Two things make methamphetamines a very dangerous drug to our community. One is the availability of components required to make a clandestine meth lab. They are normal, household items purchased legally at any number of stores in Crossville. The other danger, as Sheriff Butch Burgess has said many times, is the terminal hold it has on users of the drug. The drug induces paranoia in heavy and long-time users which often results in their arrest.
Addicts mistakenly increase their usage in an attempt to avoid the paranoia.
Easy availability and its inexpensive production make this one of the most dangerous drugs Cumberland Countians can be exposed to, Burgess and his investigators say. And this doesn't even address the volatility of the components of a meth lab and the danger they present to firefighters and emergency responders. The woman is a former librarian at North Cumberland Elementary School who left under fire in August 1999. The first time the suspect's name was published, she was not identified as being associated with North Cumberland. The second time she was identified as the former librarian, which raised the outrage of faculty and administration at North Cumberland.