Meth scourge is growing

Meth scourge is growing

On television's "Breaking Bad," crystal meth turns a mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher, Walter White, into a paranoid, murderous multimillionaire.

In the real world of Bridgeport, it allegedly turned a charismatic potential Catholic bishop, Monsignor Kevin Wallin, into a twitching, hyperkinetic addict and cellphone-juggling drug dealer,

according to court documents and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Caruso.

On the street, crystal methamphetamine is called crank, ice and glass.

But in federal court, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas P. Smith called the growing problem with the drug in the Northeast a "dirty bomb" unleashed like plutonium on an unaware society.

"It's creeping eastward from California," Smith has warned.

To Dr. Gary Blick, a Norwalk HIV/AIDS specialist and internist, that's an understatement.

"It's already here in full force and not going away," Blick said.

Since July, the State Police Statewide Narcotics Task Force has seized 6,391 grams of meth, about 14 pounds. Most came from the Wallin case.

That represents a marked increased from the 154 grams, or roughly five ounces, the task force seized the previous fiscal year.

Another 30 pounds, or $4.2 million worth of meth, was seized from a car by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Massachusetts State Police in December.

State Police Capt. Dale Hourigan, head of the Statewide Narcotics Task Force, said he has been advised by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that crystal meth is being manufactured in pill form and distributed as Ecstasy,

a popular club drug.

These revelations, along with the latest task force intelligence, tell Hourigan that Connecticut has a large customer base.

To help get the word out on what he sees as a growing contagion, Hourigan has directed Wayne Kowal, his training-program coordinator, to compile a bulletin for local police.

Kowal also is available to talk to parent and professional groups about crystal meth and other drugs in an effort to head off the scourge.

Feel-good drug

Crystal meth use is not just endemic to the seamy, criminal underworld. It spans all of middle America -- bored housewives looking for kicks, upwardly mobile businessmen who crave its chemical energy and naive,

experimenting teens. Even ordained priests are not immune to its seduction.

Celebrities charged in connection with methamphetamine possession included rock star Eddie Van Halen, singer Fergie, figure skater Nicole Bobek and evangelist Ted Haggard.

As state police are discovering, meth poses a big problem in the homosexual and bisexual community -- which Blick treats.

"This is a feel-good drug," Blick said. "It's inexpensive, it takes away inhibitions and its effects last for hours. So you want to use it over and over and over again."

But don't expect to find it being sold on street corners like crack and heroin. Interviews with users confirm that it's available in sex clubs, online bulletin boards and in social networks.

"When I was addicted, five or six years ago, I had to search far and wide," said a local meth addict -- now in rehabilitation -- who asked for anonymity because of the stigma of being a former drug user.

"Now it's within 10-minutes access."

The drug suppresses appetite, often leading to weight loss and a gaunt, wasted appearance. But it can increase concentration and focus, and reduce the need for sleep.

So for the soccer mom, that means "getting up, getting the kids to school, going to the gym, doing the laundry, driving the kids to after-school activities and having dinner on the table all by 6 p.m.," Frank said.

Travis Wendel, a senior research associate in the anthropology department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, helped author a 2011 research report titled "Dynamics of Methamphetamine Markets in New York City."

Most of the participants interviewed reported the drug enhances sex, reduces pain and helps them cope.

The study estimated there were about 63,000 meth users spending roughly $640 million on the drug in the New York City market alone.

"The salient point to make here is that with increased production, wider availability in the U.S. and lower market prices, methamphetamine use will likely rise in the U.S. in the next few years," the report concluded.

But Blick and Frank see a bigger concern, increasing HIV infections in younger men.

Blick said the drug's inhibition-reducing effect causes HIV-positive users to discontinue medical drug regimens that arrest the virus and reduce the risk of transfer.

"So they go into clubs and have unsafe sex."

"I'm absolutely positive that the introduction of crystal meth into the men-having-sex-with-men community has sent HIV infections soaring," the doctor said.

"People on crystal meth don't care about themselves. They don't care about their partners. Their only care is getting high."

Meth 101

The drug in its methamphetamine form was synthesized in 1893. During World War II, both sides used it to fight fatigue and suppress appetite in military personnel. Nowadays,

it's only two FDA approved uses are to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, where low, time-released doses increase concentration and to help manage obesity.

By the 1960s, outlaw motorcycle gangs discovered it was a tremendous money maker, and began producing it using household chemicals. A $150 investment in cold tablets, aquarium tubing, matches, household cleaners and battery acid could produce a $10,000 profit.

Cont -

Read more: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/Meth-scourge-is-growing-4380982.php#ixzz2OicNYPcI

I swear there were articles identical to this almost 5/10 years ago when meth first blew up outside Cali.

People of every socioeconomic status have been doing it for a long ass time

Next from this source "crack, a growing epidemic in poor urban areas"

The study estimated there were about 63,000 meth users spending roughly $640 million on the drug in the New York City market alone.

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So, the average meth user in NYC is spending $10,000 USD per year? I find this hard to believe.

"People on crystal meth don't care about themselves. They don't care about their partners. Their only care is getting high."

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I strongly disagree. That may be a sub-population of meth users, but certainly not all of them.

Good. That Mexican shit is a lot better/safer then a tweaker shake and bake shit.

SDforever420 said:

Good. That Mexican shit is a lot better/safer then a tweaker shake and bake shit.

Click to expand...

^ the "Mexican shit" is getting made more and more in the United States these days.

Believe it or not, it's easier for the cartels to smuggle in the precursors and what not, and set up labs here, compared to smuggling in the finalized product.

Even though the cartels are still heavily involved, it's funny how more often these days it's made in the US.

Frankly it's the same thing either way, assuming the same lab equipment is utilized, and the precursors and what not are of equal quality and not contaminated upon being smuggled in, it should literally be the same thing.

If you're finding this hard to believe, do some research about how thoroughly close to bankrupt some individual police departments became after focusing on busting and closing down domestic meth labs. The ultimate problem with the war on drugs, when it comes to methamphetamine labs, is that the sheer cost to safely shut down a methamphetamine lab, as well as all of the man hours needed by qualified professionals just to disassemble it, is astronomical. The price to set up the lab is only a fraction of what the police would have to spend to shut it down.

Because the police departments were becoming bankrupt from shutting down meth labs, they actually stopped directly targeting (i.e. going out of their way to pursue a case against) the meth labs and the people who cook. In fact, some departments assert that they will still shut down a meth lab, particularly if it's brought to their attention via crime stoppers or what not, but that they don't go out of their way - at all - to shut them down, as it's a huge burden on the operating budget for a police department.

I'm indifferent to the cost of setting up/shutting down illicit meth labs. What kills me is the sheer environmental damage these labs can do when operated by shit heads (who have no idea how to properly store toxic waste so that it doesn't immediately start harming humans, animals, plants/trees, and the earth itself). I wish methamphetamine was legalized, just to eliminate the monetary incentive to run an illicit meth lab. This way, there could be pharmaceutical companies producing it, instead of a bunch of people in the South, and a bunch of people on the west coast - some of which are doing this in motels/hotels, houses, etc. which leads to contamination of someone else's room/house.

I'm hoping one day people start thinking about the damage the war on drugs is doing to the environment in itself, as environmental pollution can go on to harm human beings/animals/plants, which can also indirectly harm humans as we consume/utilize these contaminated animals/plants... it just keeps going on and on.

moral of story... acid > meth


lol the line "hyperkinetic cellphone jugling bishop dealer" LOL! just image it haha

Next from this source "crack, a growing epidemic in poor urban areas"

Click to expand...

"Sniffing Some Glues May Be Harmful"

Captain.Heroin said:

So, the average meth user in NYC is spending $10,000 USD per year? I find this hard to believe.

Click to expand...

That works out to $27 a day or $189 a weekend. I'm not sure how meth is priced or how much each high costs but it doesn't seem that crazy. Hell, i use to burn through 3-4 $50 sacks of weed in a week easily during my twenties, especially if there were friends involved. Also keep in mind the average apartment in NYC is well over $1500 and ~$100k a year is considered a middle class wage.

Captain.Heroin said:

^ the "Mexican shit" is getting made more and more in the United States these days.

Believe it or not, it's easier for the cartels to smuggle in the precursors and what not, and set up labs here, compared to smuggling in the finalized product.

Even though the cartels are still heavily involved, it's funny how more often these days it's made in the US.

Frankly it's the same thing either way, assuming the same lab equipment is utilized, and the precursors and what not are of equal quality and not contaminated upon being smuggled in, it should literally be the same thing.

If you're finding this hard to believe, do some research about how thoroughly close to bankrupt some individual police departments became after focusing on busting and closing down domestic meth labs. The ultimate problem with the war on drugs, when it comes to methamphetamine labs, is that the sheer cost to safely shut down a methamphetamine lab, as well as all of the man hours needed by qualified professionals just to disassemble it, is astronomical. The price to set up the lab is only a fraction of what the police would have to spend to shut it down.

Because the police departments were becoming bankrupt from shutting down meth labs, they actually stopped directly targeting (i.e. going out of their way to pursue a case against) the meth labs and the people who cook. In fact, some departments assert that they will still shut down a meth lab, particularly if it's brought to their attention via crime stoppers or what not, but that they don't go out of their way - at all - to shut them down, as it's a huge burden on the operating budget for a police department.

I'm indifferent to the cost of setting up/shutting down illicit meth labs. What kills me is the sheer environmental damage these labs can do when operated by shit heads (who have no idea how to properly store toxic waste so that it doesn't immediately start harming humans, animals, plants/trees, and the earth itself). I wish methamphetamine was legalized, just to eliminate the monetary incentive to run an illicit meth lab. This way, there could be pharmaceutical companies producing it, instead of a bunch of people in the South, and a bunch of people on the west coast - some of which are doing this in motels/hotels, houses, etc. which leads to contamination of someone else's room/house.

I'm hoping one day people start thinking about the damage the war on drugs is doing to the environment in itself, as environmental pollution can go on to harm human beings/animals/plants, which can also indirectly harm humans as we consume/utilize these contaminated animals/plants... it just keeps going on and on.

Click to expand...

Wow very interesting. Meth is such a brutal drug to the users I don't see it gaining popularity.

Captain.Heroin said:

Because the police departments were becoming bankrupt from shutting down meth labs, they actually stopped directly targeting (i.e. going out of their way to pursue a case against) the meth labs and the people who cook. In fact, some departments assert that they will still shut down a meth lab, particularly if it's brought to their attention via crime stoppers or what not, but that they don't go out of their way - at all - to shut them down, as it's a huge burden on the operating budget for a police department.

Click to expand...

So now they can focus all their efforts on marijuana.
Marijuana growers are less dangerous, cheaper to take down, more grow-ops than meth labs mean more busts and more money.

So they will ignore 10 meth labs to go after the easy cheaper kill.

According to the media, every drug is always growing in popularity. I guess "methamphetamine use down from last year" doesn't sell papers.

^lol. I think drugs will increase with popularity in the short run. Further down the road when medical technology advandces people will avoid drugs like the plague. Alcohol and tobacco, tiobacco especially declined in popularity as the life expectancy went up. Correlation dont prove causations but don't tell me that if you were confident you'd never see your 40's that you wouldn't make some different decisions in life.

I see Meth gaining popularity in the U.S. due to the financial crisis and economy. People are needing to work 2-3 jobs to keep a roof over their head so they can't afford to be tired and have no energy.

The meth scourge? It's not growing, at least not in the U.S.

Captain.Heroin said:

So, the average meth user in NYC is spending $10,000 USD per year? I find this hard to believe.

Click to expand...

i find it very easy to believe.. i mean, when your behavior is centered around the use and acquisition of drugs, the hyper-stimulated mind wastes no trying to score.. i.e. steal, rob, kill..