How to Fight the Meth Problem

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How to Fight the Meth Problem

Meth Labs are making a lot more than methamphetamine.

A unique thing about the Drug trade is the way the demand is created. In most industries, if you flood the market with cheap product, the demand goes down.

Local and international drug dealers have known for decades that this doesn’t hold true in the illicit drug industry. The more people have access to and use drugs of abuse, the more Addiction results and the higher the demand becomes. The old story of the drug pusher offering free drugs to new users is true. With drugs like Heroin and Cocaine and meth, it’s just shrewd business.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in recent years with the explosion of the crystal meth problem. Meth labs are being found in upscale neighborhoods, in urban ghettos and in rural areas. The proverbial “moonshine stills” of years past have given way to meth labs, illegal and highly toxic factories that churn out crystal meth by the pound.

In an attempt to curb crystal meth production many states are moving one of the vital precursors out of the reach of shoplifting tweakers. Many states now require a signature and photo ID to purchase Ephedrine and pseudo ephedrine containing products.

Toxic Wastelands

These meth labs are making a lot more than Methamphetamine. It is estimated that for every pound of finished methamphetamine, there is a byproduct of five pounds of toxic waste.

These labs are detectable in many ways, some of them obvious.

1. Empty chemical bottles in the trash, Clorox, etc.

2. Residents usually of a secretive nature.

3. Windows covered up, never open, or, windows open at the strangest times, in mid-winter or only when nobody might be around to peer in.

4. Strong odors sometimes similar to cat urine.

5. Often the place is trashed.

6. The people in the house come outside to smoke - always.

The chemicals used to make meth are toxic, and the lab operators routinely dump waste into streams, rivers, fields, and sewage systems. It is estimated that for every pound of crystal methamphetamine produced in one of these labs there are five pounds of toxic waste that must be disposed of.

Children exposed to these toxins are in grave danger. In these houses every surface including the walls and especially porous surfaces such as carpets and blankets can be contaminated with methamphetamine for long periods of time. Cleaning up a meth lab site will take many thousands of dollars before it is inhabitable again.

The way to combat this scourge is to bring children up to the point of full awareness of the dangerous and rapidly addicting properties of methamphetamine. This must be done before they are exposed.

For the user? There is help. At the Narconon drug detox and rehab program the road out is mapped and the drug detox portion of the program provides tremendous relief from the cravings they experience so they can truly learn to live life without ever using again.

Definitions of Terms Used

Term	Description
Addiction	Strong physiological, emotional and/or psychological dependence on a substance such as alcohol or drugs that has progressed beyond voluntary control. For more on addiction see the section Addiction Information in this website.
Cocaine	A highly addictive stimulant drug derived from the cocoa plant that produces feelings of euphoria. Also see Crack.
Drug	Any substance, other than food, that changes the function or structure of the body or mind when ingested. Drugs essentially are poisons. The degree they are taken determines the effect. A small amount acts as a stimulant. A greater amount acts as a sedative. A larger amount acts as a poison and can kill one dead. This is true of any drug. Each has a different amount at which it gives those results.
Heroin	The potent, widely abused opiate that produces a profound addiction. It consists of two morphine molecules linked together chemically.
Methamphetamine	A commonly abused, potent stimulant drug that is part of a larger family of amphetamines.
Narconon	A non-religious, non-profit drug rehabilitation program using technology developed by author L. Ron Hubbard. The Narconon program was originally organized in Arizona State Prison in 1966 by William Benitez, an inmate who was himself a drug addict. He applyed basic principles regarding self awareness and self assurance contained in books by L. Ron Hubbard and, by doing so, completely cured his own addiction to heroin. Mr Benitez then went on to help twenty other inmates do the same. Today there are Narconon centers in 45 countries.