More background on the social problems of the home-town of Sarah Palin:

In 2003, authorities uncovered nine meth labs in the area. Last year, the number increased to 42, said Kyle Young, an investigator with the troopers who works with the Mat-Su narcotics team. Officials with the Office of Children's Services in Wasilla said the problem affects children. The office receives about 40 calls a month from people reporting abuse or neglect involving some aspect of the highly addictive drug...

When authorities surrounded a converted bus housing a meth operation in Big Lake in January, a 13-year-old boy who answered the door bragged that his mom cooked the best meth in the valley, according to the troopers. During a 2003 bust at a house outside Wasilla, officers discovered five children living inside, all younger than 8 years old. The calls about meth to children's services in Wasilla accounts for as many as 40 percent of the agency's total monthly child protection calls.

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