Federal budget cuts have shifted the burden of cleaning up toxic methamphetamine labs to local authorities and property owners — if they are cleaned up at all.
“We can’t afford the cleanup” which can run as high as $2,500 on some labs, Tim Vanderslice told the McComb Rotary Club Wednesday.
Vanderslice, commander of the Southwest Mississippi Narcotics Enforcement Unit, said local authorities need to get back the federal assistance they once had.
Meanwhile, some property owners — including motels, who rent rooms, houses or trailers to those who use them as meth labs — are stuck with the cleanup.
Vanderslice, whose agency covers Lincoln, Pike and Walthall counties, warned that fumes from the leftovers of meth manufacturing is harmful, causing respiratory and other problems.
He warned against opening abandoned ice chests in rural areas on the possibility that they could expel toxic substances.
Meth is easily made, using a variety of substances, Vanderslice said. It can be ingested by smoking, injecting or snorting.
A key ingredient is pseudoephedrine, used in cold medicine, and now available in Mississippi by prescription only. But it is still available over the counter in Louisiana, and Vanderslice said much of it used here is purchased across the state line.
Meth is both addictive and harmful to users. Because it is easily made, Vanderslice said more people make it for self use and for the use of associates than to sell.
