Meth busts decline

Meth lab seizures in 2004 and 2005 declined 30.6 percent nationally.

Oklahoma and surrounding states have seen decreases between 22 percent and 67.5 percent during the same time.


Oklahoma -- 67.5 percent
New Mexico -- 50.8 percent
Arkansas -- 47.1 percent
Texas -- 43.1 percent
Kansas -- 36.3 percent
Missouri -- 22.4 percent Source: El Paso Intelligence Center

Although this is great news for our state, I'm not so sure about the increase in gangs/theft due to the high cost of 'foreign' meth brought in by the Mexican drug cartels.

What are your thoughts?

http://newsok.com/article/1906913

I think a lot of Oklahoma's meth problem has gone to north central Texas. A family member works for the Gainesville TX Police dept. (Gainesville is the 1st town on the TX side of I35 when crossing the Red river from Oklahoma.) She tells me they have been having 1 drug bust after another for the past 3 years. Also at least 3 well known meth gangs are now seeded in the town. Drive by shootings, some fatal, are weekly events. Area law enforcement agencies have been working overtime trying to keep up with the trouble. Many of those arrested for meth possession are comming from Southern Oklahoma. The gang bangers are big time people from Mexico and other states.

Strong enforcement of the laws is what has helped curb the meth crisis. Oklahoma City was the meth capital of the world so the only direction we could go is down. If you are at the top, and there is significant enforcement, there will probably be one of the highest drop.

It's kind of a misleading stat. Meth labs may be harder to operate in Oklahoma, so the drug will simply be imported.

That means more Oklahoma jobs going out of state :(

But imported become drastically more expensive, and meth is pretty much the "poor man's drug" so the decrease has to be a positive impact.

Not if it forces addicts to commit crimes and wreck their homes in order to acquire it. I'm sure you know that it's one of the most addictive substances around. For addicts, price just isn't the issue.

It would be interesting to know whether or not the rate of the utilization of methadone programs has increased correspondingly with the decrease in labs...

good point.

In the article, it did mention that an increase in crimes would be a result of higher prices for meth.

I just heard of a group of kids ripping off huge air conditioning units from the back of a church to steal the copper to sell for drugs.

Karried, that's all prognostication and anecdotal evidence. I'd love to see some real figures on this though. It could go a long way to proving how ineffective any drug policy will ever be for so long as we don't control our borders.

Only meth production has decreased. Transport has increased. I-35 is THE pipeline from Mexico north, so Oklahoma has the chance to seize the majority of the meth that comes into the United States. Many times... We do. Oklahoma CIty Police in particular have had some of the largest seizures in the nation.

Saw a cool documentary on A&E last nite called "Meth in the City". It addressed the explosion of the Meth epidemic across the U.S., but focused on Atlanta, GA.

Apparently, Atlanta has become the principal distribution center for meth in the U.S., particularly due to access to I-20. Last year, the DEA conducted the largest Meth bust in Georgia history in the Atlanta area (174 pounds!).

According to the show, "new law enforcement initiatives have restricted sales of Sudafed, destroying the small labs where meth was being made and creating an opportunity for Mexican cartels, which already have distribution networks in place, to send meth into urban areas."

So Atlanta has become quite the place if you're looking to get Ice. The unfortunate news is that one the largest growing user populations is 35-45 year olds, and they're getting hooked on Ice - more addictive because of its purity. Never mind all the teens that are getting hooked, too.

I applaud our drop in meth lab busts, but I would also like to know if Oklahoma has seen increases in Meth Treatment admissions. Or is Oklahoma just another stop on the Mexican cartel distribution list?

It would be interesting to know whether or not the rate of the utilization of methadone programs has increased correspondingly with the decrease in labs...

Considering methadone is a replacement therapy for heroin addiction, it sure would be. ;)

There are other drugs people will find to use. Its a neverending battle.

Reminds me of southside OKC when forcing the gang in power out only caused more problems by many other gangs trying to become more established.

Considering methadone is a replacement therapy for heroin addiction, it sure would be. ;)

Okay, you have a point ;)

I applaud our governor for starting the limits and restrictions on the sell of pseudoephedrine.