Cause and effect or reasoning defect?

According to a story about police seizing fewer meth labs so far this year in Wisconsin, discount cialis clinic authorities credit the new law that locks simple cold remedies up behind the counters of drugstores:

“Five meth labs have been seized so far in 2007, ambulance putting the state on pace for about 10 by the end of the year, ampoule said Kevin St. John, spokesman with the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Twenty-seven labs were seized in 2006. Officials credit much of the drop to a law that made it tougher to buy cold medicines containing one of the key ingredients for making the drug.”

1.) There’s no evidence that the law has anything to do with there being fewer seizures. Perhaps the cops are just doing a worse job finding the labs. It’s not like the 27 they seized last year was every lab in Wisconsin.

2.) Even if the law is solely responsible for eliminating 17 meth labs is that a good enough reason to treat 5,556,506 people like potential criminals every single day?

4 comments July 23rd, 2007