Meth Labs Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Kanawha Task Force Again Recommends Meth Bill

A Kanawha County task force is again recommending that West Virginia legislators pass a law requiring people to get a prescription for a cold medicine that’s used to make methamphetamine.

The Charleston Gazette reports that the Kanawha County Commission Substance Abuse Task Force is making the recommendation despite a 40 percent drop in meth lab seizures statewide in 2014. West Virginia authorities have seized 290 labs this year, the third highest total in state history.

The commission says meth labs remain a significant danger to children and families.

Last year’s push for legislation requiring a prescription for pseudoephedrine failed. A watered-down version that would have let individual counties impose such a requirement died on the last night of the legislative session.

Senator Who Backed Pseudoephedrine Restrictions Reacts to CVS Ban

Two major retailers in West Virginia announced this week they would no longer be selling some over the counter cold medications in their stores. CVS Pharmacies stopped selling single-ingredient pseudoephedrine medicines in late June and Walgreens intends to follow suit.

Senator Greg Tucker of Nicholas County sponsored legislation this year intended to curb the meth problem by making psuedoephedrine—meth’s main ingredient—available only by a doctor’s prescription. The bill, however, died in the final hours of the session.

“I think they’ve realized their responsibility and their role in solving this problem and I think they’re taking steps to do that,” Tucker said Thursday.

Tucker said during the legislative session he ran into pushback from other lawmakers and lobbyists who felt meth was not a West Virginia problem. Tucker disagreed.

He said meth labs are still a major problem in the state, but now may be the time for the federal government to step in and limit the amount of pseudoephedrine a person can buy before needing a prescription.

“I think it is a national problem and it’s going to continue to grow,” he said. “I think Congress needs to address it.”

Both CVS and Walgreens confirmed they made the decision to stop selling the drug after “conversations” with Se. Joe Mancin’s office.

“I wish he had done it a few months ago and gotten active,” Tucker said of the comments, “but he represents the same area I do. He recognizes the problem and I’m pleased to see he’s taken an active role.”

With time, Tucker said, the state should see if the retailers’ decisions to stop selling the single ingredient form of the drug will curb the meth problem. Until then, he’s not sure if he’ll push for more state regulations.

W.Va. Bicyclist Charged With Operating Backpack Meth Lab

McDowell County Sheriff’s Office says a 31-year-old bicyclist has been charged with operating a meth lab that deputies say was contained in his backpack.

Acting on a tip, police arrested Dennis Eugene Baker of War as he was pedaling his bike. Chief Deputy Roger Deel said when an officer ordered Baker to stop and his backpack was checked, all the makings of a meth cooking lab was found inside.

The Bluefield Telegraph says a sheriff’s department team trained to disable meth labs was called to the scene.

Besides the charge of operating a meth lab, Baker was also accused of unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

Bond for Baker was set at $60,000.

The newspaper did not say if Baker had an attorney.

Buckhannon Considers Meth Abatement Ordinance

Buckhannon officials are considering an ordinance dealing with the cleanup of properties where methamphetamine is used or manufactured.

The ordinance would require police to contact property owners and the city’s zoning officer when they become aware of a meth lab or precursors of manufactured drugs. It would authorize the zoning officer to shut down a property until the meth is abated.

Jody Light of the Upshur County Landlords Association tells The Exponent Telegram landlords are concerned that another layer of government would be added through the ordinance to address an issue already covered by state and federal law.

The proposal is up for a first reading by City Council on May 22.

Governor Signs Bill Eliminating Meth Lab Clean Up Aid

The governor has signed off on changes made to the West Virginia crime victim compensation awards.

Changes signed into law Monday no longer allow for property owners to seek compensation for meth lab cleanup. In the past, up to $10,000 in compensation was granted per site.

The bill increases victim relocation reimbursements from $2,000 to $2,500.

The bill also extends the time period a sex crime victim can undergo an examination from 72 hours to 96 hours. And while criminal charges are typically a prerequisite for receiving compensation, victims whose perpetrators are unknown will be able to make claims.

The bill also allows victims’ student loans to be treated as lost scholarships in some instances.

Senators Debate State Money for Meth Lab Clean-up

A proposed amendment to the Crime Victim’s Compensation Fund divided the Senate Tuesday, but not necessarily on party lines.

The fund is used to reimburse innocent victims of crime who have suffered personal injury and who have incurred out-of-pocket losses as a result of a criminal act.

Currently, the state is compensating property owners from the fund who have to clean up illegal meth labs after renting or leasing their space.

Republican Senator Mitch Carmichael said the account is suffering because of the lab clean up costs.

“Any money that we spend to compensate victims of crime for assault, battery, the injuries that results from that, the state of West Virginia is reimbursed 60 cents on a dollar, but for crime related to meth lab clean up, the federal reimburses West Virginia zero. Nothing. As a result of that, our Crime Victim’s compensation Fund has been depleted from approximately $6 million down the reports say to around $2 million.”

Democratic Senator Brooks McCabe, a real estate agent, disagreed with Carmichael’s assessment and opposed the amendment.

“These property owners are in fact injured. This is not something that is covered by their insurance. Depending on the unit, that unit in all probability is uninhabitable. They have to put notice into the county. They’ve got to remediate and clean it up and it is clearly a cost well exceeding $8-10,000. In many cases, it makes the unit uninhabitable on a permanent basis unless the property is remediated. From my perspective a majority of these property owners are not in the position to fund this out of their assets which mean that by not helping them in compensate the damage done to them as a victim you are in essence taking out, removing the housing stock, just the kind of housing stock that we want to have that’s affordable for our residents.”

Republican Senator Clark Barnes stood to back McCabe’s position, saying just because West Virginia is the only state offering property owners compensation in these instances doesn’t mean the state is wrong in doing so.

“Monday we heard the report from the Crime Victim’s Fund of how the cleanup has grown in the last year. With the passage of Senate Bill 6, it’s the belief of many that we have made headway in cutting into the meth labs. Now, if we truly believe that we are cutting into the meth labs, it’s somewhat hypocritical to vote on the one hand that we’re for Senate Bill 6 and then we’re for the amendment offered by the Senator.”

Carmichael, however, stuck to his view that the aid was preventing the state from doing good for other deserving victims.

“From a priority perspective we don’t have unlimited money. That’s what we do here, we set priorities with limited amounts of funds and so to the extent that we’re going to say a person who was clubbed on the street and suffers enormous economic damage from that could potentially not be compensated because we’re paying a landlord to clean up a meth lab. For those reasons, I think a simple priority perspective and saying that you can cook meth in your property, the landlord doesn’t have to pay that degree of diligence, that there is a state back up for that.”

On a voice vote, the amendment was narrowly adopted. Senate Bill 204, relating to crime victims compensation awards, will be put to a vote by the full chamber Wednesday.

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