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The Dangers Of A Meth Lab

The Rise And Fall & The "Re-Rise"

Of The Mom & Pop Meth Lab

As we said earlier, for a period of years, the number of small, amateur, "mom & pop" level meth labs were increasing like an unchecked virus.  However, with the restrictions placed on products containing traditional "precursor" chemicals for making meth, initially the number of small meth labs went way down.  So the good news was that a lot less children and other innocents were exposed to the harmful environment of a meth lab.  The bad news (although not surprising) is that the reduction of mom and pop level meth labs has done little to impact the amount of meth available in any given area, and now, as we head into the summer of 2008, local mom and pop labs are seeing a huge resurgence.

New, faster methods of cooking meth that are harder to detect, and new sources of precursor chemicals are combining to result in the inevitable - meth labs, small, large, domestic and foreign aren't going away so long is there is a demand for methamphetamine, and a profit for meeting that demand.  Anyone (besides U.S. Drug "Czar" John Walters) who is under the delusion that supply-reduction strategies will work are simply ignoring the evidence accumulated since the "war on drugs" was declared over 35 years ago.  That's not what everyone wants to hear, but sorry folks, it's the truth.

Busting Small Meth Labs Never Did Have A Big Effect On Supply

Even when the small labs started drying up initially, there was no measurable reduction in available meth on the street. And really, that's simply because eliminating one source of supply for a drug has little or no impact on the demand for that drug. Meth produced by domestic and foreign superlabs picked up the slack almost overnight, and there's no questions that the bulk of most of the available meth came from those sources anyway.

At any rate, the small mom and pop meth lab seems to be getting a second life, and the number of meth lab seizures is going back up. Of course in places like the U.K., who are just now beginning to experience the meth nightmare, local labs will flourish for probably the next year or two before they get a handle on it.  But one thing's for sure, if they follow in the foot-steps of what we've done in North America, they're going to end up where we are.  Which for lack of a better expression, is "still screwed."

And no one disputes the fact that even this amateur level of meth lab is becoming more sophisticated and harder to detect.  Meth users and cooks are extremely paranoid and always on high-alert, so many tend to be very careful to avoid being detected.  And as we said earlier, most are also now buying their precursor chemicals at the wholesale, versus the retail level, and the "one-pot" meth-making method, or "shake and bake" meth cooking method is much, much faster, and can even be done in a car.

So because the small level meth lab is becoming relevant again, we're going to give you a complete overview of the dangers and other considerations concerning these types of labs.

The Meth Lab Ingredients (Depending On Cook Method)

The process of actually making meth in a mom & pop operation requires chemicals and among these you have: Flammable solvents such as methyl alcohol or acetone (ie: nail polish remover) hydrochloric acid and other acids, Red Devil Lye (Drano) Black Iodine crystals, Mineral Spirits, camping stove fuel, match stick strikers (phosphorus) Engine Starter Fluid (ether) Muriatic/Hydrochloric Acid, Benzine, Sulphuric Acid (Battery Acid) Epsom Salts, Lithium Batteries, Sodium Metal, Anhydrous Ammonia,

You could also have emergency road flares, White Gasoline, Phenyl-2-Propane, Cough, Cold & Flu tablets, Energy Boosters, Bronchodialators, Diet Aids, cyanide compounds, mercury, etc. etc. etc.  You may notice that many web sites list "Heet" as one of the ingredients for manufacturing meth and some of these sites state that it's a rub used for "aches and pains."   First of all, "Heet" is a brand name for a wide variety of automotive products ranging from starter fluid to windshield washer fluid.  The "Heet" used in meth production is the automotive product containing ether, (shown above) not the rub for aches and pains.

Methamphetamine "Cooking Utensils"

Meth-making utensils will consist of common glass cooking dishes, plastic beverage and food containers, coffee filters, hot plates, pressure cookers, microwaves, gas cans, plus other makeshift equipment.  To show you the difference between the small "mom and pop" lab and a more sophisticated meth lab, the mom and pop lab typically uses coffee filters to strain out impurities during the cooking process.  In a larger lab, those coffee filters are often replaced with entire bed sheets or screen doors.  You don't have to be a superlab to cook up "super" amounts of meth.

Small Meth Labs Are Particularly Vulnerable To Explosions And Fires

Low level meth cooks will heat flammable liquids over open flames, on electric burners that sit on top of wobbly tables, beds, or on crowded kitchen or bathroom countertops.  While small level meth labs may sometimes look professional, most are thrown together quickly with little or no attention to safety.  It's not at all uncommon for law enforcement to find hazardous chemicals stored in the same refrigerator or in the same dishwasher as baby formula and feeding bottles.

Cooking Meth - "The Addiction Within The Addiction"

People who make methamphetamine are referred to as meth "cooks," and the psychological grip of meth is so profound and "complete," even the act of cooking meth becomes psychologically addictive for many people.  We know that "ritual" plays an important role in addiction, and it seems that the ritual involved with cooking meth actually adds another "layer" of addiction or obsession to the total equation.

The "High" Of Cooking Methamphetamine

Many former meth cooks report that they actually derived a type of "high" just from manufacturing the drug, even when vapors were properly contained and ventilated out of the cooking area.  Moreover, many people currently in prison or jail for cooking meth report that as strong as their urge is to use meth again once they're released, there's an equally strong urge to begin cooking it again.  This strikes us as a rather persuasive argument to the idea that simply locking up meth users and meth cooks without proper treatment for meth addiction doesn't solve problems, it just defers them or makes them worse.

Methamphetamine - The Gift That Keeps On Giving?

Perhaps more importantly, most meth cooks love to train other meth cooks.  While it's obviously impossible to nail down hard figures, it's believed that the average meth cook will train between eight and eleven other people per year.  There's even a certain pride and status factor in the meth "community" for someone who is recognized as a "good cook."  When meth cooks find each other in prison or jail, they trade and refine recipes for making meth, and they train others who want to learn.

We've been told by more than one person that if you want to learn the fine points of making meth, just get sent to jail or prison, because in many areas of North America, jails and prisons are like taking Meth Cooking 101.

On the next page, we're going to look at some of the dangers the meth lab poses from a variety of perspectives, including the dangers for first responders and actual occupants of a meth lab.  As you'll see, this is another ancillary problem with meth that you don't find with other drugs.  Relatively speaking, first responders faces little risk to their health when busting a marijuana grow operation, but it's a different story with methamphetamine.  In our opinion, they should be getting additional danger pay.

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