Undercover Meth Investigation Puts 13 People Behind Bars
Several Law Enforcement Agencies staged early morning meth raids across the Panhandle and southern Alabama overnight, the culmination of 9-months worth of undercover work.
Walton County Sheriff's Officials hosted a news conference to talk about the success of "Operation Valley View".
The collaboration between agencies in Walton county, Holmes county and Geneva county, Alabama, resulted in charges against 13-people.
Walton County Sheriff Mike Adkinson says this operation could not have come at a more crucial time.
?It's been an unbelievable problem in Walton county and the surrounding area. Walton county is unfortunately one the leading counties in the state of Florida for the seizure of methamphetamine labs. Being in the top five for seizure and meth labs is a dubious distinction. However, I think it tells the people in this community and the surrounding area that we are doing everything we can to put a boot in it? Adkinson says.
Eight people were arrested during the overnight raids.
They're all facing a variety of drug charges.
Five people were already arrested, but authorities say they will face new charges as a result of this operation.
Two suspects, 55-year-old Billy Ray Blane and Chrissy Nicole Carroll are still at-large.
investigators say they consider Blane to be one of the main players in 'Operation Valley View'.
If you have any information about Blane or Carroll call Walton County Crimestoppers at 1-866-718-tips.
Replies
25Banned
How will this effect the local Seaside drug dealers? Will we be forced to purchase our recreational drugs from the gangs in Rosemary Beach?
Beach Fanatic
How will this effect the local Seaside drug dealers? Will we be forced to purchase our recreational drugs from the gangs in Rosemary Beach?
Walmart is coming, I'm sure they'll be cheaper there.
Banned
Walmart is coming, I'm sure they'll be cheaper there.
True, but wouldn't you rather buy local than the cheap Chinese made drugs Walmart will be pushing?
SoWal Expert
Kudos to law enforcement! 
Meth is nasty stuff and very dangerous, so glad they got some shut down!
Meth is nasty stuff and very dangerous, so glad they got some shut down!
SoWal Insider
I wonder how much money Walton County expends on marijuana policing and subsequent incarceration? I've always felt that Walton would be a great candidate county for the decriminalization of that drug. I wonder how much revenue the county could generate by issues fines vs. locking people up for possession of small amounts. I've never been able to track down any statistics on the subject though.
SoWal Expert
I have been watching what is going on in other places where they decriminalized marijuana and have yet to be convinced it's a winning solution - at least yet. There are some definite and major wrinkles to be ironed out.
Lots of prescriptions being written by doctors w/ less than stellar credentials, idiots cooking hash indoors, people robbing the dispenseries and then robbing the clients, major increase in public use (pot smoke is the new 2nd hand smoke) and the press is broadcasting any incident nationally and it is hurting the "family" tourism industry.
I would love to see fines instead of jail time for minor offenses - jail costs us money.
Lots of prescriptions being written by doctors w/ less than stellar credentials, idiots cooking hash indoors, people robbing the dispenseries and then robbing the clients, major increase in public use (pot smoke is the new 2nd hand smoke) and the press is broadcasting any incident nationally and it is hurting the "family" tourism industry.
I would love to see fines instead of jail time for minor offenses - jail costs us money.
SoWal Insider
I have been watching what is going on in other places where they decriminalized marijuana and have yet to be convinced it's a winning solution - at least yet. There are some definite and major wrinkles to be ironed out.
Lots of prescriptions being written by doctors w/ less than stellar credentials, idiots cooking hash indoors, people robbing the dispenseries and then robbing the clients, major increase in public use (pot smoke is the new 2nd hand smoke) and the press is broadcasting any incident nationally and it is hurting the "family" tourism industry.
Scooter - common misconception here, I'm not talking about legalization, I'm talking about decriminalization.
I would love to see fines instead of jail time for minor offenses - jail costs us money.
Exactly. In Walton, if you get caught with this stuff, you may go to jail. I'm thinking it should be treated more like getting caught speeding in your car.
I don't know if there are potential cost savings by doing this, but my initial perception is there would be. The cost of catching, processing, and possibly incarcerating someone is high, where as issuing a ticket for say, $500.00, generates revenue while still acting as a deterrent.
Edited
Banned
Scooter - common misconception here, I'm not talking about legalization, I'm talking about decriminalization.
Exactly. In Walton, if you get caught with this stuff, you may go to jail. I'm thinking it should be treated more like getting caught speeding in your car.
I don't know if there are potential cost savings by doing this, but my initial perception is there would be. The cost of catching, processing, and possibly incarcerating someone is high, where as issuing a ticket for say, $500.00, generates revenue while still acting as a deterrent.
I think all drugs should be at least decriminalized and some outright legalized. Anybody who has ever had so much as a sip of alcohol enjoys using recreational drugs so the desire is universal. Who is government to interfere with a basic fundamental right? I do think however that when and if drug use is connected to crime and/or dangerous activity (other than drug use itself), law enforcement should have the right to step in as they would with an alcohol abuser and deny the person the right to engage in such activities. Furthermore, providing minors with drugs including alcohol is totally unacceptable.
Edited
SoWal Expert
Scooter - common misconception here, I'm not talking about legalization, I'm talking about decriminalization.
I was talking about decriminalization too - it's not fully legal, that's why doctors with hinky licenses are writing so many prescriptions.
I think all drugs should be at least decriminalized and some outright legalized. Anybody who has ever had so much as a sip of alcohol enjoys using recreational drugs so the desire is universal. Who is government to interfere with a basic fundamental right? I do think however that when and if drug use is connected to crime and/or dangerous activity (other than drug use itself), law enforcement should have the right to step in as they would with an alcohol abuser and deny the person the right to engage in such activities. Furthermore, providing minors with drugs including alcohol is totally unacceptable.
I would support 21 years and strict enforcement for both marijuana and alcohol. Not sure about other ones - certainly not the cluster that is meth.
Banned
I was talking about decriminalization too - it's not fully legal, that's why doctors with hinky licenses are writing so many prescriptions.
I would support 21 years and strict enforcement for both marijuana and alcohol. Not sure about other ones - certainly not the cluster that is meth.
My feeling is that drugs like crack and crystal meth almost always lead to destructive and criminal behavior. This is not the case with plain ole amphetamine that Mom, Pop and everyone else used to eat with their gin & tonic and lucky strikes back in the 50s. I just think it's terrible that now you've got swat teams with high powered rifles and bullet proof vests ready to break down doors and kill people and their pets for dealing in materials that people want. Until abut the mid 1920s, this hysterical take no prisoners anti-drug crusade did not exist. It was assumed that people had the right to do with their bodies as they saw fit as long as they didn't cause trouble and fulfilled parental obligations and such. Prohibition creates criminal enterprises as we have seen. Put another way, when drugs are outlawed, only outlaws will get involved with drugs. One last note: Zero tolerance = 100% failure by it's very definition.
SoWal Expert
What I am finding in many different areas is that we have gone to zero tolerance because common sense and judgment can no longer be used as a standard.
I blame the sue-happy legal system.
Dunno that I agree that many things that were legal in the early 1900s should still be - we have learned a lot more since then about what they can do to someone's body.
Would be for making it okay to have a small amount of relatively harmless pills, drinks, or drugs if you are an adult, but there are some things I think should be 100% not okay - like meth.
I blame the sue-happy legal system.
Dunno that I agree that many things that were legal in the early 1900s should still be - we have learned a lot more since then about what they can do to someone's body.
Would be for making it okay to have a small amount of relatively harmless pills, drinks, or drugs if you are an adult, but there are some things I think should be 100% not okay - like meth.
Banned
What I am finding in many different areas is that we have gone to zero tolerance because common sense and judgment can no longer be used as a standard.
I blame the sue-happy legal system.
Dunno that I agree that many things that were legal in the early 1900s should still be - we have learned a lot more since then about what they can do to someone's body.
Would be for making it okay to have a small amount of relatively harmless pills, drinks, or drugs if you are an adult, but there are some things I think should be 100% not okay - like meth.
Actually there is legal meth in prescription pill form for things like narcolepsy. Definitely not the same as illicitly manufactured crystal that people smoke, shoot and snort. The very manufacture of it on a large scale is an extreme hazard to society. To me that's enough reason to bring on the riot gear. Still, I don't think people should be forbidden to engage in self-destructive behavior. Otherwise we'd have to outlaw contact sports.
SWGBAuthor
Exactly how does one get a "hinky" doctors license after 8 years of medical school and passing days of exams?
People rob banks, but we haven't outlawed those.
People rob banks, but we haven't outlawed those.
SoWal Expert
In Colorado, a significant percentage of the doctors writing the prescriptions (like half) are operating on restricted licenses for a variety of reasons.
Which is why one of the proposals the governor has put forth is that doctors would have to perform physical examinations, provide follow-up consultation, and would have to possess a valid, unrestricted medical license to prescribe it.
For some odd reason I think he is trying to combat the current common business model where they have ads in the local paper w/ a big pic of a cannabis leaf promising same day prescriptions and delivery. :roll:
LS - when I refer to meth I am talking about the cold medicine, Draino, coat the walls w/ nastiness, and explode clusterpuck. I know there are other kinds, but that's what I am referring to here.
Which is why one of the proposals the governor has put forth is that doctors would have to perform physical examinations, provide follow-up consultation, and would have to possess a valid, unrestricted medical license to prescribe it.
For some odd reason I think he is trying to combat the current common business model where they have ads in the local paper w/ a big pic of a cannabis leaf promising same day prescriptions and delivery. :roll:
LS - when I refer to meth I am talking about the cold medicine, Draino, coat the walls w/ nastiness, and explode clusterpuck. I know there are other kinds, but that's what I am referring to here.
SoWal Insider
What I am finding in many different areas is that we have gone to zero tolerance because common sense and judgment can no longer be used as a standard.
I blame the sue-happy legal system.
Dunno that I agree that many things that were legal in the early 1900s should still be - we have learned a lot more since then about what they can do to someone's body.
Would be for making it okay to have a small amount of relatively harmless pills, drinks, or drugs if you are an adult, but there are some things I think should be 100% not okay - like meth.
The religious right applies similar logic to abortion. Should we have individual control over what we put in and take out of our bodies?
SoWal Expert
I think adults should have control over their bodies ............. as long as the things they want to do to it are legal and do not negatively affect others.
A woman getting a legal medical procedure performed by and at the advice of her physician does not have a direct negative impact on others.
And while I think our country has a major obesity issue that needs to be addressed somehow, I don't think we need to be banning certain foods or ingredients or restaurants that are fine in moderation.
But meth certainly is not harmless to others. Shocking that something made from Drano and ingested hurts you and others, huh?
A woman getting a legal medical procedure performed by and at the advice of her physician does not have a direct negative impact on others.
And while I think our country has a major obesity issue that needs to be addressed somehow, I don't think we need to be banning certain foods or ingredients or restaurants that are fine in moderation.
But meth certainly is not harmless to others. Shocking that something made from Drano and ingested hurts you and others, huh?
SWGBAuthor
I think adults should have control over their bodies ............. as long as the things they want to do to it are legal and do not negatively affect others.
A woman getting a legal medical procedure performed by and at the advice of her physician does not have a direct negative impact on others.
And while I think our country has a major obesity issue that needs to be addressed somehow, I don't think we need to be banning certain foods or ingredients or restaurants that are fine in moderation.
But meth certainly is not harmless to others. Shocking that something made from Drano and ingested hurts you and others, huh?
Umm you've got loads of circular logic there.
A woman getting a legal medical procedure performed by and at the advice of her physician does not have a direct negative impact on others.
I'm not anti abortion, but the argument could be made that she is hurting the father of the child.
But meth certainly is not harmless to others.
While the making of meth can be harmful to others the ingestion into someones body does not harm others, unless the user is pregnant. As to behavior associated with the use of meth the same can be applied to Alcohol and any number of other drugs.
SoWal Insider
They use Draino to make that stuff? No wonder it burns holes in your tongue. Ugh!
SoWal Insider
They use Draino to make that stuff? No wonder it burns holes in your tongue. Ugh!
Any kind of poison you put in your body, comes out somewhere. I've been told that meth users always have boils on their face and body. It's the poison coming out. As to the behavior of people on meth, i disagree that it's comparable to one's behavior on alcohol. Meth heads are really weird....even when they're not high. when you Don't let your brain sleep for days or weeks at a time and you are FN Batsh!t crazy!!
Faces of Meth | Meth Photos | Effects of Meth
Beach Fanatic
LS - when I refer to meth I am talking about the cold medicine, Draino, coat the walls w/ nastiness, and explode clusterpuck. I know there are other kinds, but that's what I am referring to here.
Yeah, the kind Mickey Rourke's character cooks in SPUN. Anybody wanting to know more about why meth is evil could learn a lot from that flick.
Beach Fanatic
I think adults should have control over their bodies ............. as long as the things they want to do to it are legal and do not negatively affect others.
A woman getting a legal medical procedure performed by and at the advice of her physician does not have a direct negative impact on others.
And while I think our country has a major obesity issue that needs to be addressed somehow, I don't think we need to be banning certain foods or ingredients or restaurants that are fine in moderation.
But meth certainly is not harmless to others. Shocking that something made from Drano and ingested hurts you and others, huh?
Yeah, the making of meth creates a hazardous, toxic waste site that is usually left behind for someone else to clean up at enormous expense. The making of meth is also super dangerous (as in the afore-mentioned explosive tendencies). Not to mention how people are known to behave in terms of aggression and violence when using the drug. So indeed it's not harmless to others in any way.
The hooch, I'm all for legalizing or decriminalizing that, and completely legalizing non-hooch hemp too, because that would give us an easy sustainable multi-use crop that requires little or no toxic chemicals to thrive..... As it stands now, anyone wanting to add nutritious non-hooch hemp to their diet pays a premium for products imported from Canada. In addition to being a fantastic food source for humans and livestock, hemp fiber is good for rope, clothing and paper....
SoWal Insider
Yeah, the making of meth creates a hazardous, toxic waste site that is usually left behind for someone else to clean up at enormous expense. The making of meth is also super dangerous (as in the afore-mentioned explosive tendencies).
Toxic meth labs and the dangers of creating / operating them are a side effect of Meth being illegal, not of the drug itself. Stillerys during prohibition similarly were quite dangerous to operate and produced environmentally hazardous by products.
Not to mention how people are known to behave in terms of aggression and violence when using the drug. So indeed it's not harmless to others in any way.
Alcohol doesn't have these same side effect in some people?
Lets face it, our drug laws are riddled with double standards.
SoWal Insider
I think adults should have control over their bodies ............. as long as the things they want to do to it are legal and do not negatively affect others.
A woman getting a legal medical procedure performed by and at the advice of her physician does not have a direct negative impact on others.
And while I think our country has a major obesity issue that needs to be addressed somehow, I don't think we need to be banning certain foods or ingredients or restaurants that are fine in moderation.
But meth certainly is not harmless to others. Shocking that something made from Drano and ingested hurts you and others, huh?
But legality is really irrelevant, since we control what is illegal and what isn't. Abortions used to be illegal, and women often suffered the side effects of botched illegal abortions. Now that it is predominantly legal in the early stages of pregnancy, women rarely suffer (physically) from the procedure.
SoWal Insider
I can imagine cleaning up a meth lab would be very hazardous. I am not one to make judgments, but those photos posted of meth faces looked to me like their personalities were simply amplified/magnified by the drug use.
Have you ever known a happy drunk vs. a mean drunk? And, their personalities while sober are just watered down drunk.
Have you ever known a happy drunk vs. a mean drunk? And, their personalities while sober are just watered down drunk.
Beach Fanatic
Did y'all see the Daily News picture of the female that was initially still at large and then the mugshot after they caught her? DEFINITELY a candidate for Faces of Meth!!
:shock:
Why would someone do that to themselves??
:shock:
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