ELKHART — New state laws have helped to curtail the number of methamphetamine labs being seized by law enforcement officers, but the drug is still a prevalent issue in Elkhart County.
Statewide, the number of clandestine meth lab seizures dropped 35 percent over the past year – from 1,452 in 2015 to 943 in 2016, according to statistics released by the Indiana State Police. It was only in 2013 that the state saw over 1,800 lab seizures take place. Up until that point the number of seizures had been rising since 2006.
What has caused the number of lab incidents to drop? New state laws restricting access to pseudoephedrine, a primary ingredient used to manufacture meth, seem to have played a big role.
Statistics show that since state lawmakers first enacted laws tracking the sale of pseudoephedrine in 2012 and restricting the amount an individual can purchase in 2013, the number of labs being seized annually has dropped by nearly a 1,000. New laws in 2015 and 2016, including one which give pharmacists more discretion on how much pseudoephedrine to hand out to customers, are also making a large impact.
Doug Miller, a Republican lawmaker from Elkhart, said that the legislature was able to give state law enforcement officers the tools they needed to get the job done.
"We listened to what the law enforcement community needed and we shaped policy around those needs," he said.