LAKE CITY, Fla. -- Tied up toddler swings and empty trike bikes dot a Lake City playground that's been out of use since Valentine's Day. On Feb. 14, the Columbia County Sheriff's Office discovered a meth lab operating directly next door to the daycare.
"It's just hitting really close to home," said Britnee, a daycare employee.
Britnee was scared to show her face on camera out of fear of retribution knowing the problem is only getting bigger.
Last year in Columbia County, police seized 15 meth labs. This year, they're already well on track to surpass that. The meth lab near the daycare was the 7th in Columbia County since January.
"We're seeing a resurgence of it coming back into our county," said Columbia County Sheriff Mark Hunter.
Sheriff Hunter believes it's a direct correlation of Florida's crackdown on pill mills. He tells us once the availability of pills dried up, users switched drugs. They're now opting for the cheap and easy methamphetamine.
"Whenever you have people that are addicted to drugs when they're not able to get it from one source, they'll revert to another source," Hunter said.
So Action News asked the sheriff what should be done? Should Florida loosen up on pills to crack down on meth?
"I don't want to upset that apple cart because we're not out of the woods with the pills," Hunter said.
He tells us it's a dilemma he can't arrest his way out of. Hunter says he doesn't know what the solution is, just that money is tight and the future looks grim. A basic meth lab costs the agency about $1,000 to clean up. With numbers on the rise, meth is quickly becoming one of their biggest concerns.
"The future if we continue on this trend is going to be a significant problem," he said.
But, Britnee would argue it already is. The problem is here, just out the window, right next to the babies cribs.
