Pubdate: Sun, 12 Nov 2000
Source: Enterprise-Journal, The (MS)
Copyright: 2000 The Enterprise-Journal
Contact:  P.O. Box 910, McComb, MS 39649
Website: http://www.enterprise-journal.com/
Author: Jack Anderson and Douglas Cohn

METH PRODUCERS ON THE INCREASE

WASHINGTON -- Methamphetamine, a stimulant drug that has been used since the
1960s, is also known as ice, crank and speed. In fact, there are actually
more than 10 street names for the product. The drug is cheaper and easier to
produce than cocaine.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy reports that methamphetamine is
"a highly addictive central nervous system stimulant that can be injected,
snorted, smoked or ingested orally," and that users experience "a short yet
intense 'rush' ... increased activity, decreased appetite and a sense of
well being that can last 6 to 8 hours." Further, use of the drug can result
in "addiction, psychotic behavior and brain damage."

The drug causes brain damage similar to that of Alzheimer's. Chronic use can
lead to "violent behavior, anxiety, confusion and insomnia." Users can also
experience hallucinations, mood swings, delusions and paranoia. The drug
destroys brain cells and damage can persist months after use.
Methamphetamine enables its users to stay awake for 10 days straight without
food.

According to Dr. Alan Leshner, the director of the National Institute on
Drug Abuse, methamphetamine "has gone from being concentrated in the
Southwest up the West Coast to the Midwest." The use of this drug has grown
so much in the Midwest that Dr. Leshner calls it "nothing short of a
methamphetamine crisis."

The Methamphetamine Interagency Task Force also reported that the drug has
historically been "concentrated primarily in the West and Southwest.
However, since the early 1990s, methamphetamine gradually has been moving
into the Midwest and South," and is now "used throughout most major
metropolitan areas, less in the Northeast."

In fact, the Office of National Drug Control Policy found that in 1999, "4.3
percent (9.4 million people) of the U.S. population reported trying
methamphetamine at least once in their lifetime," with the highest numbers
of use occurring among people between the ages of 18 and 25. Approximately
1.4 percent of those between the ages of 12 and 17 reported one-time use.

Methamphetamine use has increased alarmingly in the rural areas of the
country as well. A National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at
Columbia University, recently released a study that found eighth-graders in
rural areas are 104 percent more likely to use amphetamines than their urban
counterparts.

Part of the reason that the use of speed has increased is because of the
ease of manufacture. Materials can be obtained from local stores such as
Wal-Mart or Target. The Methamphetamine Interagency Task Force reported that
basic materials include "over-the-counter drugs, household products and
other readily available chemicals," such as lye, iodine, rock salt, lighter
fluid, propane, match sticks or drain cleaner.

Moreover, speed recipes can easily be found on the Internet. One of the
favorites is referred to as the Nazi method, which utilizes common chemicals
and equipment and is less dangerous than other methods, which involve using
heat that can lead to explosions. A person buying $100 of supplies can sell
the end product for $1,000.

The ease with which people can produce the drug has led to the increase of
clandestine labs all over the nation. In 1999, the DEA seized 2,205 such
labs, which is a significant increase from the 1,627 seized in 1998.
Traditional sources for the drug have been traffickers from Mexico and
motorcycle gangs, but now there has been a surge in the number of people
making and distributing the drug from their own homes. It's not just the
consumers' new drug of choice, it's the producers' as well.
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