One-Pot meth production

Cass County, Michigan Drug Enforcement Team found the remains of 188 one-pot meth labs. Popular several years ago, what is also known as "shake and bake", the method of making meth in a single container was on the wane, but is now coming back in style. It is the easiest and quite possibly most dangerous way of making meth. Using the one-pot method means that meth cooks can make meth in a single container which is generally flipped upside-down to cause the chemical reaction needed to turn several toxic ingredients into meth. This method generally produces lower quality meth and in smaller quantity, but add an extra element of danger to the process.

Meth labs of the past (referred to as garage labs) required hundreds or thousands of cold tablets, a large quantity of fuel, other household chemicals, glassware and other products and a room large enough to set up the lab. Making meth using the "one pot" method, is accomplished by pouring all the ingredients into a two-liter soda bottle, glass tube, thermos or other container.

Law enforcement officials claim the new "one pot" process is even more dangerous than the “garage labs”. When the “garage labs” caught fire, the “cooker” would simply run away. But with the one pot method, the “cooker is frequently holding the bottle when it explodes. Police in Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma and other states have linked dozens of flash fires, some of them fatal, to meth manufacturing using the “one pot” method. Some law enforcement officials are finding that the “cooker” will mix the ingredients in a container at the side of the road then leave it unattended for a couple hours. When the “cooker” returns, if the bottle has not exploded he/she will retrieve the meth and pour out the remaining chemicals in the ditch creating an environment and health hazard.

Once again, drug-enforcement teams are warning retailers about new signs to watch for -- repeated purchases of garden fertilizer or cold packs, a source for ammonia, cold tablets, and lithium batteries. And they're warning the public about the danger of discarded pop bottles that may carry residual chemicals that can be explosive and flammable.

It is recommended that individuals who encounter what appears to be a “one-pot” meth lab take all proper precautions for fire and chemical explosions, move quickly away from the container and dial 911.

See the "One Pot Meth Lab" brochure here.