Disposing of confiscated illegal drugs by burning is probably the best way to get rid of that kind of stuff. But when setting up to burn, say, two pounds of methamphetamine, one may want to make sure that it won't fill the building up with meth-smoke - especially if you're borrowing the incinerator in a local animal shelter, as happened recently in Billings, Montana.
A cloud of smoke from two pounds of methamphetamine seized by the FBI and incinerated inside a Montana animal shelter sent its workers to the hospital, city officials in Billings said.
The smoke started to fill the building during a drug burn on Wednesday, apparently because of negative pressure that sucked it back inside, Billings Assistant City Administrator Kevin Iffland said Friday. A fan was supposed to be on hand in such situations to reverse the pressure so smoke would flow out of the building, but Iffland said it wasn’t readily available.
The incinerator is used primarily to burn carcasses of animals euthanized or collected by the city’s animal control division. But every couple of months local law enforcement or FBI agents use it to burn seized narcotics, Iffland said.
Fortunately, while the staffers were in the building and some were treated in an oxygen tent, so far it seems no one was seriously injured.
A city animal control supervisor who was present for Wednesday’s burn declined to go the hospital, Iffland said. The FBI agents were told to go to the hospital by their supervisor.
Fourteen workers from the nonprofit Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter evacuated and went to the hospital. The shelter’s 75 dogs and cats were relocated or put into foster homes, said Iffland and shelter director Triniti Halverson.
Burning may be a great way to get rid of this kind of thing, but in a closed building? That doesn't seem like it was thought all the way through. Granted, there's not an incinerator on every street corner, and Billings, Montana, isn't exactly a center of heavy industry. Still, one would think they would have a crematorium in Billings. According to an impeccable source - my daughter, who has a degree in Mortuary Sciences - those incinerators run at very high temps, high enough to almost completely destroy bones and even teeth, so we would think it would work with meth.
Bonus: No puppies and kittens need to be endangered. And who doesn't love puppies and kittens?
Read More: Nantucket: A Haven for Rich Nose-Candy Users?
Operation Take Back America Scores Big, Beautiful Drug Busts
Burning, though, has been and will likely remain the best and, despite incidents like this, the safest way to get rid of illegal drugs.
I'm reminded of a similar incident, some years ago, on the East Coast. In that case, the FBI was burning about a half-ton of confiscated marijuana in an outdoor incinerator on the coast. While the burn was going on, the agents in charge noticed a flock of seabirds flying through the smoke, following which the birds fell to the sand and started acting erratically.
A wildlife biologist was summoned. He examined the birds. His conclusion?
Not a tern was left unstoned.
I'll show myself out.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member