Meth was all over the place - the scourge of small town America - then not so much. Now- a new recipe for a simpler, cheaper method to cook the powerful drug could cause a resurgence.
The new "shake-and-bake" recipe requires only a 2-liter soda bottle, a handful of cold pills and some common household chemicals. A shake ignites a chemical reaction that leaves a residue users smoke, snort or inject, federal authorities say in a report published today in the Denver Post with the Associated Press.
Meth-lab raids have fallen sharply in Colorado - from 352 in 2003 to 33 in 2008, according to the DEA, which speculates that most of Colorado's supply originates in Mexico. That would be the case in a major bust Monday that used women as drug mules and classic Batman and Superman comic books to hide drug profits. A total of 41 suspects were indictected in the bust Monday, with 19 supected of violating the statews's Organized Crime Control Act.
But the new method requires fewer pills pills, and makes it easier to evade provisions in drug laws that flag larger purchases. Some states are rushing to close loopholes in laws limiting the sale of meth ingredients.
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