Meth in TN: Overblown issue (bad credit, home, buying)

[TXboomerang]

I've been noticing the post on the boards questioning the severity of meth use/manufacture in Tennessee. It seems that many are convinced that TN is some kind of Meth capital, and are concerned about moving here because of the severity of the problem.

As a few people have already posted in some other threads, the Manufacture of meth here in TN is down considerably due to the laws on buying pseudoephedrine based products over the counter.

But the other thing people need to be aware of is this. The little portable labs, kitchen cooks, and bathroom setups are far from the real problem with meth. Yes, it is a huge problem in general, mostly due to the chemicals involved and the contamination/combustability issues though. The truth is that most home labs are not capable of producing large quantities of meth. Why? Because it takes a a lot of work to produce a moderate amount of meth. The average lab is set up to make quantities of one ounce at a time. Some are bigger setups of course and make it in larger quantities. But most are people who cook for themselves with enough leftovers to pay their bills and support their habit.

Importation through Mexico is a much larger problem. It crosses the border by the pound or kilo. And rarely is anyone going to cross the border with a small amount, there are too many drug pipelines that allow huge quantities to pass through. So for every lab that is out there producing meth in someones bathroom/kitchen/car trunk, there is 50 times that amount crossing the Mexican border.

I'm saying that to say this. Finding out that a state has a big problem with meth lab bust is no indication on the overall severity of the meth problem as far as users go. I'm a former user and can say first hand it was always far easier to obtain "commercial" meth (or mexican imported) than to get your hands on locally cooked stuff. I can actually remember friends trying hard to find local stuff because the commercial stuff was always the same quality and they wanted something that gave thema different feeling high. But most of the time, they had little to no luck finding homebrew meth. This was also at a time when pseudoephedrine was available over the counter and getting stuff to cook it was much easier than today.

So for those who think the number of meth labs busted in an area is an indication of the overall problem, that is simply not the case. I just moved away from the Dallas area and there is tons of meth readily available and much easier to get because it comes from drug pipelines and pushers. Pushers are much more likely to sell to anyone they can vs. a paranoid small town person who will only sell to their friends.

Just my 2 cents on the issue, hope it helps some.

[SPLIT]

AMEN Brother : WELL SAID. Have a good Holiday season when you get here. Hope to met ya on a cycle ride. Local tv show 2 weeks ago focused on a turn around Dad that did " Some Time" and worked hard to support family again after Bad Credit and no admittance into the substidized housing complexes. HAPPY HOLIDAYS