Fort Lee Meth Lab 1 Of 9 Busted In NJ Since 2004

FORT LEE, NJ — One of nine meth labs recently identified in New Jersey was in Fort Lee. Methamphetamine, the powerful and highly addictive stimulant that gained fame with the hit AMC show "Breaking Bad," is an extremely serious problem in the United States.

It was the only meth lab found in Bergen County.

Even though the state has among the lowest rates of methamphetamine use and arrests in the nation, New Jersey likely had its highest jump in the drug's use ever in recent years, a report says. Federal authorities also identified which areas of the state have been most severely impacted by the drug crisis.

Read more: Dramatic Jump In Meth Use In NJ: Here's Where

The Drug Enforcement Administration, in a newly released report, said it saw a dramatic 5,657 percent increase is seizures from 2015 to 2017, jumping from 4,468 to 257,206 grams.

In September, a joint investigation with police departments in Edison, Piscataway and South Plainfield led to the arrest of four men who allegedly had methamphetamine and "date rape drugs," and were selling it out of their home on Oak Tree Road in Edison, the Middlesex County prosecutor announced. Read more: Edison Home On Oak Tree Rd. Raided: Meth, Roofies Found, Cops Say

In June, authorities uncovered two of the biggest drug busts in New Jersey in 2018, cracking drug rings that pushed massive amounts of heroin and methamphetamine in the state.

Two men were arrested for possession of more than 50 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and 9 kilograms of heroin while in Mercer County, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Read more: Also in June, two men were arrested and eight pounds of meth were seized in a drug bust outside Buffalo Wild Wings in Moorestown.

Anthony Morales, 44, of Bronx, New York, was one of two people arrested by federal authorities during an attempted drug sale outside the restaurant on Nixon Drive across from the Moorestown Mall, according to a criminal complaint provided by federal authorities. Read more: Moorestown Meth Bust Outside Buffalo Wild Wings: Cops

Meth is usually seen as a white, bitter-tasting powder or a pill. Crystal meth, meanwhile, is a form of the drug that looks like glass fragments or shiny, bluish-white rocks. Chemically, it's similar to amphetamines, a drug used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy.

Meth abusers often experience mental, social and medical problems, including memory loss, aggressive or psychotic behavior, heart damage, malnutrition and, as you're probably already aware, severe dental problems, colloquially called "meth mouth."

A 2017 survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that 5.4 percent of people 12 and older had tried meth at least once in their lifetime. That number was 3 percent for adults 18 to 25 and 6.4 percent for adults ages 26 and older.

The folks at Rehabs.com also took the data and created an interactive map so you can see the drug den nearest you.

Rehabs.com is a website developed and maintained by Recovery Brands, LLC, a subsidiary of American Addiction Centers, Inc. The addiction center provides both residential and outpatient addiction treatment services.

According to the site's analysis of DEA data, meth labs are concentrated in the American Heartland. Missouri has the most labs with 27.6 per 100,000 residents.
Here are the five states with the most meth labs per capita:

1. Missouri, 27.6
2. Arkansas, 24.7
3. Oklahoma, 23.7
4. Mississippi, 21.2
5. Indiana, 20.1

Meanwhile, states in the Northeast tend to have the least meth labs per capita. That includes Connecticut, which has the least of any at 0.06 labs per 100,000 residents. Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland rounded out the bottom five.

"Breaking Bad's" last season premiered on July 15, 2012 and concluded Sept. 29, 2013. Interestingly, 2012 and 2013 represented the two years with the highest number of net grams of meth seized between 2007 and 2016, according to Rehabs.com.

In 2012, more than 2.4 million grams were seized. A year later, that number was just over 2 million. In contrast, that number was about half in 2016 at about 1 million net grams.

The report used data from the DEA's National Clandestine Laboratory Register and Drug Seizure Database from 2007 through 2016. There were nearly 30,000. These are not all the clandestine laboratories in America, the authors noted. These are only the labs the DEA uncovered.

The authors added that they used data related to the state where the substance was obtained, as well as to the method of acquisition, drug name, net weight, potency, calendar year collected, and value of the seized meth.

"Drug production often entails some agricultural element; poppy, cocoa, or marijuana cultivation can utilize vast tracts of land," the authors wrote. "But because meth can be made using inexpensive chemicals found in over-the-counter medications, it lends itself to clandestine manufacture inside inconspicuous buildings."

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com