Eighty percent of America’s meth supply comes from Mexico, smuggled over the border in windshield wiper fluid and beer. But local meth labs are still in business, manufacturing crystals in less than an hour using the one-pot method.
Officials report that the problem isn’t finding meth labs, it’s stopping them. Due to demand and high profits, labs continue to surface across the country, particularly in rural areas.
Clandestine Crank
Methamphetamine originated in Japan; it was used by Kamikaze pilots in World War II to curb exhaustion and bolster courage. After reaching the United States, it became popular among outlaw motorcycle gangs like the Hell’s Angels, who stored it in their crankcases. Hence, meth earned the nickname “crank”.
Since that time, meth has gone viral, infesting the streets and homes of Americans in all walks of life and in every economic strata. A soccer mom in Dallas may be just as hooked as the hollow-eyed, haggard addicts hunched in doorways on the street at night.
Meth can be manufactured using common household products that are harmless by themselves, but when combined to make meth, they are extremely toxic and explosive. You may be in a meth lab if you find stockpiles of the following ingredients:
• Acetone
• Battery acid
• Brake cleaner
• Drain cleaner
• Freon
• Iodine crystals
• Paint thinner
• Reactive metals like sodium or lithium
• Starting fluid (ether)
One of the key ingredients in meth is pseudoephedrine, which is contained in many cold medications. Law enforcement officials track sales in order to crack down on meth production, but manufacturers get around this by using others to make purchases, a process known as “smurfing”. They usually elect innocent-looking people to be smurfers, as in the case of Linda Clark, a sixty-year-old grandmother from Arkansas who was arrested for making thirty-eight purchases of pseudoephedrine in the past two years. She was charged with aiding the manufacture of meth, a felony.
Mexican Cartels
Mexican drug cartels continue to find their way into the United States despite the increase in border seizures, which has doubled in the last two years. The four main cartels are Sinaloa, Tijuana, La Familia Michoacana (LFM) and Beltran-Leyva. The Latino pipeline is why the drug has been dubbed Mexican Ice.
The price of meth has gone down considerably in the past three years while the purity has increased. However, it is often diluted as it goes down the chain of dealers, which is why many users opt for meth produced by local labs.
The End Result Of Meth Use
Methamphetamine acts on a neurotransmitter in the brain called dopamine, which regulates pleasure sensations. It creates a rush of dopamine, giving a strong euphoria that can last as long as twelve hours. It is also used as a stimulant, as it increases energy and alertness.
On the other side of the coin, meth use can cause diarrhea and nausea, excessive sweating, tremors, jaw-clenching, agitation, irritability, panic, and confusion. Long-term use produces weight loss, withdrawal symptoms including depression, “meth mouth” (where teeth quickly and drastically decay and fall out), and drug-related psychosis, which may last for months or years after use. Overdose can cause brain damage, the sense of flesh crawling (leading users to pick at their skin), paranoia, hallucinations, muscle breakdown leading to kidney damage, and death from heart attack or elevated temperature.
The best way to avoid these effects is to stay away from meth. If you are addicted get help. If not get educated so you do not try the drug in the first place.
For more information go to www.narconon.org.
Source: http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/nov/17/by-don-wadescripps-howard-news-service/