Plastic bottle used for "shake and bake" methamphetamine making.
Law enforcement officers in Iowa are finding meth cooks who are using a new, more dangerous method of making the illegal drug.
Gary Kendell, Director of the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy, says the “one-pot” or “shake and bake” method of manufacturing meth is carried out with the use of two-liter bottle or similar container.
“I guess in a way it’s easier. That’s probably why they do it, because it all happens in one container and they don’t need all the other paraphernalia involved,” Kendell said.
“But that’s also one of the things that makes it more dangerous because you have a dangerous chemical reaction happening in a container that’s not intended for that purpose.”
Meth makers are still willing to take the risk because the one pot lab doesn’t give off the strong odors associated with bigger operations. Kendell says the lack of odor makes it difficult for neighbors to notice if someone is making meth.
“So, really people just need to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior,” Kendell said. “People know when things are out of the ordinary and besides that – look for folks who are coming and going from places…people who don’t look like they live there but are frequenting the place a lot.”
One-pot meth labs are suspected in a few recent apartment building fires in Des Moines that resulted in serious injuries and property damage. Kendell says nearly 200 meth labs have been busted around Iowa so far this year. Just over two-dozen of those have been of the “one-pot” variety.
Radio Iowa’s Pat Curtis reports on meth making: Meth report :54 MP3