The Methamphetime Epidemic - Phila Inquirer Series

[JPZenger]

Here's links to a well-written series in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the growing problem with methamphetimes. The report says that the problem is much worse in parts of the country that are outside the northeastern U.S., but that it is likely to get much worse. This problem is one of the largest destroyers of families and one of the biggest reasons for child neglect in the U.S.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/10893421.htm

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/10901064.htm

Excerpt:

"More addictive than crack and scarily efficient at eating away the human brain, methamphetamine is a stimulant that lights up the central nervous system. Also called speed, crank, crystal or ice, the drug can be smoked, injected, swallowed or snorted.

People began injecting it in the 1960s, and over the last 15 years its use has developed into the most dangerous drug epidemic ever seen in America, according to the DEA.

Admissions for treatment of meth addiction in the United States jumped 420 percent between 1992 and 2002, from 10 per 100,000 among the population aged 12 and over, to 52 per 100,000, federal health figures show.

These days, meth is becoming popular with women looking to lose weight and gain energy; with white, suburban youths who attend raves; and with gay men who use the drug to enhance sex.

Addicts cynically describe methamphetamine as "the only cure" for crack cocaine: Once they do meth, they abandon the crack pipe and never go back, according to Glen Hanson, a senior adviser to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

"The downside is meth is a significant brain toxin," while cocaine is not, Hanson said. Methamphetamine plays havoc with memory and systems that identify consequences. People become impulsive and violent.

The drug is also the roughest to kick, Taylor said. "I know people who've beaten crack," he added. "I don't know anyone who's beaten meth."

[Wright Patman]

1. But it's the only "manufacturing"

industry in my county that is growing.

[JPZenger]

2. Another Excerpt from Article

"Crystal is a drug in my experience that taps into a primal desire for pleasure. What you're not told is that it makes you feel suicidal. You'll lose your teeth if you smoke it. You'll become paranoid. You will lose your job. You will have trouble feeling any emotions for a long time," said Dan Carlson, a New York gay activist who stopped using crystal two years ago after he realized how dangerous it was.

[kaitykaity]

3. I know somebody who's beaten meth.

She stopped cold. I'm so proud of her I can't
stand it.

Meth is nasty, nasty stuff. It's so insidious because
you don't lose any faculties like with alcohol. You
stay conscious, aware. "Oh, that didn't do anything."

And the dealers are so generous when you first start
out. "You want a line?" "Here, have a pill."
It's when you need it and you ask that you start to
have to pay.

[sariku]

4. It's about time...

That this started getting some press. This is a serious problem and it is touching every aspect of our lives - from kids coming from meth homes who haven't been fed or watched and are ill-prepared to learn, to identity and other thefts. Hell, in Oregon they're stealing the metal off of bridges to sell for meth money. WTF?!? The issue of the children affected by meth use alone is staggering. It is really frustrating to me. I see a lot of meth problems in my neighborhood. I see the tweakers shuffling by - they look like zombies. It's really pretty creepy. And the police are struggling to catch up. But where is the money for them to fight this? Do we really just say that we're willing to sacrifice entire portions of cities to meth? And then once those boundaries are being pushed, and more people are affected and addicted, then what?

[JPZenger]

5. Meth's Impacts Upon Children in the Home

Here is a website with a great deal of information about the problems of children with meth-addicted parents or who live in homes with meth labs. Thousands of meth labs are still operating in homes across the country.

http://www.mappsd.org/meth_child_abuse__wells.htm

[Moderator]

6. JPZenger

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
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Thank you.


DU Moderator

[kineneb]

7. Major problem in rural CA

And has been for years. Hells Angels used to cook it up in the San Joaquin valley in the 60's...remember "Speed Kills"? Nothing new here, just better publicity and more desperate people.

[JPZenger]

8. Meth's Effects on Neglected Kids

Many people try meth because it initially increases your sex drive. That has also led to an increase in HIV infections. Here is a comment from one expert:

"After you have been using it about six months or so you can't have sex unless you are high," Holley said. "After you have been using it a little bit longer you can't have sex even when you're high. Nothing happens. It doesn't work."

Dr. John Standridge, an addiction specialist with the Council for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services in Chattanooga, said meth and other stimulants initially "rev up the dopamine nervous system in the brain. They rev it up and burn it out."