American Meth Epidemic Sociology 210

   American meth epidemic, the ghost and the government.  As a Texas peace officer from 2005 until 2013, I have had the privilege of seeing the first-hand destruction of the meth epidemic in East Texas as well as the substantial increase of meth users in East Texas due to better-made meth called p2p from Mexico. Meth has touched most families as well as my own. My uncle served 11 years federal incarceration, for organized crime and kingpin ing, i.e., running a meth manufacturing organization. As I watched his demise from a successful business person to a paranoid addict, which eventually led to his conviction. It is a heart-wrenching addiction, to watch anybody or families go through. As a patrol deputy, daily dealing with the cause and effect of addicts with my community in Henderson County Texas.

           Amphetamine first was developed by a German scientist in 1883. Methamphetamine was developed by a Japanese scientist in 1897 as a stimulant for depression and fatigue, then further processed into a crystal powder form for military uses to keep soldiers fighting longer and more intensely, as well as a numbing agent on both sides of World War II for suicide bombers. Hitler was an avid known user of methamphetamine and recommended the use of meth to the German troops.  Amphetamines were given to U.S. Air force pilots to help with concentration and fatigue over long bombing runs in the Persian Gulf War.      

 Amphetamines before they were classified as illegal were found in everything from depression medication to over the counter weight loss pills.

           As the movie "The Meth Epidemic" outlines the rise and fall of the purity, spread, and development of crystal meth in the United States. And the effects of the families impacted by the drugs highly addictive control. Amphetamines were legal in the United States until the 1970's when the federal government placed a ban on the drug amphetamine. The federal ban caused a supply and demand within the drug culture of the 70's. With this need for the now illegal drug, it provided a new platform and income source for outlaw motorcycle gangs, cartels pharmaceutical companies as well as creating more jobs for the American people alike.  You are probably thinking what in the world does the meth epidemic have to do with government employment numbers and pharmaceutical company profits.  When new governmental policies and laws are enacted enforcement, corrections and treatment jobs are created as well needed. According to the "drug war facts.org," the management of the war on drugs has cost the United States taxpayers trillions of dollars. The United States Government has released their budget requests for enforcement alone, for the 2016 budget year for 27.6 billion dollars. It is an enormous and profitable business to operate  prohibition against drugs.

      The sad truth of the matter is that Meth is an epidemic in America within certain people groups but does not cross racial or cultural lines as other more popular drugs do. Meth is an extremely addictive drug, and the users create a wide swath of destruction to those around them, but methamphetamines do not make the top 5 list of illegal drugs according to most statistics from a simple Google internet search and the Federal Drug  Office of National Drug Control and Policy. Even in the State of Texas in the "State of affairs addiction blog" February 2015, issue states that alcohol is the number 1 addiction and abuse problem in the State of Texas and with greater emphasis or focus going forward, towards new synthetic and prescription drug boom for law enforcement. The American Government has created an entire economy out of law enforcement and the correctional system based on the war against drugs. Instead of focusing on treatment and legalization of most if not all drugs. Which will better serve the people of America? Countries that have legalized illicit drugs have seen an across the board drop in all crimes as well as healthier and fewer addicts, further increasing the potential to treat addicts, save families and money. The tragedy is that we have made a political game out of addiction illnesses, instead of focusing on treatment for the illness. This War has cost countless lives to the innocent, caught in a fabricated war to make money and over through third world governments.

         In 1996 the CIA had to give a report of transporting and protecting cocaine distribution in the United States refer to U.S. Justice Department report " THE CIA-CONTRA-CRACK COCAINE CONTROVERSY:A REVIEW OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT'S INVESTIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS". The United States has always been in the process of creating and fighting proxy wars for personnel and economic growth. Most recently protecting and helping to plant Afghani poppy fields and transportation of heroin for tribal leaders. Reference the article posted by Global Research.CA Washington Post "Drug War? American Troops Are Protecting Afghan Opium. U.S. Occupation Leads to All-Time High Heroin Production.  America has a drug epidemic and it has the solution to bring healing to the addict and the impacted people encompassed in the destructive path, but the solution makes no money for the peoples in charge so a viable solution will not be enacted, we will continue to through money at the problem tie law enforcements hands and convict the ill.

                                        Works Cited

Addiction Campus "The State of Affairs: Texas sees Methamphetamines returning" February 5, 2015;www.addictioncampuses.com/resources/addiction-campuses-blog/state-of-affairs-texas-sees-methamphetamine-returning/

Drug Abuse.GOV " The national institute on Drug Abuse"https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/media-guide/most-commonly-used-addictive-drugs

Drug war Facts www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Economics#sthash.aNJVAF1h.dpbs