Where Meth Goes Destruction and Violence Follow

Before I get started on why methamphetamine is such a huge problem in the US today here are a few factsÐ'...

Methamphetamine Characteristics

Ð'* Meth- a powerful, long lasting, physical and psychological stimulant. Known by a variety of street names- meth, speed, crank, crystal, ice and glass.

Ð'* Often powdery, meth may be found in variety of colors and it may emit a chemical odor.

Ð'* Meth is swallowed, snorted, injected or smoked.

Ð'* Meth is a highly addictive drug.

Symptoms

Ð'* Short-term use can result in increased heart rate, blood pressure and respiration; excessive sweating; flushed or tense appearance; a chemical odor on the breath; rapid speech; dilated pupils; bloodshot eyes; and inability to sleep or eat.

Ð'* Prolonged use can cause severe physical and psychological problems, including permanent brain damage. Chronic users are also known as tweakers.

Ð'* Physical symptoms include severs weight loss, rotting teeth, scars, and open sores, often caused by the Ð''tweakers' hallucinations of imaginary bugs on the skin (National Drug Intelligence Center), body odor and a lack of one's personal hygiene.

Behavioral problems

Ð'* Meth can overwhelm and over stimulate the user's nervous system, creating serious psychological/behavior problems, including violence, aggression and hyperactivity.

Ð'* Chronic meth users experience any or all of the following: initial euphoria, depression, paranoia, delusions and aggressive behavior.

Addiction

Ð'* Meth modifies the brain's pleasure receptors by producing excess levels of dopamine, a natural chemical found in the brain. With prolonged use, the user's ability to experience normal levels of pleasure declines significantly. The user suffers extreme boredom with normal day-to-day activities.

Ð'* Meth creates a powerful craving in the user. The psychological urge to use meth can cause a user to become dependent on the drug. Many young users either ignore or are unaware of the paranoia, brain damage or violence associated with meth use.

Clandestine Labs Ð'- environmental damage and health risks

Ð'* Across California, people manufacture drugs in clandestine drug laboratories. Clan labs are mini-chemical labs that make illegal drugs quickly and cheaply. In California, most clan labs produce meth.

Ð'* Experts estimate that meth production leaves five pounds of waste, often toxic, for every pound of meth produced (Daily Newspaper, Los Angeles).

Ð'* Clean up of toxic waste is expensive; in 1997, California taxpayers spent $8 million to clean up 1,600 clan lab sites (Sacramento Bee).

Ð'* People operating clan labs show little concern about the dangers posed by toxic chemical waste and garbage in our waterways, along highways, in fields, down drains or near schools. The potential contamination of groundwater poses a significant public health risk.

Ð'* More than 30 chemicals are used to produce meth.

Ð'* In California, the state Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement (BNE) agents seized 1,006 clan labs in 1998. A large majority were meth labs.

Meth and child endangerment

Ð'* In 1998, BNE agents found 370 children at California meth labs. Often, the children are under the age of 13. Many children found at meth lab sites test positive for exposure to toxic substances (National Meth Drug Conference).

Methamphetamine has overtaken cocaine as the biggest drug problem in rural and small towns in the US, according to a crime survey of 45 states. A survey of 500 county law enforcement agencies found meth-related arrests had gone up over the past three years. More than half of the police, sheriff departments and other agencies polled said the highly addictive substance was their biggest drug problem. Less than 20% singled out cocaine and fewer still pointed to marijuana (www.msnbc.com).

Methamphetamine, which also goes by the name, meth, crystal, or crank, is a huge problem in the US today. It is easy to come by and even easier to produce by yourself and that right there is a very scary thought. If you have the right chemicals, many of which you can buy over the counter, you can sit at home and produce methamphetamine. It spreads like a virus, from cook to cook, from small town to small

town. With the raw materials readily available, Ð''meth labs' can be established anywhere that is relatively discreet.

Meth users accounted for 607,000 of the country's 19.5 million