Prohibition's failure was demonstrated in Country Squire Lakes early Thursday morning, when county prohibition agents conducting an investigation discovered an illicit methamphetamine lab, according to WCSI Local News. Authorities believe the lab indicates widespread use of meth in Jennings County, despite decades of enforcement efforts attempting to root out the drug.
Prior to meth's banning, the drug was manufactured legally and generally without incident by pharmaceutical houses, which continue to supply meth and similar drugs like Ritalin for the prescription market. Since the enactment of National Prohibition, however, underground labs like the one found in Country Squire Lakes have proliferated around the country, their operators using the same formulae for meth cooking that pharmaceutical houses might use, but without the safety and environmental standards.
Crackdowns on meth labs have tended to spark increased meth trafficking to supply the demand, while anti-trafficking campaigns have in turn led to more meth labs. Some prohibition enforcement officials have found trafficking to be associated with the rise in use of crystal meth, a more potent form of the drug.
Two suspects aged 36 and 29 were taken into custody for the prohibition violations, according to WCSI. Their former customers, whose identities are unknown, are now believed to be doing business with other meth suppliers -- their identities also unknown.
underground meth lab -- a product of prohibition
