Methamphetamine Addiction, You Probably Know Some Addicts
Nov 12, 2015 4:31:33 GMT -6
Nugget, Mystic Wanderer, and 4 more like this
Post by Michigan Swamp Buck on Nov 12, 2015 4:31:33 GMT -6
In the local news broadcasts in my area we hear about meth labs getting busted or about the police finding abandoned labs and waste products. They will often find the labs out in the woods or on properties away from town and because of the frequency of such finds I had considered it the modern day version of the old white lightening stills back in the hill country. I knew it was common enough that I had supposed that I knew a few addicts but figured it was just the trouble making criminals I never associated with. It was a possibility at least that I may have known a few without really knowing who the addicts were.
That changed earlier back in the spring when I took a job at a local plastics shop about 12 miles from home. There was a young woman working there who seemed like a normal country type girl who is a single mom with a young son. She is a nice looking plain Jane who, if I was half my age and not involved with my own girlfriend, I would have dated. She was very likable and I found her to be attractive with a desirable and strong personality. She had a boyfriend who's brother also worked there and apparently this guy and his brother were meth heads. I wasn't really aware of this until they were all finally fired, not because they were known to be addicts, but because of the daily drama and the frequent days off due to one excuse or another. After one of the last drama scenes I witnessed it seemed she had broken up with this guy and was crying outside during a break. I wanted to give her a hug but could only bring myself to give her a pat on the back, I didn't want to get to involved or seem like I was hitting on her. Once they were fired, another guy there that started about the time I did, who had gotten to know these addicts told me what was really going on. I now personally knew some meth heads.
A month or two latter, one of the local trouble makers near my home was busted with a meth lab and sent to jail. He didn't have anything going for himself and to make it worse, he had cancer and it didn't look good for him. During his first week in jail he committed suicide.
Now just yesterday my girlfriend found out on the Facebook page of one of the local news channels that a guy we knew personally was busted with a mobile meth lab parked at the local college campus. He is the son in law of a couple we are close friends with. His wife, our friend's daughter, had recently found out she was pregnant with there first child together. It was confirmed he was the guy when we saw his picture on TV during a news report last night.
DrugFacts: Methamphetamine
For years now, someone in my area has been dumping small plastic grocery bags filled with used cat litter along the roadside. I normally have to clean up a half dozen or so bags every spring from the ditch on my property. A friend of mine said that meth heads dump their spent chemicals into used cat litter to disguise the smell and then dump them on the road to keep the evidence out of their garbage or off their property. Obviously someone within a couple of miles or so has had a meth lab for a number of years. Who can say which neighbor is the meth heads.
That changed earlier back in the spring when I took a job at a local plastics shop about 12 miles from home. There was a young woman working there who seemed like a normal country type girl who is a single mom with a young son. She is a nice looking plain Jane who, if I was half my age and not involved with my own girlfriend, I would have dated. She was very likable and I found her to be attractive with a desirable and strong personality. She had a boyfriend who's brother also worked there and apparently this guy and his brother were meth heads. I wasn't really aware of this until they were all finally fired, not because they were known to be addicts, but because of the daily drama and the frequent days off due to one excuse or another. After one of the last drama scenes I witnessed it seemed she had broken up with this guy and was crying outside during a break. I wanted to give her a hug but could only bring myself to give her a pat on the back, I didn't want to get to involved or seem like I was hitting on her. Once they were fired, another guy there that started about the time I did, who had gotten to know these addicts told me what was really going on. I now personally knew some meth heads.
A month or two latter, one of the local trouble makers near my home was busted with a meth lab and sent to jail. He didn't have anything going for himself and to make it worse, he had cancer and it didn't look good for him. During his first week in jail he committed suicide.
Now just yesterday my girlfriend found out on the Facebook page of one of the local news channels that a guy we knew personally was busted with a mobile meth lab parked at the local college campus. He is the son in law of a couple we are close friends with. His wife, our friend's daughter, had recently found out she was pregnant with there first child together. It was confirmed he was the guy when we saw his picture on TV during a news report last night.
How is Meth Made?
Most of the methamphetamine abused in the United States is manufactured in “superlabs” here or, more often, in Mexico. But the drug is also easily made in small clandestine laboratories, with relatively inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients such as pseudoephedrine, a common ingredient in cold medicines. To curb production of methamphetamine, pharmacies and other retail stores are required by law to keep logs of purchases of products containing pseudoephedrine; individuals may only purchase a limited amount of those products on a single day.
Methamphetamine production also involves a number of other, very hazardous chemicals. Toxicity from these chemicals can remain in the environment around a methamphetamine production lab long after the lab has been shut down, causing a wide range of health problems for people living in the area.
Most of the methamphetamine abused in the United States is manufactured in “superlabs” here or, more often, in Mexico. But the drug is also easily made in small clandestine laboratories, with relatively inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients such as pseudoephedrine, a common ingredient in cold medicines. To curb production of methamphetamine, pharmacies and other retail stores are required by law to keep logs of purchases of products containing pseudoephedrine; individuals may only purchase a limited amount of those products on a single day.
Methamphetamine production also involves a number of other, very hazardous chemicals. Toxicity from these chemicals can remain in the environment around a methamphetamine production lab long after the lab has been shut down, causing a wide range of health problems for people living in the area.
DrugFacts: Methamphetamine
For years now, someone in my area has been dumping small plastic grocery bags filled with used cat litter along the roadside. I normally have to clean up a half dozen or so bags every spring from the ditch on my property. A friend of mine said that meth heads dump their spent chemicals into used cat litter to disguise the smell and then dump them on the road to keep the evidence out of their garbage or off their property. Obviously someone within a couple of miles or so has had a meth lab for a number of years. Who can say which neighbor is the meth heads.