Meth Lab Materials
Items that may indicate a meth lab:
- Aluminum foil
- Measuring cups
- Antifreeze containers
- Papers, notes, “recipes”
- Blenders
- Plastic storage containers
- Coffee filters (especially red/pink-stained)
- Duct tape
- Rubber tubing/gloves
- Funnels
- Thermometers
- Glassware
- Thermos bottles and propane tanks (used to steal anhydrous ammonia from larger tanks)
- Heat sources, like hotplates or microwaves
Many of these are common every day household appliances or materials. Taken in isolation they should not be a cause for alarm. Taken together, however, they point to suspicious activity or the presence of a meth lab.
Substances that may indicate a meth lab:
- Acetone
- Isopropyl or rubbing alcohol
- Alcohol/methanol (gasoline additives or denatured alcohol)
- Lye (sodium hydroxide) – drain cleaner
- Sulfuric acid (drain cleaner and auto battery acid)
- Anhydrous ammonia (farm fertilizer)
- Lithium (household batteries)
- Red phosphorous (matches, road flares)
- Camp fuel
- Salt (table salt or rock salt)
- Cold tablets (containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine)
- Cat litter
- Toluene (brake cleaner)
- Muriatic acid (brick/concrete cleaner)
- Diet aids and energy boosters
- Veterinary chemicals (iodine crystals, teat dip, MSM)
- Ether (engine starting fluid)
Source: Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Department of Justice and Montana State University Extension.
|
|
