Maryland doesn?t have the same problems with methamphetamine abuse as neighboring states, but once the market opens, it?s nearly impossible to close, said Drug Enforcement Agency officials Thursday.
“We have a very, very low abuse problem with this drug. … If, in fact, we are unfortunate enough to establish a methamphetamine abuse problem here, we will never get rid of it,” said Special Agent Keith Adkins, with the federal agency, at the U.S. Attorney?s Meth Awareness Day conference Thursday.
Unlike West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Virginia, Maryland has escaped the problems of meth abusers and manufacturers because of low demand for stimulants and a high rate of development, making it difficult for meth labs to flourish, he said.
The DEA is training local police to recognize meth labs and safely handle them, teaching youth about the health risks of the drug and helping people dispose of the chemical byproducts from manufacturing operations, said Carl Kotowski, assistant special agent in charge of the DEA?s Baltimore office.
During the past two years, the U.S. Attorney?s Office for the District of Maryland has prosecuted four cases of meth manufacturing and has seized three labs in Harford County, two of which were set up by the same person, and two others in Anne Arundel County, said U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein.
Maryland?s development makes it difficult for labs to operate outside of rural areas without the strong smells and hazardous byproducts becoming suspicious, Kotowski said, and the profit margin for making small amounts of meth is low enough to keep most manufacturers working for their own use only.
