Emergency Response To Clandestine Drug Labs

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Emergency Response to Clandestine Drug Labs Alex Rivera Columbia Southern University Introduction A clandestine drug lab has been defined as any laboratory that manufactures illegal, controlled drugs or substances (Michael, 2008). These labs have been found in single-and multiple-family dwellings, motel rooms, campgrounds and woods, mini-storage buildings, and motor vehicles, among other places. Multiple substances can be manufactured in a clandestine drug lab to include ecstasy, methcathinone, cannabis oil, ‘crack’ cocaine, pethidine and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB, or fantasy). Intelligence also suggests that dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is now produced in this country. There is potential for LSD, phencyclidine (PCP) and methqualone (mandrax). The most prominent of all the drugs produced in clandestine drug labs is methamphetamine (meth) or “speed” as it is commonly known as. In this paper, I will discuss the history of clandestine drug labs, describe the types of labs and the hazards associated as well as how firefighters can best approach and mitigate an emergency involving a drug lab. History of Clandestine Drug Labs Clandestine labs have manufactured illicit drugs since at least the 1960s, but the problem has become much more widespread in the past 10 years or so, largely because of the growing popularity of methamphetamine. Methamphetamine has become so popular is that it is now simpler to produce: detailed instructions for doing so are readily accessible on the Internet, and new manufacturing methods allow production from an assortment of reasonably easy-to-acquire chemicals (Scott, 2002). Consequently, an increasing number of people have set up labs to produce methamphetamine for their own use. Because methamphetamine is very addictive, more people will experiment with it thus becoming more dependent on it . Because
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