Methamphetamine

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 June 2011 21:32

Published on Wednesday, 29 June 2011 21:21

If you find debris in a road ditch, or anywhere else in Dickinson County, and it looks suspicious, STAY AWAY. If the debris is the remnants of a meth lab, the chemicals present are toxic, dangerous to your health and even potentially explosive. Call the Sheriff's office immediately at 712-336-2793. If you have information on the manufacture, distribution or usage of meth, call Crime Stoppers at 712-336-2345.

Items that may be present at a dump site

• Empty ephedrine or pseudoephedrine bottles or containers
• Lye
• Cheesecloth
• Rubber gloves
• Gasoline can
• Duct tape
• Anhydrous ammonia
• 20 lb propane tank converted for anhydrous ammonia with the fitting turned blue or greenish from chemicals
• Iodine crystals
• Denatured alcohol or HEET gas line additives
• Hydriodic acid
• Hydrochloric acid
• Aluminum foil
• Table salt
• Stove fuel, lighter fluid, or white gas containers
• Lithium batteries, which have been peeled open
• Sulfuric acid or containers
• Rock salt
• Brake cleaner
• Pyrex or Corning dishes
• Plastic jugs, bottles, funnels, tubing
• Distilled water
• Muriatic acid
• Paint thinner
• Red phosphorus, sometimes wrapped in coffee filters
• Plastic containers with hoses duct taped on
• Starter fluid cans which contained ether
• Drain cleaner containers
• Hot plate
• Blender

Warning signs that a person may be using

• Doesn't sleep for days at a time
• Seems "ditsy"
• Memory loss
• May have rapid unusual arm and hand movements
• Excessive talking, hyperactive behavior
• Poor coping abilities
• Dramatic mood swings
• Can't sit still
• May scratch at the skin until it bleeds (feels like bugs--"meth mites")
• May have open sores
• May have a strange body odor
• Loss of weight of very thin
• May be secretive about certain acquaintances
• May be very unkempt and not concerned about cleanliness or appearance
• Interest in others drops off. May stop caring for their own children and become hostile towards parents and other concerned family members or friends
• May have episodes of paranoid behavior
• May have episodes of aggressive/hostile behavior
• May become physically aggressive towards others