Toxic impacts of meth labs

January 22, 10:11 PMSacramento Environmental News ExaminerHarry Osibin

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Ryan O'Neal/AP

In federal agencies such as the DEA and EPA there are the bureaucratic employees and the political appointees.  The two factions try their best to coexist in times of conflict.  With the change of administrations on January 20th, the lines of authority apparently are not apparent.

There was a medical marijuana bust on Thursday at Tahoe.

Despite the politics involved some drug issues do not lend themselves to interpretation.  One example is the continuing problem of methamphetamine use and the toxic results of its manufacture on the environment and the toxic results among the people affected by its use.

According to content from the website of DEA:

• The process of making methamphetamine – in both large and small laboratories – involves at least one, and sometimes more than one, stage with a significant risk of explosion and/or fire.

• Some of the chemicals used to produce methamphetamine have independent toxicity; when combined, they can have serious toxic and explosive effects. Some of the common ingredients in methamphetamine are:

• Starting fluid (ether)
• Paint thinner
• Freon
• Acetone
• Anhydrous ammonia
• Iodine crystals
• Red phosphorous
• Brake cleaner (toluene)
• Drain cleaner (sodium hydroxide)
• Battery acid (sulfuric acid)
• Reactive metals (sodium or lithium)
• Cold tablets containing pseudoephedrine

• Every pound of methamphetamine produced can yield up to five pounds in toxic waste

• The cost of cleaning up methamphetamine labs has been dropped dramatically, due to improved technology and support from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). DEA estimates that the average direct cost to clean up a lab several years ago was about $17,000, but is now $2,000 to $3,000 per lab.

 Those are the cold, hard facts as far as manufacture of the drug is concerned.  Meth labs are a blight (polite word) on their neighboring communities, instilling fear and apprehension among the innocent and their families.  "Crack houses" are similar desolate locales.  Even if they don't explode in a ball of flames, meth labs ruin their surroundings.

The human toll is equally alarming.  Officer Michelle Lasark, Public Information Officer for the Sacramento Police Department previously had worked narcotics.  She writes, "The most gut-wrenching part of the job is dealing with innocent children who are the offspring of drug parents. They're often times neglected and abused. They are exposed to things no child should ever know."

Medical marijuana is one thing.  Recreational "drugs" of choice" are another.

It's too soon to say whether the new administration will continue the "war on drugs", but what I have quoted above is factual.

Law enforcement is not the only solution to the drug problem, but realistically, it is part of the solution. .