A NASTY DRUG ON THE BEACH

It's depressing, if not surprising, that a methamphetamine lab has
been found near the beach on Oak Island.

This is vicious stuff, and not only for the people reckless enough to
take it to get high. The wastes produced by mixing and cooking the
ingredients are poisonous to people and animals. They can pollute
drinking water.

For that matter, they can catch fire or explode when they're being
combined and cooked.

Users have been known to explode, too. Law-enforcement officers in
areas infested with the drug say it can make people paranoid and violent.

Charming.

Until fairly recently, our part of the world was relatively free of
methamphetamine. But it's been moving across the country from west to
east, like an ugly weather front. Last year, five labs were found in
Brunswick County, and two each were found in New Hanover and Duplin.
Probably others went undetected.

One of this drug's evils is that it's cheap and fairly easy to make,
if you don't mind the risk of hurting yourself. Of course, addicts are
hurting themselves already. And they certainly don't care about
hurting other people or animals or polluting the water.

The lab on Oak Island was near a marsh and the ocean, and built on
sand that lies a few feet above the water table. Let's just say it
would have had a hard time getting a permit from the Coastal Resources
Commission.

The Oak Island police, State Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration cooperated in busting this poison factory.
With luck, they'll find whoever used it.

But law-enforcement officials and drug-treatment counselors in
adjacent counties have been warned. Methamphetamine labs might be anywhere.