The Faces of Meth

[Fat Man]

Let me start with a story. I have friend who was married to a drunk. They had two children a son and a daughter. They divorced quite some time ago. The son has grown to be a fine young man and is raising a family of his own. The daughter who was born with fetal alcohol syndrome is a drug addict and spends a lot of time in jail and has had little contact with her father. My friend got remarried about 15 years ago and he and his desperately tried to have a child with no luck. About three years ago they got a call telling them his daughter was going to jail and her two children, son age 6 daughter 18 months, were going into foster care. The grandchildren were a surprise and after some soul searching they decided they would take them in. The children had two different fathers and had suffered physical and sexual abuse. Immediately after they brought them in my friend’s wife became pregnant. They now had three young children in the house. As both their grandchildren have emotional problems stemming from the abuse. Their grandson couldn’t be left alone with other small children because he would act out his abuse. With many tears and the advice of the foster agency they placed in a home with no small children. Their granddaughter they have adopted. She is now four and has difficulties feeling secure and has poor language skills. This is attributed to the abuse and her mothers drug use. They visit their grandson regularly. That young man has a long row to hoe, life has not been good to him. Their granddaughter, now daughter, is a beautiful young child and my daughter’s best friend. She is making progress.

The reason I told this story is to illustrate the fact that when these fools choose to do this to themselves many more pay the price. This is a story of the effects of substance abuse across three generations. I truly hope that those two young people can break that vicious cycle that started with their grandmother, if not earlier than that.

[bkiba]

As terrible as the consequences of use are I think ALL drugs should be legal in the US. Like many have stated some people just have addicitve peronalities and will succumb to whatever their poison may be, meth, coke, alcohol, nicotene, etc.

With the prices of illegal drugs so high it is no wonder addicts steal from their mothers' pocket books. We need to stop treating drug use as a crime; drug addiction is a sickness and we need to see it as such. Locking these people up in jail isn't going to improve their chances, nor is it helping our society long-term.

We need to wake up to the fact that people will always be looking for a new way to get high, there will be worse drugs than meth (we said that about crack in the 80's too). If there wasn't such a negative (not that is should be a postitive) stigma on addicts perhaps the "culture of life" US could reach out to these people and cure themof their addictions. Who knows maybe these people could have something to contribute to society if they were cured? Certainly it couldn't hurt!

Making drugs illegal just makes the problem worse, they are easier to get (most of the time), they cost more (stealing), the extra money leads to violence (gang shootings), and the unrecognized dependaence leads to stupid behaviors (passing out, rape, etc). Please feel free to argue with me - but at least digest what I've said before flaming me

[TheBimbo]

Yeah uh huh right...


TheBimbo

[Fat Man]

While I'll agree with you that we need to find a better way than just locking these people up. I'll disagree that drugs should be legalized. The end of prohibition did nothing to cure alcoholism.

[BrianD]

If this thread turns to a legalize/don't legalize thread, it will be closed.

[joeychitwood]

Originally posted by BrianD
If this thread turns to a legalize/don't legalize thread, it will be closed.

I think that would give me the RC record for starting threads which ultimately get closed! You'll notice I've kept my mouth shut except for posting occasional facts and figures.

[BrianD]

Sorry, it just seems that whenever we start going down that road, facts start going out the window and misinformation becomes rampant. You are the expert, and I will bow to your judgment. If you think the thread remains "ok", it will stay open. If not, PM me and I will close it.

[joeychitwood]

I respect your judgement, Brian. I agree that this thread started out as a gallery of meth users and their physical deterioration due to the drug. The main point is that meth is the most dangerous drug we've ever encountered (in my humble opinion.)If the posts get out of hand, shut 'er down!

[mike4271]

As far as I can see, Joeys thread was not about legal or not legal, we all where cruising down the center of the road quite happily, those who want to steer off that line, turn whichever way you want, start your own thread, and get THAT one closed, the rest of us I believe respect his beliefs and opinions and would like this thread to continue.

[kbmdale]

Originally posted by Fat Man
While I'll agree with you that we need to find a better way than just locking these people up. I'll disagree that drugs should be legalized. The end of prohibition did nothing to cure alcoholism.

This is true, very true. But at the same time the crime rate doubled during prohibition and there was no effect tword the reduction of alcohol use. It just became and under the table habit made more expensive on the users because of the risk the bootleggers took to get the product. Just facts. People will do as they feel. Making it illegal or illegal just changes the stratagy of the user and does not solve the root of the problem.

[Fat Man]

kbmdale please read Brian's post.

[BrianD]

Thanks Joey and Mike. With all seriousness, I ask that no one post any further about "legality". Listen to Mike's suggestion and start your own thread if that is where you want the discussion to go.

[mike4271]

Originally posted by kbmdale
This is true, very true. But at the same time the crime rate doubled during prohibition and there was no effect tword the reduction of alcohol use. It just became and under the table habit made more expensive on the users because of the risk the bootleggers took to get the product. Just facts. People will do as they feel. Making it illegal or illegal just changes the stratagy of the user and does not solve the root of the problem.

I guess we are all assuming that you didn't read BrianD's post

[kbmdale]

oh sorry....I wasn't arguing either way..my bad... We all agree it is a problem that is all that matters...

[BrianD]

You people are top-notch! Thanks for understanding.

[joeychitwood]

As usual, America's answer to this particular drug problem is to legislate it away....make it difficult or impossible to buy large amounts of base ingredients. However, the real problem is peoples' desire to alter their state of consciousness, to escape, and unfortunately, one or two experiences with meth result in a devastating addiction.

Even if the US government could entirely stop the local production of meth in the country, once Mexican meth starts crossing the border by the kiloton, the problem will only worsen, unless the hearts and minds of people change. I don't see that happening, and I think we're in for a brutal period of family destruction, wasted lives, massive government spending to deal with the aftermath and meth babies born with three strikes against them before they take their first breath.

I had dinner with an EMS medical directors for FDNY, Miami and Greenville, North Carolina, while at a meeting in Florida recently, and they all said they prefer their regions' coke and heroin problems to the Midwest's meth problem.

[BrianD]

Before:


After:


A former Miss Hawai'i USA and her husband were arrested early yesterday as police raided a Kailua home and found drugs and drug paraphernalia.

[kbmdale]

You hit it on the head Joey. I think you teach people how to deal with thier lives and the reality of life and the need for an escape wont be needed. And the say no to drugs campaign that the governement thought would be a great idea is backfiring. We had a cop come to our school freshman year of highschool. He told us how Weed would make you crazy, loose controll and violent. That using it one time could cause major problems with our minds. Now when I turned 16 and tried it, I thought to myself " HE LIED" "well if he lied about this then what about everything else he told me"....Now not all do that approach. SHow a freshman in highschool a bum living on the street and tell him thats from drug use. That might be more effective. Have our youth be a part of a shelter as a requirement in order to graduate. Show them how bad life can be. Then we might make some progress.

[Muttling]

Originally posted by joeychitwood

I had dinner with an EMS medical directors for FDNY, Miami and Greenville, North Carolina, while at a meeting in Florida recently, and they all said they prefer their regions' coke and heroin problems to the Midwest's meth problem.

Our part of the country tends to lag the rest of the nation in drug patterns. I don't know why but they show up in Atlanta and Memphis with the rest of the nation but are pretty slow to migrate outward.

Unfortunately, the labs are likely headed your way. They started showing up here in Tennessee about 5 years ago and now we're busting em with frightening regularity.

Two weeks ago they caught a mobile lab in the trunk of a guy's car right outside my office.

[mr9iron]

I know from experience that Meth is a gigantic problem here in Missouri. I have found it on all types of people from various types of social backgrounds. This drug takes hold of people quickly and it's sad to see what it does to there lives. As soon as we bust one lab, there is another one that has popped up and there is no telling how many others we don't even know about. The people making and using meth really make our jobs as law enforcement tough. Not only are you always trying to find the dope you have to deal with all the stealing and other crimes that go with it. It's an uphill battle that I hope we win.

[onetrickpony]

I work in health care
I see it all the time
You can get all the drugs you want while in jail
We get the overdoses from jail
They do not do very well; they are usually down for a long time before any one finds them
We just had a meth over dose come in
The police were looking for her when they found her they called ems
She is on a ventilator in ICU
The funny part is the police did not arrest her because they
Did not want to be stuck with BILL
The same goes for pregnant inmates also
They are released most of the time
Six months in to there pregnancies
Some times thou they go through labor with handcuffs on
Drugs touch all types of families, breaks families apart
Very poor to very well off
We see them all 8 to 60
My brother and his old girl friend did hard drugs for years
Then the kids came along, he chose to stop she didn’t
She is in and out of jail or the hospital
He is raising his kids
ken

[carpetride]

Looks like miss HA has had some life sucked out of her, look at her eyes. I know that a mugshot isn't exactly the Sears portrait studio but...does meth actually effect ones eyes? Seems like every before and after picture I've seen shows the eyes much darker and close to lifelessness.

[Phildirt]

Originally posted by joeychitwood
As usual, America's answer to this particular drug problem is to legislate it away....make it difficult or impossible to buy large amounts of base ingredients. However, the real problem is peoples' desire to alter their state of consciousness, to escape, and unfortunately, one or two experiences with meth result in a devastating addiction.................

Well said.

[jimroth]

Before... and After!



Man, that stuff is HARSH!

[Flanders]

Before:



After: