would make all the stoners happy haha.

[Seamus]

I watched a tv show last week about "meth mouth". I can't remember the station, sorry. But the results of meth use was horrific. People completely ruined their teeth in as little as two years. And, I do mean ruined. I'm old enough to remember the late 1960's and early 1970's when any drug use was OK with the 'hippies'....but they even They wore shirts that said, "SPEED KILLS". What happened? Have we gotten dumber?

[WeedWacker]

I would like to point out that legalizing drugs such as marijuana is not a good idea if it is intended to take ppl away from meth. Marijuana is called a "gateway" drug because even though its negative effects are small and if taken in small doses will not kill you as quickly as others, it impairs your judgment (like alcohol) and you may say "Oh whatever" and take a fix of meth or heroin or something (heroin, as a drug, turns into morphine five minutes after it enters the human body and takes away any feeling of pain making the user feel invincible sometimes. This turns into a more severe gateway drug than marijuana because a user high on meth and pumped on heroin would be extremely unpredictable)

[Recon7]

Would you buy meth if they solved the KB problem?

best post ever

meth is a huge problem though. supposedly it's the meth heads that dig through trash cans and steal our identities. they then trade the bank statements etc for more meth.

another problem with this is the cities make it a big hassle to buy cough syrup (an ingredient of meth) and you have to sign some kinda log book and pick it up from the pharmacist.

in fight club brad pitt uses soap to make bombs so maybe we should make it harder to buy soap too. then when you buy too much soap your name goes on the no fly list.

anybody else find it funny that were taking advice on marijuana from a guy named weedwacker

P.S. when I spell checked weedwacker my computer recommended i replace it with wetback? [color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color]?

[Crosshair]

WeedWacker

So you are saying we should ban every drug ever made? What kind of logic are you using? Oh, I'm drunk on alcohol, high on pot, trippin on cough syrup, why not take a hit of meth. That logic simply doesn't fly.

Nobody is for legalizing pot to take people away from meth. People are for legalizing pot because it is less dangerous than tobacco, produces a better high, is safe, provides health benifits to people with certian illnesses, and doing so would save millions of $$$ wasted on the current drug war/locking up people for having the wrong plant in their possesion. (Is tobacco a "gateway" drug?) The term "gateway drug" is largely a made up term by the fear mongering government and anti-drug forces anyway.

No offence, but it sounds like you are parroting the anti-drug propaganda.

[WeedWacker]

Never said that. I said legalizing a drug such as marrujuana to be OTC would just compound the problem=. Having a trained prfessional administer morphine to a patient in pain and no dependency will occur. Same for all pain killers, sleep aids, etc. If a doctor prescribes and amount there is a fill date and they can monitor how much you actually take based on how much you use in whatever time it is that you take until you need a refill.

And as for marrujuanna being safe, it's not safe for those around you. Being high you get forgetful and carefree and things are great. You won't notice the little old lady crossing the street ahead of you or whatever. Also as I stated earlier, marrujuanna is a "gateway drug" that leads to other abuses if it is abused. Some people have no restraint I know a Belgian who smokes pot but he only does it in the morning or at night, not while working or anything else. Some ppl get so addicted to it that they light one up whenever they get the chance. If it is legalized there will be more regulations on other areas of life like driving while high will probably be illegal, operating machinery and all that other stuff you aren't allowed to do drunk (operate a boat is another one)

And gateway drug is an actual term that explains a phenomena. Alcohol impairs judgement but others say it doesn't. It has been proven that alcohol interferes with your brain development and actually deteriorates brain activity over time. Marrujuanna has the same effect as alcohol on your judgement. It impairs your thinking and interferes with brain activity. If it didn't affect your thinking you wouldn't get "high." Now there are medicinal purposes and potential for marrujuanna but they must be administered by professionals and not be otc or convienience store available like cigarettes. you can't buy morphine next to the beer can you?

Edit: Just to clarify even more JUDGE MENT IS IMPAIRED!!! you've seen stupid things ppl do when drunk. It's not much different on pot

[hydrashok407]

...The smaller labs that depend upon buying ingredients are dwindling because of the law here effecting over the counter sales. So now the meth is shipped in from other big labs that are in Mexico....

Not necessarily. One of the big issues with meth these days is it's getting easier to make. More meth is being home-brewed. It's cheaper to cook your own than to buy it. With new techniques of cooking it, a LOT of meth manufacturers are renting motel rooms. They can now cook it without the obnoxious odors.

It's more dangerous to cook meth. The fumes aren't as irritating, but they're still just as toxic. Meth cookers try and keep their labs air tight to keep in as much of the odors as possible. They may be cooking the junk when they're overcome by the fumes, and then... KABLOOEY.

Yeah, I think a meth article would be a good call. Heck, I've been contemplating writing an entire series on it...