How to Kill the Meth Monster

[XemaSab]

THE latest bad news from the world of methamphetamine is that makers of the drug have perfected a one-pot recipe that enables them to manufacture their highly addictive product while on the move, often in their car. The materials they need — a two-liter soda bottle, a few cold pills and some household chemicals — are easily obtained and easily discarded, often in a trash bag dumped along the highway.

There is, however, a simple way to end this mobile industry — and, indeed, most methamphetamine production. We’ve tried it in Oregon, and have seen how well it works. Just keep a key ingredient, pseudoephedrine, out of the hands of meth producers.

Pseudoephedrine is a nasal decongestant found in some cold and allergy medicines. In 1976, the Food and Drug Administration allowed it to be sold over the counter, inadvertently letting the genie out of the bottle. Afterward, the meth epidemic spread across the nation, leaving destroyed lives and families in its wake.

Sales of products containing pseudoephedrine in the United States now amount to nearly $600 million a year. Yet, according to the pharmaceutical industry, only 15 million Americans use the drug to treat their stuffed-up noses, and these people typically buy no more than a package or two ($10 to $20 worth) a year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/opinion/16bovett.html

[musette_sf]

1. Stop Meth Not Meds

http://www.stopmethnotmeds.com/

[Hannah Bell]

2. it works well in oregon? hadn't noticed that.

[Silent3]

3. Expanding the "war on drugs" and piling on more annoying restrictions...

...yeah, that'll work!

You say two-liter soda bottles are used to make meth? Well, we'd better start making people show ID when they buy soda, track their soda purchases, and set monthly limits on that too. Or maybe only allow soda drinking with a doctor's prescription. :eyes:

[Taverner]

4. ...or you could just legalize it

And take the money you waste on the drug war, and use it for rehabilitation

Oh, but that would be too smart a solution...

[dkf]

6. Legalize meth?

Yikes

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. While most of the time I'd agree

I might have to draw a line with Meth...

YIKES...

It is actually worst than heroin and this one can be controlled easily... even if not convenient for most of us with a cold.

[Ex Lurker]

14. if less harmful drugs were legal, there might be less demand for nasty ones like meth

nobody drank bathtub gin after prohibition ended.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. Why do you think I am drawing the line with meth?

I am all for legalizing weed, and I'd have no issue with COKE LEAVES... not cocaine. Hell even some shrooms are fine by me.

[ProudDad]

32. They your viewpoint is no different in substance from the hard core drug warriors'

Churchill was said to have asked a prominent Lady whether she'd go to bed with him for 50,000 pounds. She replied, "I think so". Then he said, "How about for 2 pence?" She replied, "Of course not, what kind of person do you think I am?" He answered, "we've already established that, we're now just haggling over price."

The phony "war on drugs(tm)" is the MAJOR road block to reaching addicts and giving them the help they need.

I also agree with the poster upthread -- as one who has experience both as a "consumer" of these substances and as a volunteer worker in recovery -- almost NO meth user would continue if given better alternatives...

[Maru Kitteh]

18. Shit. You can buy shine on any square mile of the Carolinas.

[w8liftinglady]

40. amphetamine was legal(and,actually still is)

doctors will not prescribe it for shits and grins,and it is easily abused.
Same with heroin
same with coke


where do you draw the line?
I am completely for legalization of marijuana..not even medical marijuana..complete legalization.

i have had the end-products of meth,heroin,coke.not pretty...and meth is the hardest to come off of.

[Taverner]

23. Ask yourself this: What good is prohibition doing?

Is locking up users, or dealers for that matter, doing any good.

Is it any good to throw those folks in prison, where they go from just being meth users to hard core criminals, now that their lives are ruined?

Does prison do any good for the meth users? Does it stop meth?

And add to that - if Meth were legal, users wouldn't be getting the toxic stuff on the market today. That would save a lot of lives right there.

[Romulox]

26. Ask yourself this: why wasn't there a "meth epidemic" BEFORE the Drug War began?

And ask yourself this: what seemingly innocuous substance will be the NEXT new bogey man that we need to shake down normal people over? I hear BAKING SODA is needed to make CRACK COCAINE, after all! :scared:

[ProudDad]

30. +1000

[Skink]

5. good article.

Funny how we didn't notice the drug conglomerates(from the eighties mostly) investing in companies that manufature the components of these drugs.

[BoWanZi]

7. I cannot STAND how they make pseudoephedrine a controlled substance

I have tried the new substitute and it is not nearly as good as good ole pseudoephedrine. It makes me feel like a criminal when I go to Walgreens and all I want is some effective cold medicine. My wife and I both use a c-pap machine and having a stuffed up nose is awful to a c-pap user.

I just liked being able to buy what I needed when I go to the drug store. I'm not a criminal and it bothers me that I have to pay for the sins of others. Sorry if pseudoephedrine is used to make meth but buying it should not make me feel like a freaking criminal having to show my license and all that stuff.

If they were ever able to make an equivalent to pseudoephedrine that was just as effective as pseudoephedrine or even moreso and it wasn't able to be used in meth making, then fine, I will support making pseudoephedrine a schedule 1 (or 2?) drug. But there is significant legitimate need for pseudoephedrine with no decent substitute at this time.

[jancantor]

8. Controlled Substance has specific meaning

as in schedules, etc. Pseudo is not a controlled substance. It is however regulated, and in WA state, you gotta show ID, etc. Same with Ephedrine for that matter. Controlled substance is a very specific term in law (drug law). If it's not in Schedules I-V, it is not a controlled substance.

[BoWanZi]

9. I meant to say "I cannot stand how they made pseudoephedrine SEEM like a controlled substance"

I know it not being a scheduled drug but the way that you have to buy plain ole cold medicine makes me feel like I'm buying a scheduled drug.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Ask your doctor about claritin

it is quite OTC thank you very much. and it is very effective at least to me. I cannot take pseudo due to diabetes...

[Romulox]

25. Claritin is TOO MUCH for many of us who have been using pseudophed for years

Claritin provides a 24, continuous dose of the drug that amounts to approximately 4 times the daily dose that I would take if the keystone cops weren't after my pseudophed. It's MASSIVELY diarrhetic, and I'm convinced it elevated my blood pressure, too.

So, no thanks.

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. It is not the same drug for starters

But to each it's own

[Romulox]

41. The only effective formula, Claritin D, contains pseudoephedrine, 240 mg.

:hi:

[nadinbrzezinski]

43. I use plain claritin

No ephedrines for me...and it is effective

[Romulox]

46. Regular Claritin is an *antihistamine*. Claritin D (with pseudoephed) is a NASAL DECONGESTANT

The "D" stands for "decongestant"! The two formulas are indicated for different symptoms, and are not easy substitutes for one another.

If you don't suffer from chronic sinusitis, I am glad for you. But at least be aware that these drugs have a purpose beyond narcotic production! :hi:

Claritin temporarily relieves these symptoms due to hay fever or other upper respiratory allergies:
runny nose
sneezing
itchy, watery eyes
itching of the nose or throat

Claritin-D temporarily relieves these symptoms due to hay fever or other upper respiratory allergies:
sneezing
runny nose
itchy, watery eyes
itching of the nose or throat
temporarily relieves nasal congestion due to the common cold, hay fever or other upper respiratory allergies
reduces swelling of nasal passages
temporarily relieves sinus congestion and pressure
temporarily restores freer breathing through the nose

http://www.claritin.com/claritin/products/index.jspa

[nadinbrzezinski]

47. I know, cannot use any ephedrines, they raise sugar

[Romulox]

48. Similarly, regular Claritin does not treat my chronic sinusitis

Which is why health care choices are best left to doctors and patients, rather than law enforcement officials or Drug Warrior bureaucrats.

[jancantor]

54. oh, i agree

I got a script for oxycontin at one point and they didn't even ask for iD.

but ephedrine? yup

[Jkid]

10. A prescription for a over the counter medicine?

That means paying to see a doctor to before even get to pay for the medicine.

[LynneSin]

44. You don't need a prescription to buy anything with pseudoephedrine

It's kept behind the counter and you are limited to how many you can buy and have to sign something to buy it.

In some ways it does work by cutting back on the number of homemade meth labs. Plus this stuff was something that was highly shoplifted so that is eliminated too.

Homemade Meth labs are toxic nightmares and highly explosive.

[drmeow]

12. The "meth problem"

is exaggerated. Meth has been around for years. I tried Crank (the same thing) in 1983 - the last time it enjoyed a resurgence as the "poor man's cocaine." The anti-drug slogan of the time? Speed kills. And, you know what, it still does. Speed has also been around for at least 70 - 80 years. Like cocaine, it was sold over the counter for a while. And yes, it's dangerous. Remember John Belushi ... a combination of speed and coke killed him. But it also has the some of the lowest incident rates of any drug (about 0.2 to 0.4 % of the US population are regular users). And most people snort it ... not that it is not addictive that way but it gets REALLY bad when you inject it. According to Monitoring the Future (one of the most reliable and significant annual drug use survey of HS students in the nation ... been going on annually for at least 25 years), meth use has been dropping for a number of years.

AZ requires ID for Pseudophedrine ... and it irritates me to no end. When I feel like crap cause I have a cold, the LAST thing I want to have to do is wait in line at the pharmacy (with people who potentially have more serious contagious illnesses) just to get a treatment for my symptoms.

[Bluenorthwest]

27. Belushi died of a 'Speedball' which is an injection of cocaine

and heroin. No 'speed' in a speedball.

[drmeow]

51. Oops, sorry

Thought it was cocaine and speed. My bad.

[Ex Lurker]

13. red herring. most meth comes from mexico

this is a feel good measure that inconveniences the public while doing little to reduce the meth supply. as long as there is demand, there will be someone to fill it.

[PJPhreak]

17. Ding!Ding!Ding! We have a Winner!! Nt

[Ghost in the Machine]

38. Bzzzzzzztttttttttt.... Wrong Answer, No Winner, Sorry!

I live in one of the smallest counties in my state, and we average 2 meth labs busts per day, with the same, or more, in the surrounding counties. You can hardly throw a rock around here without hitting a tweaker or a cook...

[w8liftinglady]

39. same in my 90% repub Texas county..meths users/cookers by the hundreds

someone always getting busted,someone always coming off meth...It's a bitch to get off of,and once the meth look arrives,it rarely goes away.

[cherokeeprogressive]

19. LOL! I guess you've never heard of...

Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, Fontana, Rialto, Lucerne Valley, Yucca Valley, Moreno Valley, or San Bernardino County in general?

Most meth isn't imported; it's cooked somewhere where there aren't many people watching as near to the intended market as practicable. The high desert in California has been the most popular place for 20 years or more.

[Le Taz Hot]

24. Kern County, Tulare County, Fresno County, Madera County . . .

farmland's pretty popular as well.

[XemaSab]

37. Shasta County, Butte County, Glenn County, Colusa County, Sutter County, Yuba County

There's an old meth house two doors down from me. :(

And I forgot Tehama County which is the worst. x(

[killbotfactory]

20. How about we make life a lot less shitty for poor folks?

It might work, you never know.

[Johonny]

34. rich people take a lot of drugs to

[walldude]

42. LOL.. rich people do not do Meth..

They do Coke or get real Speed from their doctor.

[drmeow]

52. Rich kids do meth

Rich adults do coke and get real speed from their MD.

[killbotfactory]

50. They tend to do rich people drugs

And since they have money, they can survive a trendy drug habit without resorting to petty crime and/or having their lives needlessly ruined by the justice system.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

36. Wanna see alot of teen drug use?

Forget those poor public schools and go visit a private high school. It's unreal at the amount and quality of drugs some private school kids have acess to versus a public high school. I went to both a private and public school (both in the same county). It's no contest.

[killbotfactory]

49. Not when it comes to meth

Which applies to more than just rich teens experimenting with drugs.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

56. True... meth and "sniffing" were not very popular at private school

It was kind of a junkie/lamer move to use meth or sniff something to get high.
At public schools (along with cheap shit-weed) that's all there is.

The problem is:
A) Meth is dangerous to make
B) Meth has some nasty side affects
C) It's addictive as hell

I fully support legalizing MJ and Blow.
I do not support the legalization or even condone the private use of meth. It's just too nasty.

[inna]

21. Kill the Drug War Monster instead eom

[Warren DeMontague]

22. Or, you could legalize and tax marijuana, end the drug war, & adopt harm reduction strategies

for drugs like meth. Treat addiction as a public health problem, not a law enforcement one.

What the article fails to notice is that the "latest bad news" about these mobile meth-labs-in-a-bottle is only the newest response on the part of the meth makers to the drug war. Every single escalation, every single new tactic, breeds a newer, better tactic on the other side. So now, instead of immobile meth labs, we have plastic bottles full of deadly chemicals sitting on the side of the freeway.

Maybe it's time to admit that our decades- nay, centuries- long experiment in governments and religions trying to act like the bodies of consenting adults are somehow state/church property... has failed.

No, I don't see meth being legal and available at the 7/11, but I do think that the $40 Billion we spend fighting pot smoking could pay for a far wiser approach to this problem. Best argument against meth I've ever seen is meth users themselves. Look how much we've done to reduce nicotine addiciton in this country, and nicotine is still legal. $40B a year could pay for a lot of public education, a lot of treatment on demand.

[WilliamPitt]

29. I depend on Claritin

[hobbit709]

31. The one pot recipe has been around for a long time.

It's not the newest thing around.

Even money says I can score meth within 24 hours anywhere in Oregon.

[w8liftinglady]

33. they did this in Texas a few years ago...

unfortunately,there are other ways to make meth...and they are still out there en force...I know...I live near some of the producers

[MadHound]

35. Better yet, legalize and regulate meth and other such drugs

You could get tax revenue, people would be getting a better product, we would end this huge related crime wave, and we could stop the erosion of our civil rights.

[Retrograde]

45. He must have a very good medical plan

or a friendly doctor who will write a prescription in advance. Most folks have to wait until they can barely breathe, hope to get a doctor's appointment within a day or so, drag themselves in for the appointment when they're groggy and achy, pay the doctor, then go to a pharmacy to fill the prescription.

Yes, meth's a problem. But why is it a problem? Could it have anything to do with a lack of local decent-paying jobs combined with potentially high profits? I've never used it, but put me in the "Legalize It" camp: it probably won't make matters any worse.

[Poll_Blind]

53. I live in Oregon. Meth used to be real bad here. It's still pretty bad here.

People on meth can be really, really fucking dangerous. I miss pseudoephedrine hydrochloride- I don't think any pharmacy carries it in Eugene (so you can't just sign for it). Nothing could clear up a running nose anywhere near as good and I almost always get sinus infections in the winter time.

But anything that keeps meth use down is good. I don't know how many of you out there actually live in places where there are tweakers but it's maybe one of the worst things I've seen that can happen to a person.

It's going to be hard for me to convey to someone exactly what it's like, how bad tweakers are, unless you've experienced it yourself. But running into a couple of tweakers is about as nerve wracking as running into a pack of wolves.

Things are still pretty bad, but they're way better than they used to be.

PB

[Biker13]

55. We're In Idaho...

and plus one Poll_Blind! This is an evil drug, and is destroying our youth. Legalizing it is insane, and this comes from a 53 year old woman who grew up in the 70's! I know drugs, and this one is the worst of the worst!

Biker's Old Lady