https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2008-07-29/652519/

Reporters Love Drugs

By Jordan Smith, July 29, 2008, 6:41pm, Newsdesk

Reporters can be a pretty easy bunch to please, to wow even, especially when it comes to drugs. Cops know this, which is why, whenever you get a drug bust of any decent size, you're sure to get a press conference. The reason is pretty obvious: Visual aids. The standard drug bust brings a load of fun stuff to the table – drugs, guns, and money, a veritable feast for the eyes!

The rise of the urban meth lab in recent years has done wonders for the relationship between narco cops and reporters (as David Carr put it, the meth heads have really been making a great grab for the honor of being low-man on the druggie org chart). Busting meth labs isn't pretty work – it requires cops to don haz mat gear to dismantle the clandestine labs that, quite literally, could kill them. The addicts who've built these altars to disease and disaster earn near universal scorn (the poor addled saps), but the pictures, man, that's some good shit!

Thus, it is no surprise that the Austin Police Deptartment hit presser gold with news of its Sunday bust on Scribe Drive in Northwest Austin of a clandestine lab in the early stages of meth production. (Two suspects are currently in custody, and charges have not yet been filed.) Fortunately, no one was hurt dismantling the lab – and to boot they got some nicely nasty pics of both clearly marked and clearly creepy chemicals. Not the best ever, but still pretty sweet.