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Looking for Your Local Meth Lab? Try a Walmart Restroom

By Casey C. Sullivan, Esq. on March 20, 2015 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Once again, a restroom at a Walmart has been converted into an impromptu meth lab, The Associated Press reports. Meth, an illegal stimulant, is often produced in so-called "clandestine chemistry" labs. As police have cracked down on home-based labs, which have a tendency to explode, artisanal meth makers have pursued more creative lab locations such as cars, backpacks, and big-box store bathrooms.

One enterprising Walter White wannabe (or just an run of the mill meth-head) combined two novel meth-making methods in Muncie, Indiana. Employees at the local Walmart discovered last Thursday that someone had been brewing meth out of a backpack stored in their restroom. Two arrests have been made.

'One Pot' Labs Lead to Mobile Meth Sites

As fans of A&E's "Breaking Bad" know, producers of meth can be quiet creative when locating their labs. In that series, meth was created out of an RV van and the basement of a commercial laundry. Both of those sites, however, were much better equipped than many mobile meth labs today. Many of these labs use a "one-pot" or "shake and bake" method of meth creation, where ingredients are mixed in a two-liter soda bottle.

It was such a "one pot" meth shop that was discovered in the Muncie Walmart's restroom. Police assume the backpack was left in the restroom with the plan to return later and retrieve the finished product.

This isn't the first time Walmart's commodes have been turned into drug labs. Similar mobile meth labs have been discovered in other Walmart restrooms in Alabama and Oklahoma.

Mobile Meth Labs Bring the Danger to You!

Producing methamphetamine is a volatile process and can often result in deadly explosions. With mobile labs, the risk is brought away from isolated meth houses and into public spaces. One of the benefits of a mobile lab, from the producers' perspective, is the ability to avoid explosions and contamination at their own homes.

After the restroom meth lab was discovered, The Indianapolis Star put together a list of some of the more surprising lab locations from the past few years. The most unusual spots included a lab on a motorcycle, a man's pants, and a retirement home.

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