PBS Frontline – the Meth Epidemic (3/4)

Methamphetamine Abuse: PBS Frontline – The Meth Epidemic (3/4)

Speed. Meth. Glass. On the street, methamphetamine has many names. What started as a fad among West Coast motorcycle gangs in the 1970s has spread across the United States, and despite lawmakers’ calls for action, the drug is now more potent, and more destructive, than at any time in the past decade. In “The Meth Epidemic,” FRONTLINE, in association with The Oregonian, investigates the meth rampage in America: the appalling impact on individuals, families and communities, and the difficulty of controlling an essential ingredient in meth—ephedrine and pseudoephedrine—sold legally in over-the-counter cold remedies. In Congress, a bipartisan coalition has called for international controls on ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, either of which is essential for making meth. Many states [see map] have forced cold medicines containing these ingredients off retail shelves and behind the pharmacy counter — a move that may become a national requirement. Methamphetamine abuse started in California and Oregon but spread rapidly into the Midwest. Now the drug has reached the East Coast. “Meth has made a steady march across the United States,” says Steve Suo, a reporter for Portland’s The Oregonian who has followed meth from the beginning. “Right now you have Mexican methamphetamine flooding in through Atlanta, and from there [it] fans out both south and north.” The discovery of meth labs in states from Maine to Florida foreshadows a new crisis on the East Coast: “They can expect to see …

The Methamphetamine Crisis: Strategies to Save Addicts, Families, and Communities

This groundbreaking book detailing the newest drug scourge to hit the streets includes information on the effects of and addiction to methamphetamine on the users, their children and their communities. The comprehensive coverage here includes details of the environmental effects of meth labs, as well as photographs of the physical effects of this drug, including how this form of speed rapidly and grotesquely ages users. Contributors include medical and psychological practitioners, law enforcement officers, public health specialists, scientists, and child welfare caseworkers. Three chapters are written by meth users in recovery and the parent of an addict. The text also reviews psychological treatments showing some success, and creative steps being taken by communities and court officials to reduce the threat from this so-called poor man’s cocaine which has killed adults and children from all economic groups and walks of life.

Currently, professionals and family members have little guidance on how to deal with methamphetamine addicts. This book fills that void by providing information on the meth subculture, what to expect, and how to handle a variety of situations. A solid introduction to the complex nature of this drug is presented, with an emphasis on how families and children are affected by meth use and manufacture. Contributors include Commander Lori Moriarty, named Drug Enforcement Officer of the Year by the Office of the President of the United States, and Dr. Kathryn Wells, a widely known pediatrician recognized for her work with the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children.

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