Drug enforcement officials are currently struggling with a fast growing meth addiction that has rattled the people of Maine.
Drug agents are stunned as the number of meth labs they have raided this year doubled to 125 in 2016 compared to the 56 in 2015. Another serious concern is discarded meth-making materials that are doubling in reports.
Maine Drug Enforcement Agency Director Roy McKinney, reports that the number of meth-related reports are still going up even at the start of the new year.
The situation has become so critical that state official issued a formal warning to residents over the summer not to pick up any plastic soda bottles alongside roads. These bottles are suspected meth-making material that has residual meth powder.
The powder is white in color and it can easily contaminate anyone handling the bottle, Press Herald reports. Contamination is dangerous, bringing a cluster of symptoms similar to meth use and might even predispose the victim to meth addiction.
Heroin use is still the biggest drug problem, as reported ealier, followed by Fentanyl use. Fentanyl is a synthetic painkiller that is much more powerful than heroin.
The number of opioid deaths in 2016 set a record as drug epidemics grow faster than the authority can handle. The recorded drug death in the US is one a day.
The drug problem is currently declared as a crisis that takes the national concern to a new level. Take for example the incident in Presque Isle where five drug overdoses happened within a four-hour period. One of the victims was fatally affected.
DEA Director McKinney proposes on focusing state efforts on capturing and jailing drug dealers. He hopes to reduce the drug problem this way, in addition to getting all the necessary help to the users, WMTW says.
Due to the magnitude of the meth addiction problem, lawmakers are set to tackle the issue together with other deadly drugs in February.
