Aside from the damage it does to the drug user, methamphetamine causes a plethora of suffering for those involved in the making, selling and distributing of the drug. But according to the Jefferson County sheriff’s office, methamphetamine labs are down “significantly” in the state.
Most often “cooked” by combining household ingredients like pseudoephedrine (PSE) — found in over-the-counter sinus and allergy medicines — battery acid and lye, meth was dubbed “Alabama’s No. 1 illegal-drug threat” in 2006.
But to combat that statistic Alabama adopted tougher meth laws in 2012 and also became a part of the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx) system that “instantaneously tracks the purchases of all sales of PSE” in Alabama, the sheriff’s office reported. If an individual tries to purchase more than the limit of PSE medicine in a month or year, the sale is blocked and the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center is notified, according to The Montgomery Advertiser.
The state also has a meth offender block list that prohibits the sale of PSE products to anyone convicted of a meth crime.
According to the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI), almost 80,000 grams of PSE were blocked from being sold in Alabama in 2014. That equates to cutting the sale of PSE products by more than 33 percent in one year, making Alabama the third-largest decrease of all NPLEx states, according to the Advertiser.
American Character Builders, a partner ministry of Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP), continues to combat drug addiction by reaching out to middle school and high school students. Resource kits that teach students to say no to meth, marijuana and cocaine were produced in 2011 and the kits include a teacher’s guide, CD with a PowerPoint presentation, additional resource materials and 30 student booklets.
Joe Godfrey, ALCAP executive director, said, “There’s so much opportunity here to help young people to grow and to learn to make healthy choices in life and to become productive citizens. And ultimately … we would like to see their lives turned over to the Lord.”
Ministries are working
And although drug users and dealers still find ways to feed their addiction, state laws, the NPLEx system and ministries of the Church are working. The Alabama Drug Abuse Task Force, created by Alabama legislation in 2012, reported that the number of labs busted dropped from 720 in 2010 to 154 in 2014.
To order American Character Builders resource kits “Saying NO to Meth, Marijuana and Cocaine,” visit www.americancharacterbuilders.org or call 205-985-9015.
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