Sometimes a little information is more harmful than no information at all, and there are actually a few web sites that give the impression that every third house on most streets in North America is a working meth lab.  Or others will suggest that if if your neighbors always have their curtains drawn and act "suspicious," there's a good chance they're running a meth lab.

Before You Pick Up That Phone

It's beyond us what this is supposed to accomplish other than fueling unnecessary hysteria.  And we're not just talking about home-made sites posting things like this, one of the largest newspapers in the U.S. ran a story in 2005 that listed "three signs that you may be living near a meth lab" followed by a toll free number to report it to authorities.  And among one of those "signs of a meth lab" was duct tape in the garbage!  Are we really going to start tying up essential services because our neighbor has duct tape in their garbage?

There are far more than "three signs" that you're living near a meth lab, and frankly, no single factor by itself means anything.  Most importantly, if you have suspicions, don't take matters into your own hands - call the proper authorities and talk to someone with the proper training and knowledge.

If what you suspect is a meth lab is indeed a meth lab, you must realize that the people running it won't appreciate your interference.  If it really is a meth lab the people in it are likely to be highly paranoid, psychotic and capable of acting out violently.  We're not talking about complaining about a noisy dog here, this is serious business.  And if your suspicions are wrong, you're also going to make someone pretty upset, so don't jump on the phone just because you see some duct tape.

Here are a few things that would possibly get our attention, and remember, none of these things, in and of themselves necessarily mean anything.  But combined, they could mean something.

• Frequent visitors to a house at all hours of the day and night, often coming and leaving within fifteen to twenty minutes.  (long enough to make a buy)  In many cases, one person would wait in the car while another ran inside.
• You notice vehicles pulling up to the house that are really dirty, yet the license plates are clean as a whistle.  Or you notice that the locks on the car are punched out. (Both possible indicators or a stolen vehicle.)
• You notice that whenever a certain condition exists with the house, that's when cars start pulling up and people going inside. Perhaps something like a porch light being on, etc.  This might be a signal that "product" is ready.
• Sometimes it appears like there's a garage sale being conducted inside the house because people keep showing up with power tools, electronics, and other things easily converted to cash.  These might be people trading or "fencing" merchandise for meth.
• Visitors to the house park far away from the house and walk up to it when there's space to park right in front.
• There are what could be, "Meth projects" around the house.  Remember, meth addicts love to keep busy, but usually never complete anything.  So often around their house you'll find everything from lawn mowers to cars that have been taken apart and never put back together.
• Occupants of the house appear in what seem like "waves" of activity followed by a wave of inactivity.  For example, for several days straight you'll see them highly active, talkative and energetic.  Then for the next three days, they're inside sleeping around the clock.  This is typical of the meth binge/ crash/ recover cycle. 
• Occupants of the house don't seem to have jobs, and pay for everything (ie: rent) in cash.
• Occupants appear unfriendly and secretive about their residence.
• There's a lot of security around the residence.
• Windows are blackened out, covered in tin foil, or shades and curtains always drawn shut.
• Chemicals odors coming from the house or the garbage they put out.  The exact odor can vary depending on a lot of factors, but often it will smell like a hairdressing salon, cat urine, ammonia, or acetone.
• The presence of coffee filters, bed sheets or other material stained red.  (This comes from filtering red phosphorus, an ingredient in one recipe of meth making.)
• Burned or scorched areas of the lawn underneath where garbage bags are put out.  This can be an indication that the garbage bags contain corrosive chemicals or other "hot" chemicals.
• The individual puts their garbage in front of someone else's house for pickup.
• Unusual, often frenetic activity at unusual hours.  (Washing windows, or mowing the lawn late at night.)
• Empty containers of the precursor chemicals mentioned earlier in "How Meth Is Made."
• Kids and/or pets always seem unkempt, unsupervised and rarely if ever leave the house.
• There are lots of visitors to the house who are in their teens, yet the occupants of the house have no children of that age group.

Remember,
No single characteristic here means anything.  Unattended children could just mean bad parenting, and curtains always drawn could mean someone is a bit obsessive about their privacy.  Above all else, if you do suspect something, do not trespass on their property, do not touch or handle anything suspicious and realize the responsibility you're taking on if you do call the proper authorities.

The above information is from All Positive Options.com, a rich resource of the most up-to-date, accurate, and relevant information about addiction and recovery and a very informative site, from this page on methamphetamine.