Two drug busts in the county last week netted an undisclosed amount of methamphetamine as well as the equipment and chemicals to make the drug.

Sheriff Larry Bennett said that on January 6th inside Russell Springs at the Lakeway Trailer Court Byrom Marcum and Wesley Taylor were arrested.

The sheriff said he and deputies David Cain and Clete McAninch along with Police Chief Joseph M. Irvin searched a trailer at lot 36.

He said they found a large quantity of what is believed to be the caustic and poisonous chemicals used to make "meth" which is also known as speed, crank or crystal.

The next day Bennett and his deputies arrested Verlin Daniel at a home on Coon Club Road.

Bennett said deputies found a working drug "cooker" at the residence and interrupted Daniels as he was in the process of making a batch of the powerful stimulant.

In both cases special hazardous materials teams had to be called out to remove items, said Deputy Clete McAninch.

He explained that many of the chemicals used to begin the manufacturing process are poisonous or otherwise dangerous and that other very dangerous chemicals are created during the manufacturing process.

It is not uncommon for such illicit manufacturing facilities to catch fire or blow up during the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Daniel, 45, was charged with manufacturing methamphetamine.

Marcum and Taylor were charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine precursors and drug paraphernalia.

Though a 4-year study finished in 2007 showed that one percent of the population in Kentucky over 12-years-old had used the drug, data also showed that 9 percent of high school seniors in the commonwealth had used the addictive drug at least once.

Both of those figures were behind a number of other states, but predictions were that those numbers in Kentucky would rise.

Government data has also shown that this drug is more prevalent in smaller towns and cities than in major metropolitan areas.