Stange folks at Wal-mart these days. I saw the usual families with 4 to 12 kids franticly searching for generic diapers, beer and motor oil. And of course the ever present "country of unknown origin" shoppers. But what was weird was this family in front of me at the checkout. They had a bizarre assortment of groceries that just made me shake my head. Stuff like drano and jugs of chemicals. They also had tubing and glass containers that made me wonder if they were building a meth lab.

"Thanks for shopping at Wal-Mart!"  "Your neighborhood meth lab supply store."

And your point is? That we should have to undergo a background before being permitted to purchase any item, no matter how innocous or mundane, that could conceivably be used for an illegal purpose? Would you have felt better if they were buying it at Target or Safewat?

Some of these meth producers have been sneaking into the railyard I work in and filling up small propane tanks with anhydrous ammonia from tank cars. We're just waiting for one of these idiots to blow up their barbeque tank with the extreme pressure from a railcar tank. These people are going to get their supplies no matter what.

Those craaazy kids.
[rolleyes]
radioman

Yeah, it's for people being stupid like that they call in the HazMat team when they bust a lab. Who knows what toxic or explosive chemicals have been mixed up in there.

Did they have a couple of cases of Sudafed?  Those kids get lots of stuffy noses, you know- wouldn't want to run out!

I live in South East Missouri, and NOBODY is laughing here!!  This is the meth capital of the world.  Although a small town, our local paper is nothing but page after page of people busted for meth, busted meth labs, and assorted murders and other crimes related to meth.

These freaks are renting motel rooms, breaking into peoples homes, using public camp grounds, and using cars as labs.  You haven't lived until you've seen some helpless child tortured and killed by some monster who's defense is that he was high on crank.

A few months ago some mutoid set up a lab in a motel room.  When the staff smelled it and called the police, he shot two policemen.  Both have mostly recovered.  He however, looked like a screen door.

Farmers can't leave ammonia tanks in the field and go have lunch, for them being tapped.
Local Wal-marts will only sell limited quantities of sinus meds.

Used to, we saw someone parked in a field, we figured them for making out.  Nowdays, we see someone in the field, we reach for the guns.

This area used to be fairly quiet, with little 'heavy duty' crime. You always read news stories about 'crime waves'.  This really is one.  Things were rather quiet, then this wave literaly rolled over us.
 
The police are hinky as hell about car stops, and 'domestic dispute' calls. Can't blame 'em, crank is present TOO many times.  The rest of us who have business in the country, check our guns and cell phones, and make sure to tell someone where we'll be going.
 
This is a hell of a way to have a once peaceful area.  If I had my way, we'd make sure they were guilty, then take 'em and pop 'em like a mad dog.  

Tweekers suck.

I hope they all blow themselves up.

D.

Can't they buy the same things at a Meijers or just about any grocery store. Hate to break it to you but drug lab equipment or equipment to build simple bombs/explosives/poisons are readily available. The equipment has to many legitament uses to be controlled in my opinion. If a person is up to no good there's a myriad of methods/supplies for them to precede in thier endeavors. And lets not forget good ol' improvising. Ever hear of Ragnor Benson?

Ahhh, yes. The drug war continues... Whoop-de-doo. My take is, let it escalate to the point where the Gov. asks the citizens for help, and I don't mean an 800# hotline. This place continues to disgust me.

- Yawning in Wa. Biggest meth producer (closely followed by OR.)

USPC40-
Keeping an eye on people that buy certain things?  You mean like more than a box of ammo? Or a gun not sutible for hunting? or reloading supplies? Or high-cap mags, etc., etc.? Be carfeul what you wish for, you may get it.

Remeber this is the media reporting this.  It's the "problem of the month" that networks use to sell advertising time and make money.  Same as "gun running", or carjacking, or whatever.  The problems are there, the media grabs it because it's a hot topic and they can get ratings.  Not to say there aren't people making meth, just that there's plenty of people doing bad things that aren't as good for ratings.    

Ross

Ross mentioned the media, and this gave me a poke. All I have to say is:

If the media didn't have this thing for meth... I would not know how to make it.

Now, that said. I don't make meth or bombs that can take out a Govt building... But if I did... The media told me how. Dan Rather, get an award from that statement.

Fucking Assholes...what can you do

-B

Certainly the 'pros' in the drug culture know the ins and outs.  You aren't going to be able to lock-up knowledge.  The thing about the media is they will jump on one thing and every other station will follow in order to garner those ever important ratings.  Sorta the "Max Headroom" stuff.  

I remember the media hoopla about the assalut rifle being the "weapon of choice" for street gangs.  Once the AW bill was passed, the next week the same news show had a report on how small caliber handguns were the "weapon of choice" for street gangs.  Oddly enough a new bill was up at the time to outlaw "Saturday Night Specials".  Hhhmm, the connection may not be intentional, but it's there none the less.  Which is driving the other, I don't know.  But I doubt that most of the idiotic, feel good laws we have would be passed if there wasn't some way to fan the flames of fear.

Ross

I have a good friend that lives in SE Kansas.  His wife works in the service department at the local John Deere dealership.  She would argue that John Deere is the neighborhood meth lab supplier.  She told me once that several hippie looking dudes come in and buy cases of starting fluid (ether).  Everyone in the store knows why they are buying it, but can't do anything about it.  

Having grown up around agriculture and anhydrous ammonia, I'm suprised that we don't here about more meth users/manufactures that are burned while trying to get the ammonia out of the bulk tanks.  That is some nasty stuff.  

Can't do anything about it?  Isn't this still America?  Don't sell it to them if you don't want to.

I live in NY and I havent heard anything about meth around here, but it will probably all change because you guys all have such bad problems with it.

Years ago Montana was getting an anti-drug paraphernalia law ready.  I pointed out that the #1 piece of drug paraphernalia at the time was the plastic baggie bought at any food market.  The law passed anyway.  I know of no clerks that were put in jail for selling baggies so the law must have worked and drugs are no longer a "problem" in Montana.

Every angle the government uses for the "War on Drugs" will be used against us in the "War on guns".

I have to agree with USPC40.  We have lots of meth labs where I live, and we keep running into them in cars, hotel rooms, barns, etc.  There's a big difference between some clerk at your local sporting goods store calling the cops because you bought two boxes of ammo for your 1911 and them making a call because they think someone is making meth.  Lemme 'splain.

As more of the precoursor chemicals for meth become controlled, the tweakers get more inventive in trying to find, make, or replace them.  Many law enforcement agencies have tried to educate local merchants as to what to look out for as far as unusual purchases to try and snag meth cooks.  If someone purchases five cases of Sudafed or a similar psuedoephedrine product, odds are REAL good they're cooking meth.  Same thing with MSM from western or vet-supply stores- no legitimate stockman or vet is going to use 40 lbs of MSM in a couple of years, let alone a few weeks.  And just having some merchant call and say so-and-so just bought five cases of Sudafed is not, by itself, enough for the police to get  a search warrant- they will still have to investigate and develop probable cause.

Now, say some tweaker sets up a box lab in a hotel room that his girlfriend rented under her name, 'cause he's got a warrant or some such.  He spends all weekend cooking up a batch, then bugs out.  You and your family are in town the next weekend to visit family and happen to stay in that room.  Guess what?  You and your loved ones just got exposed to all kinds of nice toxic chemicals that can lead to respiratory failure, brain damage, etc.  Same thing with the apartment or house you just moved into, or the used car you bought.  These people dump their waste chemicals into the ground, the river, lakes, whatever they can find, and they don't give a shit what it does to other people.

Granted, the media will take the latest crisis and milk it for all it's worth to sell papers, get ratings, etc.  That being said, if you think methamphetamine is just the 'flavor of the month' and is not a real problem, you're woefully ignorant of the situation.  If you have a problem like meth labs, it's only responsible to let citizens know what to look for and tell them to call if they see it.  All that does is give LEO's a place to begin an investigation.  You shouldn't have to have a background check done to buy household items, but neither should merchants have to ignore signs of possible criminal activity, especially one that affects EVERYONE in the community in the way that meth cooking and use does.  As an LEO that works dope and has been in many meth labs, I can tell you for a certainty that this problem is NOT a figment of the media's imagination.

Its not going to be easy to stop criminals from making drugs but I don't want to loose any of my freedoms so we can do it. If assholes want to use meth then let them. When they die its one less bastard on welfare

Banning drugs works so well, look what prohibition did for alcohol.  If you have a meth lab in the neighborhood, soounds like time for a 'Vigilance committee' (or a Molotov coktail.)

I agree, it's time we burn down any store that sells these illegal drug producing products.  Yah yah yah, for those damn kids again.

Just replace "meth labs" with "terrorist attacks" or "school massacres" and see what you get.  Very close to the sayings like "You don't need that kinda gun for hunting" or "There's no ligitimate reason you need 1000 rounds of ammo" or any of the host of gun control drivel.

Maybe if they regulated the stuff as badly as our guns then John Q Public would finally wake up to what's going on.  

It's not that I'm opposed to your anti-drug stance.  It's more I'm pissed that I have to go through all this crap to buy and keep guns when there's better fish to fry.

Ross

The thing that really torques me off about this whole thing is the poster that is hanging in the lunchroom at work from the Indiana State Police showing all the chemicals and apparatus used in the process and warning people to be on watch for individuals buying these in bulk.
The only thing missing on it is favorite State Police recipies for the junk.
I think half the people do it just to try it out.
And anyone stupid enough to crack open the valve on an Anhydrous Ammonia tank deserves what they get. My Dad was telling me that some clueless wonder down where they live got a real snoot full of it and was arrested when the county sheriff showed up to investigate the smell. Now the guy that did it is trying to sue the grain elevator on top of all that.
He said that the guy doesn't stand a chance, but still.