Meth Back On The Rise

MONROE and LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Law enforcement and prosecutors say meth is on the rise, again.

Sheriff Cantrell says there’s no answer for when it’s going to end, but he thinks it will take a lot to crack down on the spike.

District Attorney Scott Colom says he’s surprised at the increase he’s seen in meth cases alone, but it’s not just a problem in Lowndes and Monroe Counties.

They’re growing in number all over the country.

Monroe County Sheriff, Cecil Cantrell, says a reported drug dealer told him he was spending anywhere from $400 to $800 for a gram.

The suspect been caught with over 100 grams of Ice within six weeks.

“That man that’s in the drug business that we busted last night, when he answers his door with a shotgun, he’s got that kind of drugs, and that much money, he’s a pretty big player,” says Cantrell.

But he’s not the biggest player in the drug chain.

Colom says the big players are out of Mexico and South America.

Then, organizers and traffickers are finding affiliates here in the states to sell and buy the drug and it just trickles down from there.

“It’s difficult to get the people in the other countries and only the federal authorities can do that, but here locally, you’ve got to try and focus on the people that are organizing it and try to get as much information as you can to try to prevent the spread of it.”

He’s says trying to stop the flow is a numbers game, and right now the numbers favor the bad guys.

“I think they have so much volume now, they’ve decreased the price of it, and it’s made it more accessible to people and it’s a terrible thing because it’s a very dangerous drug and it’s very difficult to beat the addiction from it.”

Sheriff Cantrell says the decrease in price and number of meth labs are other reasons behind the pipeline’s strength.

“Most people are buying drugs that are already made because they can get it out of Mexico and Atlanta, Georgia, a lot easier than they can do it and take the risk of getting caught with a meth lab,” says Cantrell.

Cantrell believes there should be harsher penalties for people arrested for meth and more jails to help curb the problem.