Ingredients for meth were confiscated in a drug bust at a Bloomington mobile home community in September 2011. While serving a warrant, state and city police found more than three grams of meth, several items used to manufacture the drug and active chemical reactions. Staff file photo
Indiana had more meth incidents than any other state for the second year in a row, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The MSHP, which provides national meth statistics to the FBI, reported 1,469 incidents in Indiana in 2014. Indiana, home to just 2 percent of the U.S. population, claimed 15 percent of U.S. meth busts.
When police bust a meth lab, the owners have 180 days to decontaminate the property. If they don’t, authorities place the property on the clandestine meth lab list on meth.in.gov. This list shows more than 10,000 sites since 2007.
The incidents don’t necessarily mean police busted a lab where someone was “cooking” meth. The 1,469 incidents also include meth-making chemical and equipment seizures and discovered dumpsites.
Sgt. Niki Crawford, commander of the Indiana State Police Meth Suppression Section, said there are two reasons for the large numbers. “The first is that most of our meth cooks are also meth addicts. Even with the laws in place, they still have easy access to the precursor drug, pseudoephedrine, and reagent chemicals — solvents, oxidizers, acids and bases — used in the manufacturing process,” she said. “This puts meth addicts in a situation where they have total control over their own addiction and the ability to feed their own addiction.”
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