Posted on 01/29/2005 10:32:26 PM PST by Mr. Mojo
I live in SW Oklahoma and within a 25 mile radius of where Oklahoma State Trooper Nik Green was killed. Officer Green was shot when he was called to help out what appeared to be a stranded motorist but was instead an ex-firefighter from Duncan who was operating a rolling meth lab out of his car. The law that was passed here in Oklahoma was in honor of Officer Green.
When I moved here 3+ years ago, I met our local police chief and his wife. Since I had never lived in a small town before, I asked him what the most serious crime problem here was. Without hesitation he said it was meth and its production. This was prior to the passing of the Nik Green law.
The law has made a drastic difference here in SW Ok. It has also helped that Texas has recently passed their own form of law in regard to the purchase of medications that contain psuedoephedrine. For a short time our meth-heads used to drive across the border to Texas in order to acquire enough to make it worthwhile.
Our local paper publishes a weekly police blotter of misdemeanors and felonies that have been filed. Since the law passed the number of both types of crime has fallen by at least half if not more. It wasn't unusual to see 20 or more felony charges in one week for meth. In this week's paper there was one and this is no longer unusual.
I don't believe the law is the silver bullet that will knock out all of the meth problem here but I do believe it's a step in the right direction.
Its a landlord's nightmare, too. Once a property has been used as a meth lab, the landlord will have to foot the bill for the cleanup as a renting meth head will not have anything of value. Then, after the property is all cleaned up, you'll still have to disclose the hazardous chemical history of the place. Good luck selling. Screen those tenants!
"Still though I know plenty of people who have done meth, myself included, and it is not instantly addictive.
"
I never fell into the "try it(drugs) you'll like it" category through out my life. Lucky(smart) me I guess. I could never rationalize taking weird stuff and digesting it without knowing what the ingredients were yet people who abuse drugs not knowing the true ingedientsin the street drugs gripe about sanitary issues in restaurants and grocery store products. Now that's jacked up logic. Street drugs too much like playing with a gun with one bullet in the chamber.
Agreed. It's the same with alcohol. I can come home from work, drink 2 beers or drinks and stop. I know people that can't.
When the discussion turns to weed (or any plant), I'll stand with you.
But I think white powder drugs need to remain illegal.
OK, fine, I'll jump on board the (actually quite tiny) legalization bandwagon IF the legalization bill also sets up a huge tax on dope to fund all the treatment centers and programs. A floating tax, that increases or decreases each year based on the costs of the treatment programs.
All ya'll dopers can scream to high heaven, but that's the tradeoff necessary to gain our support for legalization. Sooner or later we all pay a huge cost for your doping addictions, so the costs are going to be shifted back on ya'll.
Meth is a huge problem here in Alaska as well. Our stores have put sudafed behind the counter and they watch people who buy the stuff pretty closely. I felt like a criminal one day asking for a box of sudafed for a killer sinus headache. I probababy will just put up with it next time. Hope it has the same effect on meth labs here as it did in OK. I have a problem also with snowmachine drivers trespassing across my property from a less than desireable part of town. I was told by the troopers there was a meth lab down there and they run there product at night. I would like to confront them but here in Alaska everyone is armed to the teeth (including me) and I figure it just ain't worth getting shot.
Not to mention the drug induced psychosis.
Done and done: All you have to do is go to the doc and tell him you can't pay attention to yo work, and you will be on HMO-paid, or government paid, speed in a jiffy.
Oh yeah! My secretary's brother is hooked on meth, and is in and out of jail . She has a restraining order against him.
Reminds me of a speech by a clean Junkie.
"Kids, Do Coke, Do Heroin but don't do speed, i thought the McDonalds was attacking me(the actual building itsef")
I feel the same way. I'm generally very tolerant of other's drug habits, until they have a serious impact on others. Someone smoking a little pot, or tripping with the aid of a sober overseer is not causing problems (unless they drive!). I have no problem with this type of 'responsible' drug use. Most folks grow out of it after realizing it does not make you happy not too much worse for the wear.
But this meth epidemic ruins the lives of the user and has tremendous collateral damage to families and the community as well. Bust them hard.
" I felt like a criminal one day asking for a box of sudafed for a killer sinus headache. "
You're not alone in the sinus problem department. Buy yourself a small humidifier and maybe an air filter too for your bedroom. Turn it on when you're sleeping. You'll be amazed how much it helps eliminate the sinus problems.
bump for later
Can someone tell me if these labs emit an odor? My husband and I notice an odor in a certain spot out in the country where there ought not be an odor that smells like a paper factory. We have wondered about it.
Might be a good idea to provide the same penalty for many of these people. I am continually shocked to find out how much of the general population use drugs on a regular basis.
What's the rehab rate for nicotine addiction?
If they would put cattle guards in all crosswalks, the meth freaks would fall through.
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