Vehicle stop for traffic offense results in meth-related arrest

" look I have recently had my own dealing with our so called law system I'm a good person I have a wonderful family and a good life ahead of me and unfortunately got wrapped up in our so called law system which I have no faith in at all. I had gone to wal mart to get a prescription filled mind this was not a narcotic or by my doctors opinion not a narcotic. and my prescription had been marked on and now my wonderful life has been turned upside down because of a mistake on someone's plate I dont know what happened with my prescription but I cant get anyone to believe me on this it has been a nightmare so my comment on the matter above is if there is a drug problem then instead of making a mess of someone's life why not be compassionate and try to help not hurt them. our system has became so awful that innocent people are suffering and nothing gets done about it. you know we run around everyday thinking it cant happen to me and then it does trust me I have been there and I'm still there. so my advice to anyone make sure you check your prescriptions before you take them in to be filled find out as much information about what you are taking and dont go by what your dr. says because they dont know everything. "

" be honest illustrates the problem as it hits home in our own backyard. Someone else is to blame, conspiracy theories running rampant, and judging by syntax, grammar, and punctuation, the need to bolster education. That last tidbit, by the way, does not, let me repeat, DOES NOT NECESSARILY EQUATE TO DOLLARS SPENT! You can pound all of the money in the world down a rat hole, but it will not remedy a situation, be it drug abuse or the problems with education. At some point, as be honest is so quick to point out, government cannot, will not, and should not be the solution to what ails us. For those such as "be honest" who rail against authority, I would say, if you think that big brother is out to get you, maybe you're right. But "be honest" when you turn to them to remedy any shortcomings of folks who make bad choices and display no sense of discipline. I am so sick of the mentality of blaming everyone else...mom who didn't hug me, dad who was not there, the cops who arrest us for breaking the law, the "government" for whatever we can lay on that doorstep. For God's sake, let's all take some responsibilty for our own actions! The moment we do, Oprah, Jerry Springer, Dr. Phil, etal will be looking for a new job. "

"
The thing that makes all this most out rages and an immoral act against some members of our society . Police, judges lawyers ,legislators and politicians .Who act so above all these people they are condemning and robbing of their money families and freedom ,rights not to mention making half the country felons which will adversely affect their ability to get jobs later in life .Have done at some time or even are currently doing the same thing . If they aren't currently doing it most have a kid , brother or family member that is .You never heard so much objection until some one brings up drug testing them . Like they have made legitimate for the rest of us .That's completely out of the question and unconstitutional .The FBI now hires people that have used drugs . What qualifications have a bunch of politicians got deciding what drugs a doctor should be able to prescribe ,or the amounts he gives to a patient .Or what drugs anyone else can take for that matter .Doctors have to be afraid to give their patients to many or to strong a drugs with out being charged by the government . That is a crime .Or when someone is terminally ill and cant take anything that eases their condition without being arrested .That is a crime . Its not about public safety like our government would like us to believe . Its about money and stealing . They don't mention when they imprison nonviolent people they make a fortune off them doing slave labor .They tell about the cost of imprisoning people .But you don't hear anything about the off set . I know 3 people in federal prison .1 builds boats for some company 1 builds office furniture for a company and 1 makes things for the defense department . While they get paid a couple dollars a day the prison gets full wages for their work . Lok at the amount of products the department of defense purchased from the department of corrections a year .Private companies cant compete for the contracts as they don't have slaves to do their work .Its all a smoke screen fed to the public for government profit "

" sbob,
Are you telling us that you sold drugs to a doctor, a lawyer, a police officer, a judge and a priest in Keokuk, IA?


sbob wrote on Feb 11, 2008 3:39 PM:

" well look around! the doctor,lawyer,police officer,judge and yes priest.All so called great members of society by refrence to there occupations.but wow look again.and remember this.ive sold drugs for years.not bragging or saying its right but i've sold to a doctor,lawyer,police officer,judge and yes a priest.but theyre all good people right.maybe it's easier to point fingers at the lower class.then also remember Keokuk is mostly lower income.im not saying drugs are good "

" Maybe if they had activities to do for the kids around here maybe they would not be leaning toward drugs and trying to make money for there family. I am sure if this city used some of its money for programs or activities geared for the young adults to high school age kids maybe they would graduate and stop dropping out and having babies. Do they even have a planned parenthood here? If they do maybe the should get some more money in the ad department and do some work. "

" REPLYING to the Boo........boogeyman strikes again coments.
Mr Matous is soley responsible for himself. I know the Matous family personally and I can reasure you they are good and descent people. I do agree with what you say about using the money to treat the addicton rather than blowing the money of taxpayers to throw someone behind bars only to be let out again without being treated to repeat the addiction. PEOPLE who have murdered get less time than a drug addict or a drug dealer. Whats wrong with this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our legal system is also a BIG problem ! I know its corrupt,Wasnt there a local lawyer a few years ago whos name I will not mention, who was caught in a cocaine scandal only to be gone awhile and return only to practice again like nothing ever happened? IT REALLY UPSETS me that it was all swept under the rug like nothing ever happened and he gets away with what he puts others away for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "

" Is it any wonder why Keokuk has the worst graduation rate in the state.

I rest my case!!!!! "

" Wow! A lot of comments, a lot of differing views. Safe to say, despite how one falls on the spectrum, we can agree there is a problem. At the moment, my biggest concern, aside from cost, prosecution, crime problem vs health problem, criminal vs patient, is directed specifically towards meth. I firmly believe that one should be able to spell chemistry before they try their hand at it. "

" An example of what the drug war has done to our civil rights and justice system can be seen .In the news regarding the justice system in Ohio just released . A police confidential informant lied and 13 innocent people were convicted on drug charges and have been in prison a year .Some were innocent and pled guilty to avoid longer sentences .200 inocent people to be executed on death row were freed by DNA tests .The only thing rare about these cases is that its rare the truth comes out by authorities .Our justice system was designed with the belief .Its better that 10 guilty people go free than one innocent person convicted and suffer .Can anyone say there is justice in the courts for the people .When the state can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that innocent people are guilty. Who takes responsibility for the innocent people murdered in the name of the law before DNA . Or the innocent people imprisoned by courts where a defendant has little or no chance with public defenders ,prosecutors and police and judges, salaries paid by the state and are biased to government. Reasonable doubt today is any possible doubt .Judges and juries in our justice system were meant to protect the people from government ..Thats why judges were granted the title of honor .They have not only failed but also kept juries from protecting the people and controlling government .Jurors trust the courts and are not told their rights and duties as jurors , To transfer controll of our lives from the people to government ..People chosen for jury duty should cotact The American Jury Institute or The Fully Informed Jury Service nonprofit organizations providing free information to jurors for public education. Our courts are not called courts of justice ,but courts of law .There is a reason for that .There is no justice "

" Why is it that people think drug sellers are poor people, they make more money than lawyers, doctors, etc; and as for the kids from a broken home theory......Puuuuuuuuulease, many kids come from broken homes and dont abuse kids, kill or abuse drugs. However, children that grow up with parents that abuse alcohol and drugs....usually will do one or the other, if not both. Don't be so surprised when your child is busted after seeing you do it all of their lives. Kids learn what they live. And does the Law enforcement agencies really want to stop drug abuse? Look how much revenue they take in for the drug tax laws and the homes, and belongings they confiscate and sell when a bust is made. This is a monopoly and they dont want it to end. "

" Uh, Drugs are Bad, mmmmmkay. "

" just go on the internet. Type in "Adderall" a drug used to treat kids with ADHD. Look at the chemical name. Type (or cut and paste) in the chemical name. You will see that a kid's drug is actually an amphetamine similar to methamphetamine which has been around for a long time and used for a variety of legitimate medical and psychological conditions. Wow what have I been giving my kid...(with a doctor's blessing)?

I just read in the paper where someone was arrested for growing some pot plants. Is pot use a recent phenomenon or has it been around for a long time? Hmmmmm from what I have read on the net, many many people have grown and used marijuana for many many centuries. They dug up some old mongol king from 3000 years ago and found guess what buried beside him??? Wow, and I thought our nation and time was seeing the worst of it but that doesn't seem to be so. Try finding some statistics on number of marijuana related deaths in the USA ( I like the Drug Abuse Warning Network aka. DAWN) for 2006...good luck. Now try the same with alcohol...wow what a difference!. Just for laughs, look up tobacco related deaths....bummer.

Did I read that Heath Ledger died from drug use? What illegal drug killed him? Was it the insidious meth which we all know is the devil's dandruff? Or that horrile hell wee marijuana? Type in "Heath Ledger overdose" and google it. Hey... he died from legal drugs

I wonder if alot of the "knowledge" we have about drugs is based upon scare tactics and misinformation. I'll do some more internet research and get back to you on that one. Right now I got to go to work to pay taxes, a large chunk of which goes for paying for the war on drugs and the war on Iraq...bioth of which may be based upon government misinfomration and scare tactics.


"

" well look around! the doctor,lawyer,police officer,judge and yes priest.All so called great members of society by refrence to there occupations.but wow look again.and remember this.ive sold drugs for years.not bragging or saying its right but i've sold to a doctor,lawyer,police officer,judge and yes a priest.but theyre all good people right.maybe it's easier to point fingers at the lower class.then also remember Keokuk is mostly lower income.im not saying drugs are good but make the punishment fit the crime.and in my book your finger pointing bigot are illegal and should do the time. "

" by the wide range of comments found here. In my opinion, this is the purpose for which the internet was designed--the free exchange of ideas ---some of which might not be popular. I was very happy to see few, if any, personal attcks.

I agree with those that say that the "war on drugs" has gone on too long and cost too much. That doesn't mean I think we should legalize all drugs but we can rethink our enforcement-heavy approach and return some common sense to our drugs laws. Maybe our priorities should be elsewhere...like education, and children's health insurance. This may mean that police departments don't get all the funding they THINK they need...oh well.

"

" Its obvious what the problem is .It seems a steady stream of 2 to 4 people each week arrested for drugs .All these people who dont work and survive on robbery and stealing .With an average amount of thefts reported at maybe $100 a week .For all those people to survive on so little obiviously they must be eating pretty slim .They should have just
turned sideways when the police pulled up they would have to be so skinny you would probably never see them
If you ask 99 percent of Americans what made this country the greatest nation on earth .They will say freedom and liberty for the people . You can see what what corruption and taking freedom and liberty from the people the last 30 years .Has done to the condition of our country.We went from the freest country to the most imprisoned country. 30 years ago a family could be supported by one member working . Today 2 family members working cant pay the bills and make their house payments .30 years ago people from all countries wanted to come here and be Americans .Now people from most countries would like to come here and destroy it
"

" Pathetic: Your comments are a perfect illustration of what's wrong with drug policy. It's the exact same approach that's been used for the last seventy years with the exact same results. We have more drug users than ever before. Has it ever occurred to you people that seventy years of failed policy haven't done a thing and maybe it's time for a new approach. I was thinking more along the lines of treating drug problems as a medical problem rather than a criminal problem but since you mentioned legalization let's talk about that. If drugs were legal and sold for their true price drug dealers would be out of business tomorrow and most drug crime would be gone as well. Sure some of them will OD and die but remember that most of those folks won't live to old age anyway. Our present policy is only prolonging their misery and our expense. Treating the rest as a medical problem will probably enable us to rescue those that can be rescued (most) BEFORE they become criminals.

"

" wow....the ignorance of a sheltered society is really shining in some of these comments.....sympathy for the drug users that put themselves in the position they are in....you know what? you guys are right, legalize all drugs and let people do whatever they want, until they break into your house to steal your prescription meds or other things to pawn.....these people get treated exactly how they deserve...actually, probably better......until you deal with individuals like this on a daily basis, maybe you should just keep your mouths shut.....i can't believe the ingnorance exuded in this thread from some of these individuals.... "

" To -that argument is to be used for weed not meth and heroin . I have seen people with kids who don't do drugs that live in such filth and trash that it would be a health hazard .You point out a theory by neighbors about the kids .I think we all know how neighborhood theories and gossip and play into things .It seems that living next to them most of your life hasn't destroyed your life .Why were you awake every night for months .They are the ones doing the meth. In your opinion it should a crime if someones house isn't furnished in the traditional way .It should also be a crime if some one has visitors or doesn't keep the same hours as you do or think they should .There is no doubt some people are not what we would consider proper parents or their living conditions healthy .We don't know the difference if any would be with out the meth . An individual has the right to freedom of choice . Obviously these neighbors did not violate your rights or the people around them . Or they would have been arrested . Therories speculation and imagination are not evidence
Our founders on the constitution
"It is a singular anxiety which some people have that we should all think alike. Would the world be more beautiful were all our faces alike? were our tempers, our talents, our tastes, our forms, our wishes, aversions and pursuits cast exactly in the same mould? If no varieties existed in the animal, vegetable or mineral creation, but all moved strictly uniform, catholic and orthodox, what a world of physical and moral monotony would it be!" --Thomas Jefferson to Charles Thomson, 1817. FE 10:76 "I tolerate with the utmost latitude the right of others to differ from me in opinion without imputing to them criminality." --Thomas Jefferson to Abigail Adams, 1804. ME 11:52
No ones saying drug addiction is good . But not every one who does drugs is an addict . In a free society.A person has a constitutional right to do as they please as long as they don't infringe on the rights of others .No one including government has any authority to criminalize freedom and liberty .Any more than if I said no one can read books anymore because they should learn from experience .As people who right books can lie and the person be misinformed . It is forcing your opinions on others or making them criminals .Violations of the oath to defend the constitution by legislators and judges .The sworn oath is now just words of ritual .They have no meaning and to be ignored .This the constitution says is a crime



"

" If the Wor on Drugs cannt be waged with Bill of RIghts intact the problem is not with the Bill of Rights it is with the war on drugs "

" So I actually do not understand why people think poorly of drug users. I really cannot get this through my head. Perhaps someone can enlighten me.

Let's say some kid is born into an abusive family and when he is 13-14 someone offers him some crack. He hasn't had an upbringing which warns him of the dangers so he tries it. He gets addicted (because crack is very addictive) and continues into his 20s. Because he spent all his time in highschool doing crack instead of studying he doesn't have any skills. Therefore he has to steal to get his food and his fix.

To those who have referred to drug users in derogatory terms such as "crackhead," "crankster," etc. Where do you think drug abusers come from? Do you actually think they are evil? Are they demons? Are they the devil?

If they are anything like the theoretical child from a broken family above, what then? Are they still worthy of social/ethical condemnation?

There are two "bad" tendencies here:

First, there is the tendency to conflate "law enforcement" with "morality enforcement." Morality is a difficult subject which I would guess probably 0.0001% of the population has come to terms with/fully understands. It's not as simple as "what I think is right is right, what I think is wrong is wrong." No, in all likelihood, your viewpoint is horribly, HORRIBLY naive. In all likelihood you have very little experience. Please just calm down and stop pointing fingers.

Second, there is a tendency to demonize (as I noted above). There are many problems with this. First, it drops the context - a context which is important in evaluating a person's life. Second, it is generally sexist, racist, and agist - we condemn men who are 30+ years old much more easily than other groups of people. Finally, it alleviates the demonizer from actually thinking about the problem systematically. Let's say that you want to fix the problem of drug abuse (as I do as well). Here are some questions you should probably ask:

1.) What is the psychology of abuse?
2.) What environmental factors can lead to abuse?
3.) Why do individual drug abusers abuse?

None of these questions seem appropriate if we demonize drug users. They are simply "crackheads." Forget the context, forget the environment, forget any hope of loving them, helping them, or understanding him. Crackheads. Demons. Boogeymen. All of these are simply methods for simplifying the world so that we can understand it. Sometimes it's better just to admit "I don't know" or "I don't understand." "

" I used to live across the street from a meth user and seller...no job, no class, no manners, no sense of decency...This person ruined a good neighborhood, caused everyone else on the street to watch their backs, had traffic coming and going 24/7 and God forbid if we said something to the creep he told us he was doing nothing wrong....The addict finally got arrested and served some time but I still read an arrest report about every 2 months about this lowlife...

The point is that the stuff is illegal and they know it...If you want to defend the drug abusers or condemn the police for doing their job, feel free, but until you've got to deal with this sort of person screwing up your life on a daily basis you honestly don't have a clue what you are up against....

Legalize meth ???...What a joke...Drug diversion program ???...What do you propose, alcohol treatments ???..haha...

Take responsibilty for your actions, get a job, learn to live a life where putting powder up your nose or in your veins is not top priority... "

" First comment takes it, too many of the sheeple commenting here are still doing the same old song and dance, relying on the politicians to point them in the wrong direction. You know that one of the arguments actually SPOKEN on the floors of Congress against marijuana when it was initially prohibited was that it made blacks feel EQUAL to whites! Seriously.....and we still enforce this law, among many other completely ignorant reasons. Wake up America! "

" I have to wonder how such lowly members of society who cant even talk or funtion and make millions of dollars robbing and stealing to live .Could possibly have any influence over the children of such self righteous ethically ,morrally and socially correct parents as some of these people .I think that says something about the parents if the children are going to choose these people as a role model over their parents . It also makes me wonder if they have to worry about their children influenced and being like that .If their kids take drugs Will they feel their children are worthless thieves and should be locked in prison and throw away the key too
"

" Hmm - the cranksters will do anything - lock them up - hang them ....

Pretty tough rhetoric. Why will "they do anything?" Perhaps it is because they are attempting to live two lives - a lawful appearing front and a substance using reality. Perchance the social problems with substance use arise from the criminal status of the act?

I remember well the Betty Ford story - her addiction to prescription medications did not make her a criminal (or, Rush Limbaugh) - she became a "force for good" with her rehab clinic. The President's wife was an addict. No crimes committed because she obtained her substances through "legal" channels - albeit that she was Dr. shopping and filling scripts at different pharmacies to cover up the degree of her usage....

Let's turn to the "narcotics task-force" - yet another highly funded aspect of the police power inherent in government. Indeed, with forfeiture laws on the books, these agencies can bring in cash as opposed to just about every other government agency (save the taxing authorities). Why would the police ever admit failure when it would cut the budget?

We have been in a "drug war" ever since Harry J. Anslinger started the war in 1930. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_J._Anslinger

After 78 years, and millions of lives and billions of dollars later, isn't it time to admit that substance use/abuse is a public health issue? Isn't it time to hand the problem over to the physicians and demobilize the troops in the drug war? "

" I couldnt help noticing the logic in comments for and against . Candy thinks these people who cant coplete a logical sentence or have the ability to function normally. .But have millions of dollars to make and buy drugs with out a job. From all the people arested for drugs it would seem there would be a lot more armed robberies and crime in the area to support all these people . Why arent these people ever caught commiting any other crimes but drugs if thats what they all do . Would these statements seem logical or exaggerated .She speaks of tax payers cleaning up these messes .A van last week in FtMadison police sent to StLouis for a hazzardous waste team to come clean it up .How can a vehicle with 3 people inside it with no breathing apparatus or special clothing be so dangerous that it takes these extremes to deal with it .When you can buy the things to make it at a hardware store and pour it down a drain if used for anything else .Would this seem logical or exaggerated .She feels its tarnishing police reputations to speak out the truth .I feel they tarnish their reputations by exaggerating the truth. Terries comment sounds like one of Candies patients .I think Donna is
misinformed in regards to punishments . Obop Calls them terrorists and again referes to the robberies and violent crimes
they are commiting .I blieve the average for violent crimes a year in Lee County is 15 or less .I have to agree with
Cowbot. The constitution states it is the supreme law of the land .Judges in every state bound to defend it.Anything to the contrary not withstanding .These things violate the constitution by judges and all the principles it stands for "

" Until you've lived next to a meth lab, you have no idea what it is like. The house which I had lived next to for most of my life was named the "syringe house" by the local media. They really liked that washing machine that was about half-full of used syringes.

The only charges that the meth lab in my little story recieved was for neglect of their 5 children. Their bedrooms were full of auto parts (mufflers, quarter panels, master cylinder, etc).The leading theory among the neighbors about the children was that they had inhaled so much toxic fumes from the manufacturing process of meth for so long that they were in effect, mentally disabled. Maybe if they put daddy into rehab that will make everything better! Oh wait, that's what they gave him...1 year in a minimum security "rehabilitation facility". Yeah, he's clean now, but his 5 kids are absolutely worthless to society and will always be. In case you don't understand the numbers...1 life "saved", 5 lives that probably won't overcome their beginnings.

Get to know some of these poor vicitims of the system by living next to them. I'm assuming you still live in a college dorm if not your parent's basement. Try moving into a nice blue collar neighborhood with some rental property. Eventually a meth lab will move in next door and you too will know the madness of months of sleepless nights. They ruin the lives of everyone around them and deserve punishment. They usually end up getting less than they deserve actually.






"

" amazing response, well said and absolutely true. "

" QQ more, they shouldn't even be doing meth in the first place. "

" To the first commenter: Well said! It seems that it's become all too rare to encounter a voice of reason these days. "

" everyone is busy playing devil's advocate, is the one who takes the white sheet off the boogeyman god's advocate? "

" Regarding the above, comment:
Hear hear.
I'm a guard at a corrections facility here in Iowa and have been over ten years. We aren't doing a damned thing with these people that society couldn't do much better. These people are sick and sick people do sick things. But it's funny, I've seen sick people get better. It just takes a level of professional care that we haven't the guts to invest in. Not yet. Take a look at how Norway deals with drug addicts.
"

" Terrible article but great comment. Go Boo! "

" innocent until proven guilty? Then why do you post his name, age, and address? You are violating this man's privacy. Want to know why people don't buy newspapers anymore? Because we find things like this offensive- journalistic integrity is a sick joke. We use the internet now and don't have to put up with crap we don't like. "

" oh, and always carry your drugs on your body. even when you are stopped and busted, they can't impound and keep the car. "

" exactly how much did he have? if only there was some WEIGH to measure the WEIGHT of the meth.

and the knife? are we talking about a swiss army or a Dundee Hunting knife? "

" The guy was charged with "conspiracy to manufacture less than 5 grams of meth".

So he wasn't actually caught with any meth -- they just think he "might make meth". If he hasn't made any meth yet, how would they know how much he was "conspiring" to make? They probably just found some over the counter cold or allergy medicine on him, since they won't say what the alleged items indicating the manufacture of meth are, but they will say he had a knife.

Since they say you can make meth from cold medicine or allergy pills, I am sure a bottle of the stuff would make a tiny amount -- maybe the .01 grams in the comment above. That would be less than 5 grams. I googled 5 grams and found that 5 grams is exactly what a new nickel weighs. Boogeyman indeed.

So they charged him with a felony drug charge because they think that he *might* have been *planning* to make an amount of meth weighing less than a nickel. And the evidence for this is less worth reporting than the fact that he had a random unspecified knife, possibly like the pocket knife I sometimes have in the car to cut up fruit if I am hungry. "

" Hang him from the tree in the village square to send a message to other cranksters.

They are a vile foul bunch who can terrorize a town with their anti-social actions.

Crank users commit so many crimes. From theft to robbery to whatever.

Parasites that should be permanently removed. "

" Lets do away with drug prohibition entirely. Ninety percent of the harms associated with drug use are in actuality a result of drug prohibition, as any serious reading of the subject will show.

But lets also reflect on the philosophical and moral lesson of the drug war. It contradicts fundamental tenets of the United States, and of the natural rights of man. You have a natural right to self-ownership. You own your body, and are free to do with it what you will. You have a natural right to property ownership and are free to do with it what you will. You have the right to enter voluntary agreements with your fellow man, such as free trade and interaction. Unless you infringe upon the rights of others - unless you commit theft or fraud or injury - the state has no legitimate business spying on you, interfering with your transactions, or regulating what you can eat, drink or smoke.

Drug prohibition, regulation, and the drug war a-priori deny these fundamental rights to the citizens. They enslave the populace. They tell you that you do NOT have self ownership. They tell you that you do NOT have the right to own certain property. They tell you that you may NOT engage in voluntary transactions unless specifically permitted by the state. They are an anathema. They are corrosive to liberty, prosperity, and the very geneology of societies moral fabric. "

" you know all i see and here is the police and task force arresting people for meth related things. but when they go to court you get a month in jail and your out again. or you don't even make tojail. what is the problem here? you kaap arresting people for this and nothing is done about it. wasting alot of tax payers money here. also how many times can you arrest the same person overe and over. if you gave them a stiff sentence in the first place maybe they would't do it again. "

" Actually, he did not have any meth at all on him. He was not charged with possession, which they would have done if they found meth. They charged him with "conspiracy to manufacture less than five grams", which is a bogus charge. It means "you got a tattoo and look poor, I bet you is thinking a making some of that meth".

Another tell-tale is "found items that indicated the manufacture of and/or use of methamphetamine". Have you seen the list? Just about anyone can be charged with this one.

Here's what that includes:
- a pack of matches
- a box of cold medicine
- a jar of starter fluid
- a roll of duct tape

You might also like to know what "an investigation by the task force into allegations Matous was involved in the manufacture of methamphetamine". Almost all the time, these investigations are started because you bought more than a couple boxes of cold medicine in a 6 month period. You didn't think they were making you show id for some other reason did you? "

" The first commenter has it exactly right. I could not have put it better myself. End the war on drugs.
"

" You are really quick to tarnish the reputations of our law enforcement who are simply doing their jobs. At least they have jobs unlike most drug users or dealers. So in line with your ways of thinking. With all the millions of wasted dollars spent on manufacturing an illegal drug, millions of dollars wasted on purchasing illegal drugs, wouldn't that money be better spent on schools, housing, health care etc? Isn't that a worse waste of money and brain cells than anything else? I work in the health care field, I personally see the results daily of the "myth of drug use". People who can't function normally in life. Or be productive citizens. People who can't complete a logical sentence let alone a logical thought. Then they spew their venom on innocent children and teens so that they can ruin their lives too. Then it's up to all of the tax paying productive citizens to pay the financial costs of cleaning up their messes. To create more programs and provide mental health care for their poor choices in life. Mr. Matous and others like him make the bad choice to do this illegal act and he should pay the price. It's not like he didn't know it's illegal. If you do the crime , pay the time. "

" sounds like a crackhead suporting his fellow crackhead to me!

police 1....crackheads 0.... "

" I have to agree on the spending. That sounds like a waste of our tax dollars. I know Matous from teenage years and i will be blunt with everyone, there is nothing you can do for people like him but lock them up. This isnt his first time around with meth. I know many people who are just like him and they will do anything and i mean anything to get what they want. I have a toddler and i cant think of anything better than to keep him locked up for a while away from my daughter and any other innocent people that he could harm. If you knew people like this guy you wouldnt be bitching about the spending. "

" hmmmm....Under 5 grams which could be .01 gram to .499 grams. Pretty small amount...IIn the worse case scenario, ts still about 2 years in prison a gram. So add up the total LOSS to society (40,000 a year per inmate for 10 years=400,000 plus trial, medical care, public defender, jail services, court services, police services...it probably adds up to a half million dollar waste of tax payer funds). What a waste, I guarantee you that no one in this world would have ever spent half a million on Mr Matous or his family to HELP them yet we'll spend like crazy to condemn them.

A knife...BOO... there's the meth boogeyman again. Of course it could have been completely legal to have the knife since I didn't see where they had charged hm with a weapons offense. The police are trying to scare you. Maybe it was a pocketknife (i carry one of those) or a kitchen knife. BOO...do they report on everyone they arrest and the contents of their pockets....?

How about a drug dversion program for Mr Matous? Maybe we could spend some cash and help the Matous family rather than throw them away. Ths meth thng is out of control and I don't mean its use or manufacture, as bad as it may be. Let's stop the punitive enforcement of draconian laws concerning drugs. Let's recall law enforcement's reckless pursuit of drug offenses and replace them with a more measured response. Let's make sure that police administators quit perpetuating myths and misconceptons. We always hear about the social costs of meth....lets hear about the costs of meth related law enforcement in terms of money, time and lives. Maybe those resources could be better spent elsewhere (schools, housing, heath care). "