Missouri’s Most Interesting Google Might be Funny If Not True

All of us have been spending much more time at home the past few months. And we've been googling, a lot. So it was only a matter of time before someone decided to see what the most interesting thing people in each state have been googling while under quarantine.

While West Virginians were learning how to quit smoking; South Dakotans trying to figure out how to flee to Canada; and Californians were trying out cool Zoom backgrounds; Missourians were googling meth recipes. That's right. Meth recipes. That is apparently our most interesting quarantine google according to job website zippa.com.

Don't get me wrong, we weren't alone in trying to numb the quarantine blues with self medication. The fine folks of Kentucky were googling vaping pens; Minnesotans were getting their boxed wine on; down in Mississippi they were making vodka pops; Nebraskans were all about hard lemonade and residents of New Mexico were all about day drinking. And that doesn't touch on all the states where people were trying to beat the blues with everything from BBQ to banana bread.

But here's the thing, no other state's most interesting googled thing was an illegal drug. And a particularly toxic one at that. Not even marijuana.

In February of this year U.S. News and World Report suggested that while Missouri may have shed it's meth capital of the world title, the drug was still a huge problem for the state, especially in Western Missouri.

In March Ozarksfirst.com tried to answer the question if Missouri is still the meth capital of the world, and they found that while we're not brewing up meth in garages and homes anymore, there are many that are still addicted. They also found that in Greene County ten years ago there were seven deaths from meth. This year there were 7 deaths from meth in January and February.

A search of the word "meth" on KSISradio.com returned 252 results including a story about a woman caught with a meth syringe in her hand from earlier this month and plenty of people arrested and charged with meth possession in our police reports.

There is sort of a gallows humor in the fact that Missourians would be looking up meth recipes in the middle of a global pandemic; if only it wasn't a reflection of one of our state's tragic problems. Honestly it's more sad than anything.

If you or someone you know has a meth, or other substance abuse problem, help is available. The Missouri Department of Mental Health has a comprehensive web page dedicated to resources available to help people battle an addiction to drugs or alcohol. You can access that here.