Delaware County leads the state,again, in meth lab arrests; almost 200 to date.
All too often we see a couple who get arrested at their home while actively cooking meth in the house. At the arrest the couple’s three children go to relatives or into foster care. The children have no clothes, no toys, no school supplies — nothing; all the children’s belongings are sealed in the contaminated house. In 2015 to date, 278 Indiana children have been exposed in their homes to the harmful side effects of meth cooking.
All too often we see a couple who get arrested at their home while actively cooking meth in the house. At the arrest the couple’s three children go to relatives or into foster care. The children have no clothes, no toys, no school supplies — nothing; all the children’s belongings are sealed in the contaminated house. In 2015 to date, 278 Indiana children have been exposed in their homes to the harmful side effects of meth cooking.
These numbers are shameful. The domestic manufacturing of meth poses an intolerable threat to children, public safety workers, the environment, and our already strained community resources.
Contaminated homes and burn victims from meth lab explosions; pharmacy employees and patrons terrorized by a robbery; drive-by shootings that shatter the calm of a neighborhood – Hoosiers too often encounter these wrongs due to the scourge that drug dealing and manufacturing of drugs perpetrates on our community. Indiana’s prosecutors are looking for a new way to fight back against dealers and to help those whose lives methamphetamine abuse and heroin use are harming.
With the current surge in violent crime associated with drug abuse and dealing, along with the problems associated with meth manufacturing, Prosecutors are asking the Indiana Legislature to consider two proposals:
A new crime of aggravated drug dealing that will increase penalties for repeat dealers and dealers who sell drugs under heinous circumstances, such as in the presence of children, or in possession of a gun, or resulting in the death of another person.
A new measure that would require the drug pseudoephedrine to be dispensed via prescription, which has the support of many other organizations such as Indiana police chiefs, mayors, community pharmacies, drug enforcement officers and firefighters.
Indiana prosecutors believe that the current drug dealing penalties are too weak. Drug abuse is driving up violent crime in Indiana and ruining lives. We need enhanced penalties to fight this alarming trend.
Unquestionably, our children are the innocent victims in these situations. The Indiana Department of Child Services saw a 26 percent increase in abuse and neglect reports over the past year, many of which are directly related to drug abuse. Also troubling, Indiana leads the nation in pharmacy robberies, which exposes employees and bystanders to unnecessary risks. We can prevent this with stiffer penalties.
Indiana and Delaware County have another dubious distinction – they are number one in the United States for meth labs. The dangers to innocent people exposed to deadly meth-making chemicals cannot be over emphasized. Meth labs are essentially unexploded bombs. Since 2013 Indiana law enforcement agencies have rescued 1,104 children from meth labs' poisonous environments.
Pseudoephedrine is the one ingredient essential to the meth-making process. Currently, there are hundreds of non-pseudoephedrine cold and sinus over-the-counter drugs available to the public, of which pseudoephedrine is just one.
I consistently hear, when speaking to groups, the concern of having to go to a doctor for pseudoephedrine if it is made available only by prescription. Many people believe the drug they purchase contains pseudoephedrine when it actually does not. If you are currently buying a cold or sinus medication off of the shelf, and you are not asking the pharmacist for your cold/sinus medicine and showing an ID, the drug does not contain pseudoephedrine. The solution offered by prosecutors would not impact those currently buying cold and sinus remedy products off of the shelf.
Indiana prosecutors know that putting a stop to meth-making will not stop meth addictions, but it will put a halt to meth lab explosions and prevent children from being exposed to the harmful chemicals that are present.
The ripple effect of violence attached to drug dealing and manufacturing is virtually endless. We are asking the Indiana Legislature to give prosecutors the tools to protect Hoosiers and their children against this epidemic meth and heroin problem. If you agree, please ask your legislator to stand with Indiana prosecutors on this important issue. If you need further information, or speakers, concerning these important issues please call the Delaware County Prosecutor’s office.
Source: thestarpress.com
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