Two Colorado libraries close for cleanup after meth residue found on surfaces

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Originally published at: Two Colorado libraries close for cleanup after meth residue found on surfaces | Boing Boing

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So it sounds like people were smoking meth in the bathrooms? (I’m presuming they weren’t making it in there.) And it left residue everywhere? The bathrooms being filled with enough meth vapor to leave a dangerous residue seems like it would be its own, more serious, exposure problem for visitors…

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I have questions.

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Well this is because public libraries are one of the few places homeless people can cool off/warm up.

They really shouldn’t be doing drugs there, but it is what it is. We really need living centers and large public drug programs. Granted, not everyone one drugs wants to quit, but certainly some do and we need to treat it like any other illness.

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There is no residue on surfaces that aren’t tested, don’t test, problem solved.

That’s the problem with this country, too much testing.

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A friend of mine told me about the situation where his car got stolen and he forced his insurance company to total and replace it due to chemical contamination from meth. Apparently it’s a pretty big problem.

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Yes. The same problem exists in bathrooms in fast-food and coffee chains and in other public restrooms in venues that allow in the unhoused to use the toilet. For an addict with nowhere else to go, it’s a room or stall with a lockable door and they’re not thinking about things like ventilation or residue.

Librarians have it particularly tough because they have to make sure their workplace meets public safety standards and because (due to underfunding) they’re often put into the position of social worker/security guard/janitor as well as doing their main job.

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And we hope we don’t find the bodies of people who have overdosed. It happens.

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It helps me read faster.

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Confirmation bias. We don’t know the percentage of non-stolen cars that test positive for meth. Could be 100%

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It’s frustrating. The place I work (which is actually very close to the Boulder library) closed their public restrooms because of similar abuse- not meth, but other drug use, as well as simply trashing the restrooms and making a huge mess. We’re rapidly reaching the point where public restrooms in general are another nice thing society can’t have because a few too many assholes can’t even be trusted to use a toilet responsibly.

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I hope no one tests the US currency. Forget the debt ceiling just removing and replacing all the Cocaine residue contaminated 20 dollar bills would cause a world financial crisis. Never mind a library crisis in Colorado. /s

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We have been without a security guard for a year now because the contracted security company doesn’t compete, wage-wise, with such local high end businesses as Target. State hasn’t replaced the non-performing company, so we get the short end of the stick, while various misbehaving ‘patrons’ mess up the public restrooms and trash the grounds. BTW, the state hasn’t allowed for substitutes, so we have been without a janitor while she’s on vacation.

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