This week, two stories about meth popped up that cannot be ignored. First, three Nigerian men in Japan checked into an emergency room for severe abdominal pains. One of the men had a half a kilo of methamphetamines in his stomach in pouches, which ruptured, killing him. The pouches had been too large to pass through the man’s intestines and ended up leaking and leading to an overdose.

Second, in Illinois a new law has been enacted to try to take a bite out of meth use. The law makes it a Class 4 felony to transport, steal or store anhydrous ammonia used to make methamphetamines. Those who cook meth may face a $25,000 fine and three years in jail. Two years ago, Illinois enacted another anti-meth law, requiring people to sign for pseudoephedrine products and have seen positive results from this law going into effect.