Speed, crank, ice, crystal-meth, glass, go-fast – that which we call methamphetamine by any other name is just as deadly, across the nation and here in our own county. North Carolina law enforcement reported 322 meth lab busts statewide in 2004 – up from only nine labs in 1999. This September, authorities found the largest meth lab in Mecklenburg County concealed in a South Charlotte condominium. The deadly production and proliferation of meth on Charlotte’s doorstep demands attention. We are no longer at liberty to plead ignorance to the deadly drug – no matter what nickname it’s going by.
Speed’s story
Methamphetamine is a highly addictive and versatile stimulant that affects the central nervous system. Commonly referred to as “poor man’s cocaine,” meth costs the same or less than crack cocaine at $25 to $100 per gram, but offers users more bang for their buck by offering a longer-lasting high. Like cocaine, meth is a powerful “upper,” producing alertness and elation along with a host of adverse side effects. A synthetic drug that can be sold in the form of pills, capsules, crystal or powder, meth can be smoked, snorted, injected or swallowed.
Meth was first manufactured by a pharmaceutical company and is available by prescription for the treatment of attention deficit disorders and obesity. Unfortunately, meth has garnered a more notorious reputation for its illicit uses. Historically, meth was primarily imported into the United States as a finished product from Mexico, Canada, China and Southeast Asia. The bulk of local meth production once took place at “super labs” capable of making more than 10 pounds of methamphetamine in 24 hours from bulk chemicals illegally smuggled into the United States.
However, during the past decade authorities have reported a substantial increase in the number of household-based labs used to create small batches of meth from legitimate household products, often from recipes found online or passed on by other users and meth cooks. Meth production is easier and more accessible than ever, with makeshift labs often small enough to fit inside a suitcase. And while small labs can’t produce the same bulk as “super labs,” the financial gain is still great. Investing in a few hundred dollars in chemicals and over-the-counter medications can result in thousands of dollars’ worth of methamphetamine.
Accessible high, disastrous impact
The principle product involved in meth manufacturing is pseudoephedrine or ephedrine, commonly found in over-the-counter cold and asthma medications. It is for this reason that retailers are now required to offer pseudoephedrine products through pharmacy counters and in limited quantities. Other easily obtained meth ingredients include acetone, rubbing and isopropyl alcohol, iodine, ether found in lighter fluid, gas additives (methanol), sulfuric acid found in drain cleaner, lithium batteries, rock salt, red phosphorous found in matchbooks, lye, paint thinner, aluminum foil, coffee filters and propane tanks.
While the substances used to create meth are relatively safe on their own, combining them results in a new, highly volatile product. The reckless practice inherent to drug users producing a dangerous drug on their kitchen stovetops results in explosions and fires that injure and kill users as well as law enforcement officers, fire department responders and unwitting neighbors. Exposure to the chemicals used in the making of meth can burn the skin, eyes and nose and result in kidney and nerve damage. Even when explosions don’t occur, meth production creates toxic byproducts that pose substantial threats to the environment. Every pound of meth produced leaves behind five to six pounds of toxic waste. These noxious materials are often discarded down household or storm drains or directly into the ground where they can persist in the soil and groundwater for decades.
Meth lab cleanup costs are exorbitant due to the dangerous nature of the compounds involved and the need to incinerate all contaminated soil. Cleanup costs can range from $5,000 to $150,000 per lab. Economic costs fall squarely on local, state and federal governments that are left to provide for social services costs, treatment, prevention, research and law enforcement.
The face of meth
For users, the dividends are highly detrimental as well. When an individual first uses meth, dopamine is released, producing feelings of energy, pleasure and self-confidence. Hours after using meth, brain cells release an enzyme that stops the dopamine flow. Continued meth use can permanently destroy a person’s ability to experience pleasure naturally. Effects of meth include appetite and weight loss, dental decay, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, paranoia, depression, irritability and anxiety. Meth users suffer the same addiction cycle as cocaine users, leading to binges of consuming the drug continuously for three or more days without sleep. While cocaine binges rarely last longer than 72 hours, meth binges can last up to two weeks, followed by severe depression, paranoia and aggression known as tweaking. The paranoia experienced by cocaine users usually disappears once the binge ends; the severe anxiety experienced by meth users may last for days or weeks following a binge. Meth addicts can stay awake for months with only a couple days of sleep and often experience skin ulceration and infection as a result from picking at imaginary bugs users think they feel under their skin. While many mistakenly believe meth to be less harmful than crack, cocaine or heroin, the components used in the manufacturing of meth lead to a greater chance of heart attack, stroke and seizures with meth than with other drugs.
Yet who uses meth? Common conception paints the portrait that meth users are shriveled, unshaved addicts huddled in basements brewing up batches of battery acid-laced drugs. Surely none of us know anyone like that. The reality may surprise you.
