Meth labs

Recent surveys indicate that as much as 4% of the U.S. population, including high school students, have tried methamphetamine at least once. Surveys of emergency room reports indicate that over the past decade, upward of 3,000-4,000 methamphetamine-related deaths have occurred. There has also been a constant trend of more than 10,000 ER mentions of methamphetamine since 1994 (Figure 2.4). In addition, thousands of meth labs have been raided and seized by law enforcement agencies in the United States in the past several years. 

The Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996 attempts to deal with the proliferation of meth labs since the 1990s. Chemicals used in producing methamphetamines are more tightly controlled and penalties for illicit production of both precursor chemicals and the drugs themselves are increased. 

Many drug operations such as meth labs and marijuana growing areas are in barns, sheds, and so on that are not part of the residents home. This decision made it easier for drug enforcers to obtain access to and search such places. (Open fields already did not have Fourth Amendment protection because they do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy, as found in Oliver V. U.S. (1984).)... 

Ammonia, NH3, is widely used as a gas for chemical synthesis, fertilizer, and other applications. It is also used as a solution of concentrated NH3 in water as a chemical reagent and as a fertilizer. Tanks of liquified anhydrous ammonia are common targets for the operators of meth labs in rural areas, who steal this dangerous chemical to make illicit amphetamines. Undoubtedly, some of the thieves suffer injury in the process, though such injuries are rarely reported. 

But a tragic problem associated with the kitchen meth labs that arc proliferating around the country is that the products they use po.se a significant public health problem because of risk of explosion and because they produce toxic waste. Many of the chemicals used to produce meth are highly flammable, and the process also requires that the ingredients be heated with a burner therefore, a significant risk of explosion and fire is present. Several of the chemicals used to make meth are toxic, as arc some of the by-products that can cause significant health hazards wherever they are... 

Law enforcement officers cleaning up hazardous waste from a meth lab in rural Tennessee. 

SOURCE Severick, James. 1993. Precursor and Essential Chemicals in Illicit Drug Production Approaches to Enforcement, National Institute of Justice, http //www.popcenter.org/ problems/meth labs/PDPs/Sevick 1993.pdf (accessed July 2009). 

Anhydrous ammonia is a corrosive toxic substance. It can cause frostbite when it evaporates from exposed skin. Ammonia is a potent skin corrosive and harms exposed eye tissue. Because of its high water solubility, inhaled ammonia is absorbed by the moist tissues of the upper respiratory tract. Inhalation of ammonia causes constriction of the bronchioles and can cause lung edema (fluid accumulation) and changes in lung permeability. Anhydrous liquid ammonia stored in tanks has been a favorite target of operators of illicit meth labs in rural areas who use it in the synthesis of methamphetamines. Certainly, many of the thieves are harmed by exposure to ammonia, but they rarely seek treatment for the injury. 

Laboratories in many places, notably throughout the United States, are engaged in clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine. The chemistry is well understood, and widely published, notably on the web, though not easy to achieve. Much of this synthetic chemistry is difficult and dangerous outside a proper laboratory. Fires and explosions, as well as chemical burns to individuals, are reportedly common in D.I.Y. meth-labs. Some of the chemicals involved, like phosphine (PHj), are very toxic. Don t try these at home, folks. It is very dangerous, as well as being illegal. 

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