ST. LOUIS — Methamphetamine continues to be a plague in Missouri, with the state once again leading the nation in meth lab busts and seizures.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Missouri had 1,960 meth lab incidents in 2010. That's a 10 percent increase over 2009 and a 53 percent jump since 2007. The patrol, citing Drug Enforcement Administration statistics, says Tennessee was second, followed by Kentucky, Mississippi and Michigan.
It was the eighth straight year Missouri had led the nation. Highway Patrol Captain Tim Hull believes that is partly due to aggressive law enforcement. But he also cites a rise in so-called "shake-and-bake" meth that allows the drug to be made quickly in a 2-liter soda bottle.
