Just an observation from a concerned citizen: On a recent, 2 a.m. trip to a local 24-hour hypermarket store, I was quite surprised to notice the contents of the shopping cart of the patron in front of me. Normally the contents of another’s cart would be none of my business, but I couldn’t help but notice that the basket was laden with most chemicals commonly used in the production of the local drug of choice — methamphetamine.

This shopper was not even concerned that suspicion might arise as he loaded the belt with multiple cases of fuel line de-icing agent and gallons of hydrogen peroxide and many other unnamed chemicals for questionable intended use. The purchase of any one of these products is not heavily regulated, except an 18-year-old age restriction on some of these products. No single product from his purchase would lead to suspicion.

The combination of items, however, should have attracted some attention, save for the bag of potato chips. This attention never came, though, as the man nonchalantly paid and exited the store with his purchases.

Our efforts to fight meth seem inconsequential if we are unable to control its production and potential distribution. The point must be noted, however, that the shopper was fully within the law, as no purchases were illegal, just the suspected intended use of the products.

I do not support the regulation of products that could be used for illicit purposes, as each have their primary use outside of drug production. Society should not be punished for the unwise actions of a few. I do not propose to have the answer to this issue, but merely offer an observation of the circumvention of the law. I guess that his shopping trip brings a whole new meaning to picking up everything and a bag of chips.

ALEX WEST
Palisade

This entry was posted on Monday, March 31st, 2008 at 11:33 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.