RALEIGH (AP) — North Carolina’s attorney general says officers busted a record number of meth labs in 2012 as labs where a small amount of drug is made became more popular.
Attorney General Roy Cooper said Tuesday that SBI agents busted 460 meth labs in 2012 compared to 344 in 2011. More than 70 percent of those operations busted were one-pot labs, where something as small as a plastic soda bottle can be used to cook meth.
The key ingredient in meth is pseudoephedrine, also found in some cold medicines. Cooper said a new electronic system tracks purchases of drugs with that ingredient and helps block illegal sales.
A legislative committee recommended last month that lawmakers consider a law requiring a prescription for cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine.