Part A - Society for Public Health Education

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Information SheetHelping Communities CombatClandestine Methamphetamine LaboratoriesPart A: An Educational Toolkit for Health EducatorsInformation on Law EnforcementNote: Your local law enforcement agents are likely to be quite knowledgeable aboutthe methamphetamine (meth) problem in your community. It is also likely thatthey have received special training on meth users and methamphetamine laboratories(meth labs) and may have some crucial information to share that would helpyour efforts.Methamphetamine’s Impact on Law EnforcementMethamphetamine presents new challenges for law enforcement, including confrontationwith a new breed of offenders, an increase in crime rates, and an increasein health and safety risks. Meth users can exhibit psychotic behavior such as paranoia,hallucinations, and delusions. As a result, meth users may possess weapons, setbooby traps to cause harm to someone entering the lab, or have vicious dogs readyto attack an intruder. Meth users also may exhibit aggressive and violent behavior.Meth users will do anything to get their next fix. They often commit crimes—frompetty theft to robbery and even murder—to obtain cash for their habit. Meth userscan easily make their own drug in a makeshift lab following a recipe available onthe Internet. The recipes vary, but they all use toxic, volatile chemicals that makethe meth lab a health and safety hazard for law enforcement.© 2007 Society for Public Health EducationKey Information Relevant to Law EnforcementHealth and Safety RisksThe health and safety of law enforcement officers is a primary goal in any operation.Officers who inadvertently discover a meth lab or are called to respond to a methlab incident should not immediately enter the meth lab. Officers should investigateto be sure that the lab is not set with booby traps. Additionally, officers should notenter a meth lab until they are properly equipped. Officers entering a meth lab beforeit has been properly ventilated and cleaned may experience shortness of breath,cough, chest pain, dizziness, lack of coordination, burns, and even death.Part A: An Educational Toolkit for Health Educators35
For additional, more detailed information on the clinical presentation, evaluation,and health effects of persons exposed to methamphetamine, refer to Part B of thistoolkit: “A Guide for Clinicians and Health Care Professionals Responding toMethamphetamine Lab Exposures.”Law enforcement departments should refer to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s(DEA) “Guidelines for Law Enforcement for the Cleanup of ClandestineDrug Laboratories” at http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/resources/redbook.pdf. The guidelinesoffer assistance to those responsible for administering and implementing methlab cleanup programs. They provide guidance and recommendations to state andlocal agencies that want to participate in the DEA Clandestine Drug Lab CleanupProgram or for those who want to establish their own program.As noted in the guidelines, law enforcement’s job is complete with: (1) removal ofthe evidence, chemicals, and contaminated apparatus; (2) posting of the notice atthe site; and (3) written notification to the property owner, health department, andenvironmental agency. DEA or state and local agencies may fund removals. Remediationis not within the purview of the law enforcement agency seizing the lab. Remediationof the property is the responsibility, both legal and financial, of the propertyowner and should be conducted by environmental remediation contractors.For additional information about the various hazards found at lab sites, refer to theInformation Sheet on first responders.Signs That There May Be Meth Labs in the Community• Purchase or theft of large amounts of precursor chemicals that would beused to cook meth—such as antifreeze, lantern fuel, denatured alcohol,drain cleaner, and cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine—and additionalmaterials used for meth production, such as glassware and coffeefilters• Residences or other building structures with boarded up or blacked outwindows• Hoses or tubing running out of residences or other building structures• Extension cords running to outbuildings from residences or other buildingstructures• Excessive trash (including items such as cold medicine packages, antifreezeand drain cleaner containers, coffee filters, batteries, duct tape, and glassbeakers and containers) in or near residences or other building structures© 2007 Society for Public Health Education36 Helping Communities Combat Clandestine Methamphetamine Laboratories
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Page 11 and 12: in the performance of the three cor
Page 13 and 14: variety of groups about meth and it
Page 15 and 16: smoked form, it is often called “
Page 17 and 18: a few minutes. (Snorting or swallow
Page 19 and 20: the brain) and has longer lasting a
Page 21 and 22: Some of the ingredients and equipme
Page 23 and 24: the impact of methamphetamine precu
Page 25 and 26: SummaryMethamphetamine is a man-mad
Page 27 and 28: Information SheetHelping Communitie
Page 29 and 30: Key Information Relevant to Propert
Page 31 and 32: Signs of a Meth Lab• Residence or
Page 33 and 34: The Cleanup ProcessProperty owners,
Page 35 and 36: • El Paso Intelligence Center Nat
Page 37: • Support and participate in thei
Page 41 and 42: ment officers assume additional res
Page 43 and 44: • Chemical odors (like cat urine,
Page 45 and 46: prevent inhalation of hazardous che
Page 49 and 50: Children exposed to meth labs may d
Page 53 and 54: isks. Poisonous vapors produced dur
Page 55 and 56: • body odor of chemicals• cloth
Page 59 and 60: Signs and symptoms of a meth user i
Page 61 and 62: How Retailers and Other Community M
Page 63 and 64: Create a Community CoalitionNote: W
Page 65 and 66: • Identify existing and potential
Page 67 and 68: their lives and what they would lik
Page 69 and 70: Phase 3: Running the MeetingIf you
Page 71 and 72: • Use humor. Humor may ease tensi
Page 73 and 74: the ingredients to make meth are so
Page 75 and 76: • Once members of the coalition h
Page 77 and 78: 2. Develop the right contacts.Ident
Page 79 and 80: You can mail, fax, or email press r
Page 81 and 82: Strategies and EventsThe following
Page 83 and 84: • A teen-oriented DVD (approximat
Page 85 and 86: Summary/Wrap-Up (15 minutes)• Ope
Page 87 and 88: Helping Communities CombatClandesti
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Methamphetamine Statistics and Tren
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This book is available from Hazelde
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Methamphetamine Treatment Programs
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A Web site dedicated to providing d
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The Montana Meth Project is a large
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Building Coalitions Against Methamp
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This tool kit provides the basics o
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Considering your work responsibilit
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Since receiving and reviewing this
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In what setting(s) do you work? (Ch
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Part A - Society for Public Health Education

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