The illegal drug, methamphetamine, has been associated with the dual dangers of use and manufacture.
Although we welcome news that the collateral damage connected with the manufacture of meth has diminished, efforts to curb use of the deadly substance must continue unabated.
Statistics from the Missouri Highway Patrol show seizures of meth labs have fallen precipitously in recent years. Makeshift labs in homes and vehicles where chemicals and other substances are mixed are prone to explosions, fires and hazardous byproducts.
Missouri once held the dubious distinction of being dubbed the nation's meth capital because of the number of labs in the state.
Patrol data shows the 172 meth labs seizures so far this year puts Missouri on pace for about 230 seizures for 2016. That number reflects a dramatic decline from 507 in 2015, 1,045 in 2014 and 2,900 in the peak year of 2004.
The drop is attributed to efforts by lawmakers and law enforcement officials, including laws to make it more difficult to obtain the meth-making ingredient, pseudoephedrine, also used in cold medicines.
The drop in lab seizures, however, doesn't translate into a proportional plunge in meth use. Experts say meth use remains popular, but users are buying imported versions instead of making their own.
Nevertheless, the safety benefits are heartening.
Jason Grellner, president of the Missouri Narcotics Officers Association, said the trend "has yielded safer conditions for children living in homes where meth was made, safer highways because we don't have vehicles exploding at 70 mph, and safer conditions for emergency response."
The drop in dangerous, deadly meth labs shows what can be accomplished through a combination of sound public policy and vigorous, sustained law enforcement.
Let's apply a similar, rigorous effort to curb drug abuse and overdose deaths that are destroying quality of life and life itself.