Tennessee is a hot bed of methamphetamine production and the authorities are trying to stop it. Rachel Keener, a pharmacist in Tennessee “Anytime somebody comes in needing pseudo ephedrine, we track that electronically, it goes through a database that everyone in Tennessee uses … The database comes back and says this person is ineligible to receive their medication, so we tell them they’ve already gotten their max amount and we don’t sell it to them.” At a local level there are these safeguards in place to stop the manufacturing of this cheap drug.
It is also a concern at the national level in the war on drugs. The federal government had 12.5 million dollars in cleanup funds in 2010 for the whole USA. Tennessee had over 4.5 million of those funds allocated to help cleanup meth sites and to dispose of the harmful chemicals created. A smaller survey of even Blount County in Northeast Tennessee has seen meth labs double from 2011 to 2012, from 12 the whole year to 11 for this year thus far.
The most recent bust occurred when a family noticed their neighbors’ house being burglarized. It was on Mother’s day that a neighbor of Bennett E. Baker observed a suspicious white van in the Baker’s driveway and was removing items from their residence. The thieves quickly left the scene of the crime once they knew someone was watching. Another neighbor followed the van while those left behind called the authorities.
A mobile home on Wildwood road in Maryville Tennessee was the destination of the chase. The police department discovered an active methamphetamine laboratory using the one pot method. This method is the easiest but also most dangerous way to cook meth. It doesn’t require the same amount of equipment but creates the chemical reaction in a less stable way.
Ten people needed to be decontaminated from being in this house while meth was cooked. Of those ten people only six people were accused with criminal charges. Edward Ross Maples, 30, was accused of initiating the production of methamphetamine; Russell Sterling McGhee, 55, was accused of maintaining a residence where controlled substances are being used, sold, and manufactured; Reinaldo Velasquez, 26, was accused of initiating the process to produce methamphetamine; Christine Charlene Poole, 31, was accused of encouraging the production of methamphetamine. Two other people were accused of probation violations or outstanding warrants. While these allegations hold different disciplines, they will all need an experienced lawyer to guide them in their trials. If you or a loved one are in a similar position, then you would also benefit from the experience of a tested drug defense attorney.
