‘People will die from it’: GBI says meth epidemic only getting worse

Channel 2's Nefertiti Jaquez reports.

“As long as that drug is in this state, people will die from it.”

That how GBI spokesman Bahan Rich described the uptick in methamphetamine being found and demanded in Georgia to Channel 2 Action News.

He said meth-related deaths have increased 40 percent from 2016 to 2017 statewide, Channel 2 reported.

“There is a demand for it, and that demand is being met by Mexican cartels,” Rich told the news station. “They are transporting it in, and they’re transporting it in bulk.”

Rich told Channel 2 meth used to be primarily a drug found in North Georgia, but now the meth epidemic has reached every corner of the state.

Notable meth raids have happened in White County, Hall CountyGwinnett County and Douglas County this year in Georgia.

GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles told Channel 2 the agency is seeing 80 percent purity in the methamphetamine they’re seizing. An ounce of meth can go for about $300.

The GBI told Channel 2 they’re putting a lot of resources into battling meth in Georgia.

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