Pasta jar full of meth found in car at Carolina Place Mall, police say

PINEVILLE, N.C. — A pasta jar full of methamphetamine was found in a car parked at the Carolina Place Mall off Highway 51 in Pineville, police said.

Officials said they were responding to a shoplifting call when they found the suspect’s car full of drug paraphernalia, from needles to glass pipes, and a 24-ounce Priano’s pasta sauce jar filled with 937 grams of meth.

The person suspected of possessing the $60,000 to $70,000 worth of meth is now in jail, according to authorities.

Substance abuse therapist Ralph Meachum, with The Blanchard Institute, said meth is making a comeback because it's cheaper and still gives addicts the same high as other drugs.

“In order to remain functional, in order to go to work, and a mom to be a mom and for a dad to be a dad, they have to rely on substances they can find, and meth is the main one,” said Meachum.

According to Meachum, opiates are also tougher to get and said those addicted are turning back to meth.

“That number has actually doubled between 2011 and 2017, and I imagine from 2017 to 2020 it will continue to increase,” said Meachum.

Meachum said for those using meth, it’s up to their family to help them make the decision to turn their lives around.

“It takes someone who loves that individual to say we got to find treatment wherever it is,” Meachum said.

In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found meth to be the fourth deadliest drug in the country behind fentanyl, heroin and cocaine. In the Western United States, meth is also the leading cause of overdose deaths, according to the CDC.

Cox Media Group