Homicide victim found in active meth lab
In this file photo, Birmingham police investigate an active meth lab scene where a homicide victim was found at the Connemara Parc Apartments on Clairmont Ave., Friday, Sept. 20, 2013. (Tamika Moore | tmoore@al.com)
(TAMIKA MOORE)
Which Alabama counties have the most drug labs?
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration keeps a registry of all the known locations of homes contaminated by drugs and the chemicals used to make them. The National Clandestine Laboratory Register is a listing of addresses where law enforcement agencies reported they found chemicals or other items indicating the presence of illegal drug laboratories or dump sites.
In Alabama, the top five counties with the most reported drug labs found by law enforcement agencies:
1. Jackson: 104
2. Morgan: 83
3. Marion: 58
4. Madison: 51
5. Houston: 48
Scottsboro is the municipality with the highest number of reported drug labs, at 33. Huntsville had 31, Dothan had 29, Hartselle had 28.
Search this map to find locations of drug labs as reported by the DEA.
The list covers 2004 through the present. It is not definitive and the DEA does not verify the accuracy of the reports by law enforcement officials.
NPR recently reported on a new law in Indiana - which leads the nation in meth lab seizures - that requires home sellers to disclose whether meth was ever manufactured in their homes.
The toxic chemicals used to make and smoke meth can permeate the walls, ceiling and flooring of a home, making its occupants sick and potentially leading to long-term health consequences.
In 2014, according to the DEA, Alabama had 112 of the 9,240 meth lab incidents (including labs, dump sites, and chemical and glass equipment seizures). Indiana had the most of any state, at 1,470.
Interesting fact: In 2012, 42 percent of the $1 bills from the Birmingham metro area tested by the DEA were contaminated by methamphetamine.
AL.com has reached out to the Birmingham office of the DEA to get more context on how to interpret the data from the Register. This story will be updated with those comments as they become available.