Maybe you have a pool or are an artist. Perhaps you just like to work on your classic car in your spare time. You may handle various chemicals while pursuing your passions without considering their other uses.
Unfortunately, when you dispose of the chemicals or their empty containers, you may attract the attention of local law enforcement or neighbors trying to fight drug trafficking. The trash you set aid outside of your home could lead to police officers investigating you for drug manufacturing or your neighbors reporting you for suspected methamphetamine manufacturing.
Police do not need a warrant to look through your garbage once you set it out for collection, making it an easy way for them to build a case against someone. What items in your trash could lead to allegations that you are cooking up meth at your home?
Plenty of common items can play a role in meth manufacturing
As you may already be able to guess, throwing away several dozen empty packages of cold medicine that include pseudoephedrine could lead people to suspect your involvement with methamphetamine production.
However, there doesn’t need to be any medication packaging in your trash to make others suspicious. According to information provided by the federal government, everything from brake cleaner and lye to acetone and kitty litter could play a role in methamphetamine manufacturing. Chemicals that you use for a garden or to adjust the pH balance of your pool could make people think that you spend your time at home cooking up dangerous drugs when you throw out the containers.
Learning more about what might lead to drug charges and investigations can help you defend yourself if you find yourself facing unfounded accusations.