Crystal Meth and You
Meth cooks teach an average of ten others in a year how to manufacture it, so there is no lack of knowledge or of willing workers to replace those that have quit due to death or lock up. Most Meth labs are ‘tabletop’ ,which is to say they are quickly relocated, Just pack it up and take it to another buddy’s house for a week or two.
This makes it difficult to obtain a search warrant for the legal bust of Meth lab houses, and easy for the cookers and dealers to roam free, able to spread their poison.
Meth use is one of the biggest dilemmas in our society today. Meth abuse is one reason for worker no-shows or quitting. Low worker productivity hurts the economic structure. Neglected children often grow up to become abusers, cookers, or wards of the state. Users die or become a burden to society in countless ways.
In some ways the harm to society is measured not in dollars, but in the irreparable damage suffered by the innocents, including the lives lost from nearby Meth explosions and environmental hazards caused from toxic waste.
Crimes are committed by many Meth abusers to fund their habit. In talking to a former Meth addict about his past experiences, he tells it, “or sometimes we would do something really stupid just the for fun of it. Since it gives you something to do while you’re wired.”
“It was a blast, man. Stayed awake three days running around and goofing off, then when I finally got tired enough to where I might be able to pass out and sleep, I would burn some more and be totally wired and awake for another three days. Back to running around Wal-mart and goofing off.”
The actions taken by a wired junkie is chaotic to say the least. In remembrances by Joe, he tells comic stories of ‘wild trips’ and week-long highs that will give the listener a belly ache from laughing so hard. This everyday type of ‘cool’ exposure makes the drug even more tempting to a young or an easily influenced person. Unfortunately, there is a side that isn’t so wonderful.
Joe claims he was an easy going guy that smoked pot and popped a few pills every now and then. His wife and friends laughingly back his claim. However, things changed dramatically after becoming a Meth addict.
Without a sensible care in the world, he started packing a small gun. “It was crazy. Me and a buddy or two would go to the cooker’s house to score some Meth. We had our guns, the fifteen people that was already at the house had their guns, the Dude had his. The whole time we are there, I’m thinking “I am going to get shot and killed.”
But we didn’t care. All that mattered was getting what we needed when we needed it.”
After his near death experiences from Meth, and after there was absolutely no possible way of scoring anymore Meth, he came back home to discover his family was walking out the door for good. After begging for his wife not to destroy his life by leaving him, and having every bit of his words spit back at him, did he know that there was a decision to make. Either his life had to be ruled by his family, or it had to be ruled by Meth. There was no middle ground.
The journey to keep a family instead of a Meth high was a rugged road that required both love and hate to pull the couple through. Looking back, Joe wishes he had never even heard of Meth. Despite the chances of Meth use by future generations, the hope that his children never use it still remains an emotional desperation.
When asked about Meth cooking houses and what signs a suspected Meth house might show, he said “You’ll know it if you’re in a cooking house. The entire house will reek of ammonia. Smell it before you even get through the door.”
Other possible signs of a nearby Meth cookery is an extraordinary amount of cold medicine packages, acetone, Coleman lantern fluid, car batteries and fertilizer or the packaging there of.
If you suspect that you might have identified a Meth house, do not make contact in the effort to find evidence. Call the local police or sheriff’s department. Anonymous tips are accepted at any time. You should be able to give the suspects address or location, name, and the precise reasons for suspicion.
