It’s a dubious distinction. Missouri has been given the moniker “The Meth Capital of America.”
It’s a start, but even if this key ingredient in making meth does become harder to get, those in the meth-making business have proven they’ll be creative in finding new ways to get their hands on pseudoephedrine.

Just last month, a man was sentenced to 12 years in state prison after pleading guilty to possession of controlled substances and resisting arrest. That’s not surprising in a state where meth is so widespread. It also wasn’t surprising that a search of his apartment yielded controlled substances and equipment used to manufacture methamphetamine.

What WAS surprising is that police found that the man they arrested had been using a mentally challenged man in his care to purchase pseudoephedrine to make meth in exchange for providing him soda.

Legislation similar to that being proposed in Missouri is already in place in Oregon and Mississippi. As a result, those states have seen their meth-related arrests drop dramatically.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports across Missouri methamphetamine laboratory incident seizures totaled 1,960 during 2010, a 10 percent increase from 2009, and a 53 percent increase from 2007, when 1,285 methamphetamine laboratory incident seizures occurred in the state.
In 2011, the numbers across the state are up, and in rural counties they appear to be climbing at an alarming rate. A statewide map, showing meth incidents is available here.

Missouri saw a drop in the number of meth lab seizures in 2006, after anti-meth lab legislation was enacted.  However, from 2007 to 2010, the number of meth lab incidents in Missouri has steadily increased. This rise can be attributed to meth manufacturers circumventing laws that restrict the legal limit purchase of pseudoephedrine.

Pseudoephedrine is the key ingredient used to make meth. It is also the only ingredient that cannot be substituted in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

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