Meth Mountain

Meth mania from the Christan Science Monitor, via CBS News:

In Keizer, Ore., the other day, a toddler in diapers and a T-shirt was found walking along a busy road. When police investigated, they found that the 16-month-old boy had been left alone by his parents, who had been sleeping and were subsequently arrested for possession of a controlled substance — methamphetamine.

Meanwhile in Hillsboro, Missouri, cops spot a car pulling into the driveway of a meth lab they'd just cleared out:

The car rattled past a Confederate flag, past a skull and crossbones, and headed for an overgrown yard where several addicts had been cranking out the illegal drug methamphetamine. The detectives exchanged glances. They ducked behind a truck.

Simultaneously, in Minneapolis, tweakers dispose of their litter improperly:

"We're finding an increase in labs that have been discarded either in public dumpsters in commercial areas, city hall [bins], recycling centers and on the side of the road," Jenkins said. "We've found several in city parks as well. Typically, they'll disguise it by putting it in a duffel bag or a sealable large Rubbermaid container or something like that."

The Bend [Oregon] Bulletin takes a practical approach, with an article on parenting meth addicted kids.

"In my mind, what was really going on was that I needed the drug and I lived for the needle. ... Every day that was all that I thought of."

Military Officers Assoc. of America reports that the amphetamine-based drug known as yaba is "responsible for most of China's HIV cases".

Criminologists also blame yaba-related psychosis for a recent wave of brutal killings in Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations in which paranoid amphetamine addicts have murdered many of their family members. Roughly 70,000 Thais were convicted of yaba-related crimes in 2001, up from 16,000 in 1997.

And in Huntsville, Alabama, you can't even buy allergy medecine anymore. "But, man, those little tablets are good. They really work. [...] They'll ban Jagermeister and sausage biscuits any day now."

You can make meth with Jager and sausage biscuits? I'm outta here.