See you later, ‘meth-gator’: Police make it clear they were only joking

A Tennessee police department has clarified it was joking when it suggested “meth-gators” could result when people flush their drugs down the toilet.

“Let us be perfectly clear: the meth gator was a humorous illustration used to highlight the dangers of flushing drugs and other substances down your toilet,” the Loretto Police Department said on Facebook on Friday. “Alas, the meth-gator is not real. Let’s say that again: THE METH GATOR IS NOT (at this time) REAL.”

The department had warned that wildlife might consume drugs flushed down the toilet and exhibit unnatural behaviors. The July 13 Facebook post has since gone viral.

“Ducks, Geese, and other fowl frequent our treatment ponds and we shudder to think what one all hyped up on meth would do,” the post read. “Furthermore, if it made it far enough we could create meth-gators in Shoal Creek and the Tennessee River down in North Alabama.”

The police chief has given interviews to news outlets all over the world, the department said, and “fielded a few calls from professionals fearing we actually had a meth-influenced gator in our custody.”

The department hopes to use the attention to raise money for a local charity that deals with children affected by drugs. Police plan to launch a website selling shirts featuring the meth-gator.

While people shouldn’t flush drugs — whether they’re illicit drugs or leftover prescriptions — they do get diluted in the water, which makes it pretty much impossible for an animal to get high.

The FDA has a list of drugs that can be safely flushed down the toilet. For drugs that are not good for flushing, you can dispose of them in your household trash, but you should remove the drug from the original container and mix it with something undesirable, like cat litter. You also should scratch out any personal information on labels to protect your identity and privacy.