As Meth Laws Change, So Do Addicts

While lawmakers often believe that new laws will cut down on criminal behavior and activity, this is not always the case where meth labs and cooks are concerned. A recent Knox News piece captured the current activity in this area, highlighting that when laws are changed, the addicts change, too.

In the state of Tennessee, officers have seized 1,149 suspected methamphetamine labs for 2010, which is an average of more than 150 labs per month. This amount is twice the state total measured just four years earlier. In that time period, the main ingredient for most meth recipes has been locked behind the counter of the local pharmacy.

In other words, lawmakers believe they have the upper hand by making these products less accessible to meth cooks. Instead, meth cooks and addicts just find ways around the system to create their product as needed.

According to one convicted meth cook, he has made it every way there is to create meth and he has never had to buy anything. He has managed to work the system to his advantage and continue to feed his addiction.

In one county, the biggest problem is the number of available pharmacies. Meth cooks and addicts will either go into each one, or will use homeless people looking to make a couple of bucks. And, while cops are getting better at finding and busting labs, cooks are getting better at creating strategies for staying one step ahead.