TOO MANY LABS

In Our View

There was a mixture of good news and bad news for Jasper County in the Drug
Enforcement Administration's latest report on methamphetamine production.

According to the DEA's numbers, Jasper County had more lab seizures than
any other Missouri county in 2001, a questionable distinction in the
nation's No. 1 meth-making state. The 147 drug labs closed by authorities
were nearly a third more than runner-up Jackson County, which had 107.
Greene County was third with 94 and St. Louis County had 89.

The downside is obvious: There were at least 147 drug labs operating in
Jasper County last year and probably many, many more. The good news is that
those 147 are no longer operating and some of the people who manufactured
or distributed the drug are in jail.

Still, two nagging questions for law enforcement agencies and the public
are: How many more clandestine ventures remain hidden and untouched in
basements, garages, motel rooms and moving vans, and how great a danger do
they pose to people nearby? No one knows for certain. But one lab near a
school is one too many and very dangerous.

The so-called "labs" where amateur chemists mix their toxic product are
difficult to find. They can be started almost anywhere and moved quickly.
Some of the telltale signs that a meth lab may be operating are a
persistent, nasty odor and an unusual number of people coming and going at
all hours.

If you suspect a lab is nearby, don't try to investigate on your own. Call
the police and then stay out of the way. Meth labs are dangerous. Law
enforcement personnel wear protective gear on raids. Not only are the fumes
from this chemical hodgepodge capable of killing those in its proximity,
but they can kill with long-term exposure as well. The concoction is
unstable and explosive.

So, we tend to look optimistically on last year's seizure of 147 labs in
Jasper County and the closure of 2,137 sites around the state. The serum to
slow and end the meth epidemic contains one part crackerjack police work in
tracking down and closing labs, one part a concerned and vigilant public
willing to turn in drug makers, and one part the realization by smart
youngsters that there is little future in abusing drugs.