Guidelines for spotting meth production

The Record of Leitchfield, Ky., published a meth series that included advice on how to both spot meth users and meth labs. Meth users, Stephanie Hornback writes, are characterized by extreme weight loss, paranoia, teeth grinding or loss, open sores on their faces and arms, irritability or violent behavior, incessant talking, repetitious behaviors such as picking at skin, false sense of confidence, and severe depression. Her list of signs of meth labs is much longer.

Laura Skillman of the University of Kentucky reports a similar list in an article for local newspapers. The program encourages rural landowners to regularly check their land for meth production they may not be aware of. "The meth components are things that we use in everyday life — gallon fruit jars, aquarium tubing, plastic spoons, plastic bowls, glassware," Skillman quotes Cheyenne Albro, director of the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force. "Because they often overlooked as being a meth lab when someone sees them in the woods or locates them, they don’t realize the dangers associated with them. They think it’s just a bag of trash." Albro also cautioned people to not handle suspected materials from suspected meth labs, but rather contact the proper authorities.