So far in 2005 the Linton Police Department has charged hundreds in various cases. It is Linton Police Chief Keith McDonald’s prime issue involving charges and arrest to arrest anyone buying, using or manufacturing drugs in the Linton and surrounding area.        

All pictures below are all or part of a lab that was brought down by the Linton Police Department in the Linton Area.

 

You may click on the photo for a better view

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As if there weren’t enough reasons not to put drugs in your body. Below are some actual photos of the harmful effects it has on the body.

 

  

This photo is approximately 10 years from top left to bottom right

 

Below Information is from the

 Bureau of Justice Statistics

Note: these are national averages

 

 

 

Estimated arrests for drug abuse violations by age group, 1970-2004
Year	Adult	Juvenile
1970	322,300	93,300
1971	383,900	108,100
1972	407,300	120,100
1973	463,600	165,300	Lengths of felony sentences imposed by State courts, 2002
1974	474,900	167,200
1978	480,000	148,700		Incarceration
1979	435,600	123,000
1980	471,200	109,700	Most serious conviction offense	Total	Prison		Jail		Probation
1981	468,100	91,800
1982	584,900	91,200
1983	583,500	77,900	All offenses	36 mo	53 mo		7 mo		38 mo
1984	623,700	84,700	Violent offenses	62 mo	84 mo		8 mo		43 mo
1985	718,600	92,800	Property offenses	28 mo	41 mo		7 mo		37 mo
1986	742,700	81,400	Drug offenses	32 mo	48 mo		6 mo		36 mo
1987	849,500	87,900	Weapons offenses	28 mo	38 mo		7 mo		35 mo
1988	1,050,600	104,600	Other offenses	23 mo	38 mo		6 mo		37 mo
1989	1,247,800	113,900
1990	1,008,300	81,200
1991	931,900	78,100	Note: Means exclude sentences to death or to life in prison. Sentence length data were available for 945,167 incarceration and probation sentences.
1992	980,700	85,700
1993	1,017,800	108,500
1994	1,192,800	158,600
1995	1,285,700	190,400
1996	1,295,100	211,100
1997	1,370,400	213,200
1998	1,360,600	198,500
1999	1,365,100	192,000
2000	1,375,600	203,900
2001	1,384,400	202,500
2002	1,352,600	186,200
2003	1,476,800	201,400
2004	1,551,500	194,200
Source: Crime in the United States, annual, Uniform Crime Reports

 

Information about Methamphetamine

As we as law enforcement fight the battle against “meth” it is important for not only us but the citizens and public to understand what meth is and where or what it is derived from. Just like anything else information is always the key and it is our job to educate the public on this wide spread drug.

 

 Methamphetamine: A Dangerous Drug, A Spreading Threat

 

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug that can be manufactured by using products commercially available anywhere in the United States. The chemicals used in producing methamphetamine are extremely volatile, and the amateur chemists running makeshift laboratories -- often in hotels or areas where children are present -- cause deadly explosions and fires. The by-products of methamphetamine production are extremely toxic. Methamphetamine traffickers display no concern about environmental hazards when it comes to manufacturing and disposing of methamphetamine and its by-products.

Where did “Meth” come from?

Early methamphetamine

First synthesized in 1887 Germany, amphetamine was for a long time, a drug in search of a disease. Nothing was done with the drug, from its discovery (synthesis) until the late 1920's, when it was seriously investigated as a cure or treatment against nearly everything from depression to decongestion.

In the 1930's, amphetamine was marketed as Benzedrine in an over-the-counter inhaler to treat nasal congestion (for asthmatics, hay fever sufferers, and people with colds). A probable direct reaction to the Depression and Prohibition, the drug was used and abused by non-asthmatics looking for a buzz. By 1937 amphetamine was available by prescription in tablet form.

Methamphetamine, more potent and easy to make, was discovered in Japan in 1919. The crystalline powder was soluble in water, making it a perfect candidate for injection. It is still legally produced in the U.S., sold under the trade name Desoxyn.

During World War II, amphetamines were widely used to keep the fighting men going (during the Viet Nam war, American soldiers used more amphetamines than the rest of the world did during WWII). In Japan, intravenous methamphetamine abuse reached epidemic proportions immediately after World War II, when supplies stored for military use became available to the public.

In the United States in the 1950s, legally manufactured tablets of both dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) and methamphetamine (Methedrine) became readily available and were used non medically by college students, truck drivers, and athletes, As use of amphetamines spread, so did their abuse. Amphetamines became a cure-all for such things as weight control to treating mild depression.

This pattern changed drastically in the 1960s with the increased availability of injectable methamphetamine. The 1970 Controlled Substances Act severely restricted the legal production of injectable methamphetamine, causing its use to decrease greatly.

Methamphetamine trafficking and abuse in the United States have been on the rise over the past few years, as indicated by investigative, seizure, price, purity, and abuse data (see "trends" below). As a result, this drug is having a devastating impact in many communities across the nation. Although more common in western areas of the country, this impact increasingly is being felt in areas not previously familiar with the harmful effects of this powerful stimulant.

Clandestine production accounts for almost all of the methamphetamine trafficked and abused in the United States. The illicit manufacture of methamphetamine can be accomplished in a variety of ways, but is produced most commonly using the ephedrine/pseudoephedrine reduction method. Large-scale production of methamphetamine using this method is dependent on ready access to bulk quantities of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. During the past two years, several bulk ephedrine seizures destined for Mexico focused attention on the magnitude of ephedrine acquisition by organized crime drug groups operating from Mexico and in the United States, and set in motion an effort to focus international attention on the ephedrine diversion problem and to take action to prevent such diversion.

Drug law enforcement efforts against clandestine methamphetamine producers constitute a "cat and mouse" game between efforts to cut off chemical supplies and efforts to obtain them from non-regulated sources. Past experience has demonstrated that methamphetamine traffickers are relentless, flexible, and creative in finding new ways to obtain chemicals by evading the network of international controls that has been established. The Federal Government currently is preparing regulations to further reduce the diversion of pharmaceutical products containing chemicals, such as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, that can be used to produce illegal drugs. It has consulted with corporations within the pharmaceutical industry to develop a solution to the diversion problem that does not unduly restrict the availability of these chemicals for legitimate use.

Domestically, large-scale production of methamphetamine is centered in California. In addition, methamphetamine increasingly is produced in Mexico and smuggled into the United States. Methamphetamine laboratory operators often are well-armed, and their laboratories occasionally are booby-trapped and equipped with scanning devices employed as security precautions. Weaponry, ranging from single firearms to arsenals of high-powered weapons and explosives, are commonly found at laboratory sites. Not only are methamphetamine laboratories used to manufacture illegal, often deadly drugs, but the clandestine nature of the manufacturing process and the presence of ignitable, corrosive, reactive, and toxic chemicals at the sites have resulted in explosions, fires, toxic fumes, and irreparable damage to human health and to the environment.

Traditionally, the suppliers of methamphetamine throughout the United States have been outlaw motorcycle gangs and numerous other independent trafficking groups. Although these groups continue to produce and distribute methamphetamine, organized crime drug groups operating from Mexico currently dominate wholesale methamphetamine trafficking in the United States for several reasons: these organizations established access to wholesale ephedrine sources of supply on the international market; these organizations are producing unprecedented quantities of high-purity methamphetamine on a regular basis; and, they already control well-established cocaine, heroin, and marijuana distribution networks throughout the western United States, enabling them to supply methamphetamine to a large retail level market. Their expansion into the methamphetamine trade has added a new dimension to their role in the U.S. drug market and has redefined the methamphetamine problem in the United States. Presently, these organizations are poised to supply methamphetamine to the rest of the country in response to any increases in demand.

Trends in methamphetamine use

As we begin 1997, the West, Southwest, and the South there are reports of methamphetamine and ephedrine as emerging drugs. According to DEA sources, Mexican manufacturers and distributors have replaced the outlaw motorcycle groups which had produced methamphetamine supplies for over twenty years. The new manufacturers are producing large quantities of high purity methamphetamine on both sides of the border, drawing on the legal supply of the precursor chemicals on the Mexican side. The price of methamphetamine had dropped significantly (to approximately $3000/pound in Southern California) until recent efforts to curtail ephedrine/pseudoephedrine supplies produced a slight shortage in some areas and a corresponding price increase. In Washington State, sources report that the resultant price increase has caused a number of methamphetamine users in that area to switch to cocaine.

One Texas source cited a number of reports of adverse effects of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, a common substance in a number of over the counter and/or health food products. Ephedrine tablets can be purchased in Mexico and are often seized at the border or in other locations in transit to U.S.-based manufacturers. Some of the ephedrine/pseudoephedrine products readily available in Texas include 40 or 50 milligrams of ephedrine as well as substantial quantities of caffeine. Adverse consequences of their use include agitation, palpitations, and fainting from the stimulant effect. Called "herbal ecstasy" in both Texas and Southern California and touted as "safe" or "legal" MDMA, it is reportedly available from some health food stores or through mail order.

Methamphetamine continues to be popular in San Francisco. The ethnographer from that area reports that in addition to its use by young users who combine it with heroin ("a meth speedball") it can also be found in "biker's coffee," a combination of methamphetamine and coffee popular among young, fairly affluent urbanites. This is similar to the population of users described by the Los Angeles source. In that area, users are primarily snorting methamphetamine rather than smoking it as "ice" or injecting it.

 

                 

LPD

PROTECTING AND SERVING YOUR COMMUNITY