Tainted Meth Has At Least 12 Hospitalized
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Not that there's really such a thing as good methamphetamine, but there's a warning about some extra bad stuff making its way around the Twin Cities.
It comes after at least a dozen people ended up in the hospital over the past few days after taking it. Ramsey County deputies said that usually only about one person a day ends up at the emergency room here because of drug use.
So they knew something was really wrong when at least 12 people showed up within 24 hours late last week, who were all very sick after doing methamphetamine.
Officials with the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office said they've never seen anything like this before. They think the bad meth is likely coming from Mexico. People who have gone to the emergency room after taking the tainted meth have had high fevers, high anxiety and extreme hallucinations. Deputies say one woman even jumped off the second floor of a building thinking she could fly.
"The fear for the public safety of people if you've all of a sudden, one of your loved ones is taking some meth and going to be combative and weird in your house, you have to be aware that this may be the problem and call for medical help. That's what we're there for," said Randy Gustafson with the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office wants to stress their concern isn't about arresting people who end up at the hospital after taking the bad meth. They just want to make sure people are getting the treatment they need.
They do not know what's causing the users to get so sick, but deputies were able to get a sample of the meth from one of the users. They'll be testing it to see exactly what's in it, but results are expected to take some time.
