KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri is once again claiming the top spot in the entire country for meth lab busts. Missouri had lost the number one spot for a couple years but the numbers have been creeping back up lately. There were almost 2,100 meth lab busts in 2011 in Missouri.
That’s almost twice the number police busted in Indiana, the second worst meth lab state in the country. Kansas City had a meth lab bust on Monday. Police got a call about a man wandering in an apartment building who appeared to be high on drugs. He was taken to the hospital for chemical burns, and police say he was cooking meth.
The Missouri Highway Patrol says meth lab busts were up six percent last year compared to 2010 and that number has been creeping up ever since it hit a low in 2007. That’s because in 2006 Missouri law makers passed the law requiring you to show your drivers license if you were buying pseudo ephedrine. The highway patrol says it’s taken a couple of years, but criminals are outsmarting the law.
“Pseudo ephedrine is the only ingredient that cannot be substituted,” Sgt Collin Stosberg, “It’s a critical ingredient, so they’re trying to find ways around that law.”
The highway patrol says these meth labs are toxic and dangerous and should be reported to law enforcement. They depend on citizens to report strange activity or strong smells of ammonia or ether. The Missouri Highway Patrol’s meth lab hotline is 1-888-823-METH
