‘One-pot’ meth labs are declining but Mexican cartels have made the drug cheaper and deadlier
In the past five to seven years, domestic meth labs have decreased in the U.S. as Mexican drug cartels brought cheaper and purer drugs in. Kara Berg, Lansing State Journal
LANSING — When Battle Creek police and parole officers inspected a home May 6 on the city’s south side, they found something unusual.
The methamphetamine, marijuana and syringes they seized were almost expected, but the one-pot meth cooker was a surprise. It’s something police don’t see often anymore.
As recently as five years ago, meth was commonly made at home in plastic 2-liter pop bottles with ingredients bought at drug stores. Police and first responders would find dumpsites littering rural roadways, or would rush to fires caused by exploded home cookers.
But those days are mostly over, Michigan law enforcement officials say.
Now, the meth is coming from Mexico.
With that comes an increase in meth-related overdoses, said Stephen VerDow, a Michigan Drug Enforcement Administration assistant special agent. The Mexican meth is purer, cheaper and increasingly has been reported to be mixed with fentanyl, a deadly combination.
“Methamphetamine has been a scourge for many years and continues to wreak havoc across the country,” VerDow said.
Why your city might be an ideal target for Mexican cartels
In the past five to seven years, the number of domestic meth labs have decreased in the U.S. as Mexican drug cartels brought in cheaper and purer drugs, VerDow said. The cartels bring the drugs into the U.S. with commercial and personal vehicles, making any cities near major highways – like Lansing, Battle Creek, Howell and Brighton – ideal areas to target.
“The increased commercial vehicle traffic in these areas help them blend in better with legitimate commercial business,” VerDow said. “Drugs can be distributed in very remote areas as well, but the (cartels) want to stay under the radar as much as possible.”
They aggressively and violently market and sell their products, VerDow said, leading to the ability to sell meth in the U.S. with “huge profit margins.”
This has fueled the decrease of what officials call “one-pot” domestic meth laboratories, VerDow said.
Michigan State Police Detective Lt. Bill Eberhardt said the number of one-pot meth labs Tri-County Narcotics, which covers Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties, responds to have dropped dramatically.
The number of domestic meth laboratories rose throughout the early 2000s and peaked in 2004 before dropping to the lowest numbers since 2000, VerDow said.
Eberhardt said people run less of a risk purchasing the drug than making it. Because of that, Mexican drug cartels are the greatest criminal drug threat in the U.S., according to the DEA’s 2018 National Drug Threat Assessment report.
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