Over the last few days, many people have shared an online publication that lists Evansville as the “meth lab capital of the US and the world”. In sharing the link to the website, people have raised concerns about how the EPD should respond to reduce the number of labs seized in our area.
The publication lists another website as their source of their meth lab information. A check of the resource cited in their current publication makes it clear that they are using a story that was published in 2014.
The 2014 story used meth lab seizure information from 2013 to create a list of the areas with the most meth labs.
In 2013, our Meth Suppression Unit seized 115 labs. That info is included in the 2014 story. As the years have passed, the number of labs seized has dropped significantly. Several things have played a role in that number dropping. They include the import of meth versus the local manufacturing of the drug, as well as the increase in ot her drugs, primarily opioids.
In 2017, police seized 15 meth labs. In 2018, there have been 5.
While the information was accurate in 2014, it does not paint an accurate picture of 2018.
The renewed concerns over a large number of labs and the dangers of trash on the curb are unwarranted. With that being said, we continue to address the issue of meth addiction and continue to work to identify the sources of the meth and arrest the meth dealers.
What began in 2012 as the “Mayor’s No Meth Task Force” is now “Mayor’s Substance Abuse Task Force”. The change reflects the increased concentration on all addiction and the decreased threat that meth labs pose to the public.
We encourage anyone with information on drug dealers to contact us. We also encourage anyone suffering from drug addiction to seek professional help.
