The ordinance forces landlords to make their property safe and livable at their own expense after a lab bust. Boise narcotics officer Lynn Terry said the ordinance doesn't intend to make landlords look like bad people. Instead, the law is intended to deter the activities of those who rent their property to anyone. They don't care enough about their own property to know it's a health hazard. The recent bust of an alleged meth lab on March 30 in Moscow is the 14th such operation since January in the region that includes Latah, Nez Perce, Clearwater, Lewis and Idaho counties.
Local officials agree that the problem is considerable, and growing.
Whitman County Sheriff Steve Tomson says meth is the area's number one drug threat and that the reason behind the increase of meth in the area is due to increased demand. Bill Thompson, prosecuting attorney for Latah County, has pursued three cases of meth production over the last two years. He said that in a typical meth lab case there are three main points considered. First is the circumstance of the lab, particularly whether or not it is in the vicinity of children. Second is the amount of actual methamphetamine discovered.