CNN reporter arrested on meth charges
April 22, 2008
Richard Quest, a 46 year old reporter and business travel specialist for CNN, was arraigned in court today for possession of methamphetamine. Police found Quest in Central Park at 3:40 a.m. on Friday, April 13th, which is in itself a violation of the 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. curfew regulations of the park. Quest told police that he had meth in his pocket when they found him.
Quest agree to go to counseling for 6 months in return for the judge promising to drop the charge if the therapy is successful, according to the NY Times report on the incident.
Mobile Meth labs on America’s highways
April 14, 2008
Methlabs are turning up in places you might not expect. In this video Indiana state police talk about mobile meth labs and how they threaten innocent citizens on the road and in their own backyards.
Meth labs are increasing in Arkansas
April 14, 2008
Meth labs are increasing in Arkansas in 2008, just like they are in TN. What troubled me about this video is that Sheriff’s department was surprised about it. Law enforcement agencies need to realize that the Combat Meth Act is not the answer to the meth problem in the U.S. It’s a much bigger problem that goes far beyond the boundaries of America. The ingredients needed to make methamphetamine are still available to meth cooks who are being supplied by drug smugglers from Mexico. The Combat Meth Epidemic Act signed in to law by President Bush on March 9, 2006 became effective on September 30, 2006. Although it is a step towards curbing the manufacture of meth, it is just a small step towards combating a much larger problem.
Mexican drug smugglers may be coming to a neighborhood near you
April 14, 2008
The meth problem that plagues states in the midwest, south, and west coast states and southeastern states will spread through the northeastern states soon, if Mexican suppliers have their way. According to the DEA, criminal groups operating from neighboring Mexico smuggle cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, amphetamine,and marijuana into the United States. These criminal groups have smuggledheroin and marijuana across the Southwest Border and distributed them throughout the United States since the 1970s. In addition to distributing cocaine and methamphetamine in the West and Midwest, these Mexico-based groups now are attempting to expand the distribution of those drugs into eastern U.S. markets.
The DEA also reports that meth labs are increasing, despite the fact that products that contain pseudoephrine, like Sudafed, are now kept behind the pharmacy counter as mandated by the “Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005″, that is part of the Patriot Act that was signed in to law by President Bush on March 9, 2006. The DEA is responsible for the enforcement of the Act. They’ve certainly got their work cut out for them. In a DEA report, they stated that “With demand for methamphetamine remaining high, especially in the West and Midwest, so, too, does the number of illicit laboratories that supply methamphetamine to a growing number of addicts.
Domestic methamphetamine production, trafficking, and abuse are concentrated in the western, southwestern, and midwestern United States. Methamphetamine is also increasingly available in portions of the South and eastern United States, especially Georgia and Florida. Clandestine laboratories in California and Mexico are the primary sources of supply for methamphetamine available in the United States”
Meth problem in Tennessee is increasing
April 14, 2008
Meth continues to be a problem in TN, according to a recent DEA report, despite the enactment of the Meth-Free Tennessee Act of 2005. The Meth-Free Act requires that any products containing pseudoephrine be kept behind the pharmacy counter, where pharmacy technicians record who is buying it and how much. In 2006, the year following the enactment of the Act, the number of meth labs in TN and elsewhere fell by nearly 60% to 401 labs statewide. In 2005, the number of meth labs in TN was listed as 861. But, by 2007, the number of meth labs in the state began to show that meth labs are on the rise again. In fact, according to DEA stats, the number of meth labs in the state rose by nearly 25% to 539 in 2007. I doubt that the numbers come as any surprise to law enforcement agencies. Read more
Renters are unprotected from meth labs in South Dakota
April 9, 2008
If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in South Dakota, state law requires realtors and/or sellers to disclose any knowledge about the home being used as a meth lab. Home sellers in South Dakota must tell buyers by way of a formal disclosure statement, if they have any knowledge of the home being used as a meth lab. South Dakota sellers are not required to disclose if meth was Read more
Kalamazoo Michigan child goes to hospital for meth exposure
April 9, 2008
Thanks to a family member of a Kalamazoo Michigan 4 year old girl who was admitted to the hospital for breathing problems, the meth lab that put her there will be out of commission. Two days after the girl was admitted to the hospital, a family member told child protective services they thought her problem was due to a meth lab in her home. When child protective services arrived at the home, they found her mother in a bedroom beside an active meth lab. Read more
Bedford Indiana meth lab bust
April 9, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008 - Indiana State Police arrested 5 people in connection with a meth lab located on Sowders Lane in Bedford.
Indiana State Police Bloomington went to a home to serve a Lawrence County warrant for purchasing more than 3 grams of meth precursors in a week from 25-year-old Brandon Brown. When they arrived to serve the warrant, they smelled the odor of meth coming from the garage. When an occupant answered the door, officers said the smell got even stronger.
State troopers with assistance from Lawrence County Sheriff’s officers secured the residence, the 5 people inside, plus 2 children ages 1 and 2, and reportedly plenty of contraband. All 5 of the adults taken in to custody are facing charges. Four of those arrested are facing felony charges.
For more information about this Indiana meth lab bust, visit WBIW.com
How Meth Labs can effect your health
April 9, 2008
The Washington State Environmental Health and Safety agency has provided the following information about how meth labs can affect a person’s health.
- The risk of injury from chemical exposure depends on the chemical itself, the concentration, the quantity, and the length and route of exposure. Chemicals may enter the body by being breathed, eaten, injected (by a contaminated needle or accidental skin prick), or absorbed by the skin.
Acute Exposure:
- An acute chemical exposure is one that occurs over a relatively short period of time and may result in Read more
Lansing Michigan meth lab explosion
April 9, 2008
A Meth Lab explosion in Lansing, Michigan proved that meth labs and explosions are no April Fools Day joke! When neighbors heard an explosion and came outside to investigate, they saw the home at 1402 Lansing Avenue engulfed in flames. They also saw the man who lives there running from the home with one of his pant legs on fire. He has been listed in serious condition at a nearby hospital. Thankfully, the three children who had been living with the suspect and his girlfriend were not home at the time of the explosion. His girlfriend was reported to be uninjured.
When police and fire fighters arrived it was already too late to keep the fire from spreading from the porch to the second story and attic. The fire department reported that both apartments in the building were destroyed. They were able to find the ingredients used to make methamphetamine though, both in the attic Read more