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Anoka County Multi-Jurisdictional All Hazards Mitigation Plan 105 Drug Enforcement Agency officials estimate that for each pound of meth produced, a lab operator winds up with 6 pounds of toxic waste, including leftover chemicals such as anhydrous ammonia, lye and solid meth residue. The county and most municipalities have experienced meth lab seizures. Although meth lab operators may more easily establish labs in the urban and more remote unincorporated areas, all jurisdictions in the county are at risk from this hazard. Meth is a highly addictive drug. The potential for future hazard is high, and all areas will be equally impacted. The meth threat in Minnesota is a two-pronged problem. First, large quantities of meth produced by Mexican organizations based in California are transported into and distributed throughout the state. Second, meth increasingly is being produced in small laboratories, capable of producing only a few ounces at a time. Mexican groups, who receive their product from the West Coast, control distribution of the drug. These traffickers typically send meth from California through the U.S. mail, via Federal Express, and by courier. Methamphetamine (or meth) is a serious threat to public safety in Anoka County. While the exact number of meth users in the county is unknown, the number of felony complaints the county attorney’s office issued for the possession, sale, or manufacture of meth has soared from 100 cases a year in 2001, to 300 in 2002, to 325 in 2003. Meth-related crimes now account for the most frequently charged cases in the county attorney’s office. Due to the aggressive work of the Anoka-Hennepin Narcotics and Violent Crimes Task Force, Anoka County led the state with 42 methamphetamine labs uncovered and investigated in 2002. The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office has found meth labs in apartments, motel rooms, vacant buildings in rural areas, vehicles, campsites, and private homes. The cooking process itself and the waste that results from the manufacture of meth pose significant public health and safety risks. Methamphetamine recipes rely on the use of volatile organic compounds, explosives, acids, bases, metals, solvents, and salts. These ingredients have the potential for explosions, Blaine, Circle Pines, Coon Rapids, Ham Lake and St. Francis have experienced multiple incidences of Methamphetamine Labs. The labs range from sophisticated installations to mobile labs in vehicles. The most common physical impact is the damage to structures and contents from the chemicals employed in the manufacture of Methamphetamine. The resulting clean up runs into thousands of dollars. The most catastrophic incident involving an operational laboratory occurred in Coon Rapids where an explosion occurred resulting in the total destruction of a residence. The likelihood of reoccurrence of Meth labs is high and the impact is moderate to high when social issues are included 0 2 4 6 8 10 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Meth Lab Seizures in Anoka County