New meth labs

**AxiTech** · April 11th, 2009, 08:44 AM

All,
I got the following email from a buddy who is a Forester with DCNR up in Clarion county, but the email is addressing a situation in , mostly, the 'upper tier' counties. It pays to be forewarned as we start to spend more time in the woods this year. Meth is horrible and the people using it have nothing to lose, so stay away from them too.

For all my friends who enjoy the woods and parks in PA. Beware these meth
> labs. Don't wanna see any of my friends or their dogs blown up.

>> Subject: New potential danger in the local woods
>> Date: Monday, April 6, 2009, 3:36 PM
>> BE AWARE
>>
>> We had an incident yesterday on State Game Lands #198 in Blair county!
>> F&C crew was out painting boundary and pulled off the road into a pull
>> off and saw a 5 gallon plastic gas container. One of the guys went to
>> retrieve it and realized something wasn't right when he saw it had
>> been drilled and had 2 fittings attached to it and it was "Cookin".
>> They called the WCO who came over and immediately called PSP because
>> he thought it was a "One Pot" operation. They sent their Meth Lab Team
>> over from Greensburg and Butler to take care of it. Turns out, the on
>> scene Chemist determined it was an anhydrous ammonia generator from a
>> big operation and it was still working. There is no doubt our guys are
>> going to be coming across some of the one pot operations on their
>> patrols. From what I have read there are several ways of doing the one
>> pot method and one is to add some of the ingredients and let it work
>> for a while then add a little more and repeat until all ingredients
>> are added and it is done. That method reduces (?) the danger/odds of
>> explosion. The other method is to add everything at once and let it
>> cook until done. I suspect this method will be popular because they
>> will just go to an isolated area (SGL or State Forest) mix a batch up
>> and leave the area and come back later to see if it exploded or to
>> retrieve it after it is done. This method is the one our guys are most
>> likely to encounter and the odds of explosion if it is disturbed is
>> higher.
>>
>> Boalsburg Fire Co. in Centre County was sent out with the PSP on
>> Wednesday while they dismantled a "Meth Lab" on Bear Meadows Rd. The
>> "meth Lab" consisted of several soda bottles sitting harmlessly in the
>> woods. They now can make the meth without "cooking" it. The chemicals
>> are mixed in the containers and left setting in the woods to vent and
>> cure. The Fireman were told if an unsuspecting person would have
>> kicked the bottles over at the wrong time, they would have exploded.
>> Be alert for a group of un-naturally grouped bottles while afield.
>> Just another danger to tuck away.
>>
>> Gerald McKernan | Environmental Emergency Response Manager
>> Department of Environmental Protection
>> 208 West Third Street, Suite 101, Williamsport, PA 17701
>> Phone: (570) 327-3722 | Fax: (570) 327-3565

**Seventy4Blazer** · April 11th, 2009, 09:40 AM

my ex wife went to meth after she left me... we got married and she was 125lbs, when we got divorced 4 years later she was 160 or so. i saw her a couple months later and she was pushing 200lbs. (she is 5'3'') i have not seen her since, but she lives near my mom and dad. they saw her a few months after our divorce was finalized and she was less than 100 lbs and could not hold a conversation. her face was all screwed up, and my folks said you could see where she had been chewing on her own lips and scratching at her face so badly that she had horrible scars.

i am glad she is out of my life, and i have no clue how she is doing now (divorce was final september or october first of 2004) and have not seen her since the beginning of 2004 (LOVE this fact) but i do not wish that on anyone...

**customloaded** · April 11th, 2009, 09:57 AM

For certification to use the various training area's on military bases, there is a block of instruction about active/abandoned meth lab equipment. Most Army installations are not fences off and there are various trails, paths, and improved roads all over the place. can't even go out and train to kill people in third world countries without having to worry about coming across criminals on our military installations...pretty damn said I think!

**AxiTech** · April 11th, 2009, 10:25 AM

My wife's brother got caught up in it. He finally tried suicide, and failed , Thank God!
Family got him into rehab, several times. He is finally off the stuff, we think. You never can be sure. The family spent well over 60k to get him clean and thinking clearly. The money means nothing, really, it is a family member. The money hurt to lose, but not nearly as much as losing a member of the family.
He used to come to visit and bring different girlfriends. This was before I had a safe for my guns. Scary to think what could have happened!

**jpavoncello** · April 11th, 2009, 12:22 PM

Anyone who spends anytime in the outdoors must be made aware of the dangers of these "one-pot" meth labs.
If you are out hiking, biking, hunting or fishing and come across any coolers, soda bottles, 5 gallon buckets, etc. stay away from them. The shit inside may be toxic and could explode.
Was talking to a guy at a training course last weekend who is a part-time deputy WCO and he was telling us about a game commission officer that got burned pretty bad when a one-pot set up in an Igloo cooler exploded in his face.

**Lone Wolf** · April 11th, 2009, 04:29 PM

For those who don't know, meth has caused SERIOUS problems in other parts of the country. From what I understand, mostly small, rural towns and remote areas. Haven't heard too much about it here in my area, yet. Hopefully it stays that way.

**AxiTech** · April 11th, 2009, 06:03 PM

I hear that the big problem areas are exactly that, rural. Probably due to the smell incident to cooking it. The I-80 corridor of PA is supposed to be really bad with it.
I know Missouri has it's problems and it is spreading all over the US. One of the doctors that counseled the family when we were dealing with it told us why it is so addictive. The chemicals in it destroy the 'pleasure centers' of the brain. This means that the drug actually displaces the function of these centers and eventually replaces and destroys them. Now the drug is the only 'up' in the addict's life. Without it, they are just a walking suicide looking for a place to happen. The bigger problem is that a person whose life means nothing to them, well, your life means even less to them than theirs does. This makes them very dangerous.
My generation got to see it's fair share of what heroin could do to folks, and heroin use died off. I guess we have to repeat the process with meth AND heroin now. GREAT!!!

**Lone Wolf** · April 11th, 2009, 06:41 PM

100 percent correct about meth AND herion. I seriously think half the people I graduated from high school with are or were "on the junk". LOTS of people have ODed and died around here in the last 6 or 7 years. The problem is, too many people thought "this cant happen in our small town", and by then it's too late. Lots of real naive people in this area. Hopefully, when the meth gets here, people remember the damage herion has already done and dont bury thier head in the sand.