Meth labs are on the rise in Tennessee. The Tennessee Methamphetamine Task
Force says early numbers show 2012 was one of the worst years with around 1,800
meth lab busts.
With two recent arrests in Blount County this past weekend, 10News checked
into the numbers there and found in 2010 there were five meth lab busts. In
2011, there were 12 busts. 2012 brought 20 meth lab busts. And so far in 2013
there have been two meth lab busts.
Michael Aaron Bishop, 28, and Jeremy Dale Robinson, 30, were both arrested
Friday after Blount County authorities discovered their first meth lab of the
year at the Executive Lodge motel in Alcoa. Investigators found a bag with a
"one pot" method meth lab, also known as a "shake and bake"
method. The Blount County Sheriff's Office said the meth was not cooked at the
motel.
One day later, the Fifth Judicial Drug Task Force (comprised of deputies and
officers of the Blount County Sheriff's Office, Alcoa Police Department, and
Maryville Police Department) was called to the Big K-mart on McCammon Avenue in
Maryville where investigators found another "one pot" meth lab in a
backpack in a grassy area near the store's parking lot. Deputies say evidence
shows meth had been recently cooked.
Maryville resident Wilford Myers is very concerned about the increase. He
said, "It's just a disgrace to our county, you know. And putting people's
lives in jeopardy and these kids and stuff, I'm just totally against it."
Tom Farmer with the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force said the "one
pot" meth labs account for about 85 percent of the busts across the state.
He also said the "one pot" method is by far the most dangerous method
of them all because it's not a matter of "if" an explosion will occur,
but rather "when" an explosion will occur.
Authorities are expecting 2013 to be an even bigger year for meth
busts, as the state's number of busts is already in the double digits, averaging
seven meth lab busts a day.