For as long as I can remember the effects television may or may not have on society has been a controversial subject. Often the question is whether or not TV spreads violence. It is unquestionable that violence is a prevalent subject on almost every channel and is times even glorified. The level of influence of what we see on TV actually has in shaping the way in what way we think, however, is difficult to determine. The connection between stimulated experiences, thoughts and actions is ambiguous at best so I find it hard to say what I think the truth of the matter is.

The reason I bring it up, though, is there has been a recent rash of methamphetamine related arrests across Central New York, including nearby Broome County as well as within Chenango County. So my question is – and I realize this is a stretch – is there any relation whatsoever between those arrests and the start of the new season of the phenomenally popular television show Breaking Bad. Now, I am personally a huge fan of the show, it’s riveting, well written, and the acting is fantastic. I like it so much I have even reevaluated all of the other shows I watch and found them to be lacking.

While the protagonist, Walter White, runs into more than one spot of trouble, the show still kind of makes cooking meth and making millions off of it seem at least plausible – with the right mind-. It takes one episode and a craftily done montage for Walt to turn hundreds of gallons of methylamine into a stack of money at least three feet high held in a storage locker that would have made for a killer Storage Wars episode. It takes five minutes to watch him make more money than he can launder let alone spend, yet us working stiffs spend months struggling through long hours to square away enough money to go on a decent vacation. After a tough week of work, I’ll admit to watching Breaking Bad and thinking it might be more rewarding to look into cooking meth. Not that I ever would.

So what I’m wondering is if there is any relationship between the increased level of meth related arrests and the return of the show. Many argue that meth has been around this area the entire time ... and that might be true. Upstate New York is just chock-full of nooks and crannies where a prodigious meth chef could squirrel away and start brewing.

I am told you can make decent meth with cold medicine, and I know you can just do it on the run with a bottle, shaking it around using the ‘One-Pot’ method. However, I can’t imagine the quality of the CNY brand of meth is up to Walter White’s standards. I also have yet to see a car wash around here manned by dozens of illegals where a meth dealer could be laundering his millions.

Follow me on Twitter

...@evesunkevin