The Meth Epidemic
This video tracks the history of the methamphetamine addiction in America. Beginning in Oregon, the film introduces the viewer to the different street names of the drug and ways in which it has affected the people addicted. Cited as the drug responsible for over 85% of the property crimes and the leading cause of the removal of children from the home, "Meth" quickly became a national crisis. One study tracked the arrests and crimes associated with this drug and came to a stunning conclusion. Meth use, crime, and accidents are tied to the purity of the drug. One DEA agent, Gene Haislip, who was responsible for eradicating the drug Quaalude from the United States, thought he would tackle this drug with the same strategy. Unfortunately, the pharmaceutical industry disagreed with Haislip and appealed to government to halt regulations that would limit the supply of ephedrine which is necessary to make Meth. Haislip, who had proposed regulating ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, was astounded when congress voted to have the DEA regulations eliminated. After the drug epidemic raced across the U.S. and government officials began to recognize that meth was a larger problem that they had earlier recognized, some regulation were finally implemented. Now, twenty years later, we see the epidemic has spread across the country to the east coast. A frightening chain of events has brought meth and all the tragic consequences of addiction to this powerful drug to our doorsteps.My initial reaction to this video was an "ah ha" moment. I wasn't aware that this drug was one that affected the dopamine levels in the brain. Considering that I have avoided any drug with ephedrine or pseudoephedrine for years, I thought there was something more like caffeine in those cold medicines. I remember in the eighties, the drug "Crystal Meth" being talked about. I knew there were people that made that drug and another called "Crank." But back then all the focus was on the cocaine addiction and the "Crack" that was made from cocaine. Cocaine also increases the amount of dopamine the brain releases and causes addiction. I thought what I saw in the faces of the Meth addicts looked very much like what we saw in the 90's with the cocaine users. I took a class back in the 90's at West Georgia, called "The Chemistry of Drugs." It was an interesting mix of theory about the use of drugs and the chemical compounds that produce addictive results in humans. One thing that I recall vividly was something one of the professors stated. He reminded us that no drug had the power to make you addicted unless it was abused. So, I have a hard time feeling any sympathy for the people who would willingly use such a drug repeatedly and then plead ignorance. I do feel an enormous amount of sympathy for the children.One very powerful statement in that video was "...we are producing an entire generation believing that criminal activity and drug use are normal..." I feel that most Americans would go through the inconvenience of getting our cold medicines from the clerks and showing our ID's if we knew we were helping to save lives. I remember the first time I had to show my ID to get cold medicine and then the clerk told me why. I told her to put it back and I would get something else. I think it should be a national campaign to make the public aware of what precautionary measures are being taken and to allow us to be a part of the solution. As a matter of fact, I don't care if they take pseudoephedrine out of cold medicines altogether. I can't take it because it makes my heart beat rapidly, my hands shake uncontrollably, and I get really tired afterward. As a former instructor for a class called "Risk Reduction" for the state of Georgia, I can testify to the devastating results of alcohol and drugs. The problem with addiction is that you can't predict with certainty that the disease is in remission like you can with cancer. Most addicts will die at an early age and with devastating consequences for their families. Addiction is key to criminals making money. How do we stop addiction? ................
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