Stopping Drug Use

A great deal of time, money, and resources have gone into fighting methamphetamine, from finding and destroying the dangerous make-shift labs where it is cooked up, to dramatic ad campaigns, not to mention trying to salvage the lives of millions of addicts. Teen drug abuse is corrosive in all of its manifestations, but meth addiction can wipe out a teen’s future in a matter of weeks. So it is very good news to read about the development of a new tool that will allow law enforcement to be able to detect the presence of meth by simple scans. “The Missouri Highway Patrol has been quietly testing a new scanning device that can detect the presence of meth with only the click of a button. To law enforcement, it could be the future of crime-fighting technology. To meth dealers and manufacturers, this might signal the turning point in the war against one of the country’s greatest drug scourges.”

Dectecting Drugs

Much as thermal imaging can allow authorities to detect pot growing operations, this technology will allow police to scan buildings and vehicles for the presence of meth chemicals. And wouldn’t you know it, just as the ACLU and other proponents of drug legalization fought to make such detection methods illegal, they are already preparing to go to court to make scanner detection inadmissible. “Members of Stop the Drug War, an international organization working for an end to drug prohibition worldwide, have raised concerns about the admissibility of remote detection in a court of law.” (unknown source) Even so, production and testing of the units is ongoing and police in several states plan to start using them in 2008. By Ann Walker