Missouri saw a 10 percent increase in meth lab incidents over the 1,774 in 2009, but Tennessee’s numbers jumped 41 percent, Farmer said. Meth lab incidents also jumped by nearly 300 in Indiana, to 1,395 in 2010.
Most other states have not released 2010 figures, but Jason Grellner, former president of the Missouri Narcotics Officers Association, said colleagues in neighboring states say they will report huge spikes, too.
Carreno said it is clear that the number of meth lab seizures and busts will rise sharply for the third straight year. Experts cite two reasons: the emergence of “shake-and-bake’’ meth and pill shoppers. In the shake-and-bake production method, also known as one-pot, meth is made quickly in a 2-liter soda bottle.
Over the past few years, governments have monitored and set limits on the sale of cold and sinus infection medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a vital meth component. In January, the Associated Press reported that an unintended consequence of those laws has been an increase in people being recruited to buy the pills.
