The Meth Raid That Wasn’t
June 30th, 2009 by Russ
A few weeks ago we reported a story that had reached the national papers about a meth “superlab” discovered on a rental property owned by Bell, California mayor, Oscar Hernandez. Los Angeles Fire Department and Hazardous Materials spokespeople are now amending that story.
So, let’s revisit some of the salient details of the original story and see what’s left:
Investigators found a methamphetamine “super lab” during a raid Saturday on a property owned by the mayor of a Los Angeles suburb.
Well, as it turns out, no lab was found. No traces of chemicals that would be produced by such a lab were found. No one nearby smelled or had otherwise heard of any such lab.
The original story also claimed:
Police also found two children on the premises who were put in the custody of welfare officials.
According to LA Child Protective Services, no children were taken from the home. And finally, according to the LA sheriff’s department:
Investigators said the lab would be able to produce as much as 20 pounds of methamphetamine at once.
The Sheriff’s Department now confirms that they seized not 20 pounds, not one pound, but one ounce of meth from the site. And the two superlab masterminds initially arrested? They have now been released without charge.
Wow. Seemingly, someone has laid an incredible whopper on the national press. This entire story has a very ‘Roswell’ feel to it. It makes one wonder what that drug task-force actually did find in that apartment: Jimmy Hoffa? The safehouse where Michael Jackson faked his own death? Dr. Venture’s super-secret child cloning facility?
Only one thing is certain. The LA Sheriff’s Department is at the center of this. The truth is out there.
Mexican Street Dealers Dying in Droves
June 29th, 2009 by Russ
The Modesto Bee told a heart-wrenching story last weekend of a young Tijuana meth dealer named Hector Rodriguez Estrada, who was killed in cold blood along with his pregnant girlfriend, by a rival gang attempting to seize his drug turf. The story gives a face to the deteriorating social system in many parts of Mexico, in which cities are morphing into nothing more than shooting galleries between rival cartels.
In impoverished areas where factory workers make $60 a week, selling meth on a corner can be a very attractive economic option. According to Rodriguez’s older brother, Samuel:
When you live by the sea, you look for fish.
In other words, for many people in the poorest nations of the world, drug production or distribution is not a moral or ethical issue. It’s a matter of survival. These people exist within a black market that provides massive financial incentives to participate. Without any regulation or government-imposed morality, there is also a huge incentive to kill off competitors. This is a completely free market economy. There are no longer any rules or norms.
Perhaps once cartels saw benefit in respecting rival turf and developing in areas without conflict. But an aggressive campaign by President Calderon, coupled with an influx of US military weapons and aid has created a virtual anarchy to replace a tenuous balance. Tijuana drug rivalries fueled 443 murders in the last three months of 2008. Gang members were left in dumpsters by the dozens with severed heads, limbs, and fingers.
Until this economic system is supplanted with another, the cycle of violence will continue. There will be many more Hector Rodriguez Estradas. And there will be just as many rivals willing to punch his ticket for a new drug corner to run. Madness begets madness.
Round Up: Odd News From Around the Nation
June 8th, 2009 by Rick- Two men in New York were arrested for drug charges on Thursday — one man paid for a $50 bag of crack with half a pig and $10.
- An Oregon couple (medical marijuana patients) on the run for a year who were mistakenly released after being arrested for manufacturing marijuana, faced sentencing Friday.
- A Trenton, NJ drug dealer called police after being robbed of his weed at gunpoint early Tuesday morning.
- One man was shot and two others were hospitalized, after jumping out of a 3rd story window in a drug deal gone bad in Koreatown, Los Angeles.
- A man in Tulsa, OK, tried to rob a bank to pay a drug dealer off.
- Police uncover a meth “superlab” on the rented property of a Mayor of a Los Angeles Suburb.
- A 32-year veteran Police Chief from a northern town in New Jersey was suspended after hinting at a public meeting that a town official was under investigation for drug use.
- Working on a tip, police in Fort Pierce, FL arrested a man that had 106 rocks of crack and a wad of cash totaling $3,533.86 — that he claimed was not drug money.
Narconon’s “The More You Know” Shit Pile
May 20th, 2009 by RickThis video irritated me beyond words. As usual the same marijuana “facts” are listed to give it that outlaw rebel status. The words “bad drugs” were used half a dozen times as it slowly began to ring in my head by the end of the clip.
The main philosophy that comes from the video is derived from the international organization Narconon, whose manifest centers around drug rehab and prevention. Their source of methodology comes from the work of L. Ron Hubbard, part of the same work that fueled the cult religion of Scientology.
The irony and sheer audacity behind this video is that they emphasize their attack on marijuana and not meth, which runs rampant in the state of Georgia. The story that the girl tells sounds like a meth story. They even have a website that they show at the end of the clip that deals with meth. The production was spearheaded by the Douglas Sheriff Department and like typical law enforcement they focused on the dreaded “bad drug,” marijuana.
Thanks to them, the producers have a bright future in replicating crap like this for Fox. Talk about meth and its effects in the next video clip and marijuana will seem like a recreational drug that happens to alleviate certain medical conditions.
Mom Cooks Meth Today, Food Tomorrow
April 27th, 2009 by Rick
On Thursday, Roxanne Halvorson, 38, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, reached a plea agreement of 2.5 years in prison and a supervised probation for being an accomplice to manufacturing meth, possessing drug paraphernalia and child endangerment. Her sentencing hearing is being held on June 16.
Last year, on November 15th, Halvorson let her nephew, Derik Ostlund, 20, and his girlfriend, Candy Reed, 33, cook and use methamphetamine in her duplex — while her children were home. A fire erupted, apparently caused by heated meth pipes. Nobody was hurt, but nine people, including four that lived above the duplex lost their homes in the blaze.
Reed was sentenced to 4 years in prison and 4 years supervised probation for making methamphetamine and reckless endangerment. Ostlund is scheduled to be sentenced May 27, facing the same charges.
Apparently Georgia Has a Meth Problem
April 13th, 2009 by TraciiIn response to its growing meth problem, Georgia is joining seven other states in launching its own privately-funded anti-meth campaign. The Georgia Meth Project will combine community outreach programs with an aggressive PSA campaign urging Georgians not to do the drug “not even once”.
According to recent RAND Corporation statistics, meth abuse costs Georgians around $1.3 billion per year and accounts for 51% of all drug treatment admissions in the state.
Sandra Conton, Drug Counseling Coordinator for Advantage Behavioral Health Systems in Georgia said:
The drugs themselves are not the problem. The addictive potential is the issue.
She likens the rise of clandestine meth labs to moonshining during the alcohol prohibition era, and she’s not the first to make that comparison.
Despite the infamous “Faces of Meth” campaign and the horror stories circulating the media, many first-time users are surprisingly uninformed about the consequences of meth abuse, often equating it with softer drugs like marijuana and alcohol. (Another result of drug war propaganda perhaps? Just saying.)
Montana has seen a 70% decrease in meth abuse since the inception of the program in 2005. If handled properly, The Georgia Meth Project could prevent a lot of people from succumbing to the epidemic, though many would argue it should’ve never happened in the first place.
Colorado Battles Meth With Television Program
January 9th, 2009 by Perry
In an effort to raise awareness of the drug’s dangers, all Colorado television stations will be airing “Childhelp Crystal Darkness,” an hour-long documentary about methamphetamine abuse.
Jeannine Truswell, United Way of Weld County’s executive director, said:
The hope is that many of these will be families and individuals seeking help with meth addiction. This is a night for families to block out everything else and watch this together. We believe it will make a difference in many, many lives. Meth is so destructive to our children, our families and our community. We have to come together to take a stand against this terrible drug.
The program and its showing are the results of a grassroots campaign started by the United Way. “Childhelp Crystal Darkness” will feature testimonials by recovering addicts from all over the state.
Argentina Gets in on All That Meth Fun
October 15th, 2008 by Perry
In the search for new places to traffic manufactured Ephedrine, the active ingredient in methamphetamines, Mexican, Columbian and Peruvian cartels have moved operations to Argentina.
Argentina, like Mexico, is not a manufacturer of ephedrine. But, the country’s pharmaceutical sector is a major importer, buying mostly from China and India.
Crackdowns have had the unfortunate and inevitable side effect of raising the street value due to scarcity, which has increased the violence. Even more alarming, the article quotes that imports of ephedrine to Argentina recently began to soar – from 2.9 tons in 2004 to 19.1 tons in 2007, according to government figures.
