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Ripping the Meth Myth

By Jeralyn, Section Crime Policy
Posted on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 04:02:42 PM EST
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Update: Check out Jack Shafer in Slate yesterday, This is Your County on Meth.

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The New York Times yesterday furthered law enforcement's meth hysteria . Jan Frel at Alternet does a good job today of deconstructing the meth myth.

Colossal social lies are going on with this meth phenomenon. Stop at ANY truck depot across this great country (nowadays even lots of gas stations) and talk to a truck driver, or go visit a wide swathe of child education specialists or "learning experts." Talk to any A-ball to major league baseball player. Talk to a freelance journalist -- ignore this brat's confessions -- even one who specializes in drug use and American society. Ask them what personal experience has taught them about amphetamines.

Frel continues:

Why don't I share the social panic about Meth? Because I think it's a lie founded in pharma industry prodding at the media (much like the record company's PR push for stories about legal and illegal downloads), and cultural inertia that automatically brands anything outside of a tiny set of "safe" choices as dangerous poison.

....This is about class in a lot of respects... some folks can buy into a market that uses different, legitimate language in their path to meth consumption that others can't buy into, and so they don't have to think about penalties; just when they need to get another prescription filled out. But it's part of the same drug family that has the nation's sherriffs so worried.

In other words, if you have a doctor you get a script and are fine. If you can't afford a doctor, you hit the streets and get crystal or cook your own.

Why this matters now: The Patriot Act renewal authorziation bill contains a Meth Act.

It's time to increase public awareness of the meth myth. Read Jack Shafer's 2005 Slate article on our latest moral panic. There's more from Jacob Sullum at Reason here and here and Radley Balko here.

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    • Ripping the Meth Myth | 32 comments (32 topical)
    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 04:22:34 PM EST
    Besides, if it was BAAAAD would the guvmint give it to our freedom fighters? Here's a reference Kenagy DN, Bird CT, Webber CM, Fischer JR.,Dextroamphetamine use during B-2 combat missions.Aviat Space Environ Med. 2004 May;75(5):381-6.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#2)
    by Patrick on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 04:29:50 PM EST
    Can't say as I support deliberately misleading facts or statements in an attempt to scare people away from trying, the truth is bad enough in my opinion. The fact that people have used these tactics does not negate the fact that meth is a dangerous and damaging drug. One need only to look around, or go the nearest *Gasp* Walmart to see the effects. As for the "methmouth" syndrome, I can't say what for sure causes it, but it does happen. Maybe not to everyone, but I've seen plenty of meth users who had jigsaw puzzle pieces for teeth. I also noted how many people interchange amphetamine, and methamphetamine. I'm no chemist, but I think there's a difference.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 04:31:31 PM EST
    Actually dextroamphetamine, sold by prescription as Dexedrine is slightly different from methamphetamine. Methamphetamine has greater CNS effects compared to D-amphetamine, presumably because of the prolonged half-life and increased CNS penetration.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#4)
    by Sailor on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 04:55:51 PM EST
    Meth, or any type of 'speed' (see diet pills), inhibit eating. W/o eating you don't have the nutrients to maintain teeth/bones and tend to leach out the minerals. This is also true of alcoholics, heroin users ... etc. There are also economic and cultural reasons, (most rednecks and bikers tend not to brush/floss or go to dentists.) Patrick is right in that the result of drug addictions, whether prescribed or black market, is bad enough that people (if inclined to heed the warnings at all) wouldn't try it if told the truth. But once they've found out the gov't scare tactics are lies they are less likely to believe the gov't about other issues. BTW, anyone else remember the 'crack babies?' Yep, that was a hoax too. The babies recovered just fine. Longitudinal studies aren't 'sexy', so the media only publishes the first dynamic statement, and not the peer reviewed final conclusions.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 05:04:22 PM EST
    Re: "meth mouth"- Oral Health Prev Dent. 2005;3(3):189-95. Etiology of xerostomia and dental caries among methamphetamine abusers.
    ...Five cases of methamphetamine abuse are presented, three of whom experienced rampant dental caries. A direct association between methamphetamine abuse and the occurrence of rampant caries was not clear.
    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 05:45:21 PM EST
    Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but my wife is a Portland social worker who works with homeless youth, and she says there's no bigger obstacle to her clients' welfare than meth. She'd rather they get hooked on heroin than meth, because her clients have been more successful kicking heroin. And she has no love for the effects of meth on her kids. She's counseled a number of clients who appear to have permanently damaged their circuits from overusing the drug. Would she call it a crisis? I don't know. But I'm sure she wouldn't dismiss the idea or claim that it's not a problem. She says it's an ugly drug, and I think she'd laugh at anyone who tried to compare it to garden-variety speed.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#7)
    by Slado on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 06:22:28 PM EST
    Is the meth myth the same as the crack myth of the 1980's? The AIDS myth of the 1980's the homeless myth, the global warming myth, the terror myth etc... It all depends on how serious you want to take an issue. If you don't care about the people the "myth" is happening to then it's a myth. If it affects your life it isn't. I don't know if it is or isn't but anyone who lives in fly over country knows that it is a serious problem among poor rural whites.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#8)
    by Patrick on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 06:23:51 PM EST
    Sailor, This thread will be no fun if we start agreeing....I take back everything I said.. ;-)

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#9)
    by Sailor on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 06:47:17 PM EST
    Patrick, oops, my bad;-)

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#10)
    by Aaron on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 07:13:32 PM EST
    "Meth mouth" is caused by smoking meth - it forms a corrosive chemical coating (HCl) on the teeth. There will be variation among meth addicts as (a) not all meth addicts smoke it, and (b) not all meth recipes are the same, and thus presumably some have a more corrosive effect than others. The question is less whether there are meth addicts without "meth mouth" than it is, are there cases of "meth mouth" without methamphetamine use? The biggest problem with meth addiction is not so much that it parallels past experience with prescription amphetamines, but that it has evolved to include injecting meth. Is it easier to break a heroin addiction where you eat it, snort it smoke it, or inject it? Meth's no different - the faster you get it to the bloodstream, the more likely it is that you'll have a harder time giving up the drug. I have spoken with a number of heroin addicts who were able to quit meth without a problem. They were clients at a methadone clinic, if that gives you an idea of their relative success with heroin. It is likely that there are meth addicts who were able to give up heroin. There is little question but that some people find certain forms of intoxication more addictive than others, and addicts tend to settle into their drug of choice.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#11)
    by ltgesq on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 09:02:59 PM EST
    Of all the drug addicts i have represented, two drugs have proven most difficult to quit. Meth and marijuana. Meth creates some sort of absolutely devastating depression. I have never had a meth client stay clean. I believe marijuana is relatively harmless, but occasionally i have a client that cannot quit smoking it. In those cases, it is the case that my client has a diagnosis of being bipolar and does not have insurance to see a psychiatrist to perscribe and monitor medication. Instead, they use Marijuana. In fact, the drug usage is usually the only issue they have in the criminal justice system. Meth is different. More addictive then cocaine, more damaging then any drug I know. Hardcore long term users suffer from paranoia. (but so do hard core long term drinkers) As far as "methmouth" goes, you can see the same effect over 9 months when a woman attempts to carry more than 4 fetuses to full term. The embryos leach out minerals faster than they can go in. With meth, no food intake causes the body to start breaking down smooth muscle, bone and teeth to get the nutrients to maintain the body. It is a real scourge of the gay community. I don't know why.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 05:28:21 AM EST
    I AM a chemist and yes, amphetamine is slightly different than methamphetamine. It would take a semster of college chemistry to go into all the comparisons, and we don't have time for that. But a few points. When meth is ingested, the body converts it to amphetamine. So you get both for the price of one. due to that, separating the effects of meth from amphetamine is difficult. "Amphetamines" is a general term referring to the entire class of compounds. Amphetamine and methamphetmaine are members of that class with similar (tho slightly different) properties. All of which begs the point. The TL post was about the myth perpetrated by the government. Remember "Reefer Madness"? For almost 100 years the government has been in the business of hyping the latest "worst drug ever seen". Pot, heroin, cocaine, speed. Yet the public always buys into it. It's a myth!!. Some drugs are addictive to some people. Like alcohol, like nicotine. No drug is addictive to all people. Go to the hospital, have surgery, get morphine. Addiction? Not most of the time, not for most people. The problem isn't that some drugs are bad, it's the way we deal with it.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#13)
    by Johnny on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 05:43:14 AM EST
    Reefer Madness was an elaborate scam, but the point was driven home very well. Having consumed what some may view as more than my fair share of drugs, I can vouch that meth is dirty... BUT, that is almost exclusively because of the manufacturing process. Like every single other drug out there, manufactured under supervised conditions, it becomes no more harmful than Tylenol 3. Get the gov't to declare it public enemy number 1 and you get mobile methlabs cooking the stuff out of drain cleaner and kerosene.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#14)
    by pigwiggle on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 07:50:13 AM EST
    “Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but my wife is a Portland social worker who works with homeless youth, and she says there's no bigger obstacle to her clients' welfare than meth.”
    I would say their biggest obstacle is their inept choices, not some powder. Inanimate stuff can’t force your hand. That is to say, absent meth these kids wouldn’t be making any healthier decisions, would they?
    “I AM a chemist and yes, amphetamine is slightly different than methamphetamine. It would take a semster of college chemistry to go into all the comparisons, and we don't have time for that.”
    Anyone interested can start here and here with some pictures. Coincidentally, I’ve used meth as a study aid for college chemistry exams. It works remarkably well.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#15)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 10:04:03 AM EST
    The 17 year-old daughter of my next door neighbor is hooked on meth. She was a reasonably decent kid, with typical teen angst. Now she's lying, cheating, stealing and getting straight F's at school. Oh yeah, and she came very close to a successful suicide attempt about 6 months ago. Another good friend's brother was managing a couple apartment complexes that my friend owns. The brother stole over $20K from him. Turns out the brother's a massive tweaker. Nope, neither of these examples are the sort of thing you often see with Tylenol 3.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#16)
    by Patrick on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 10:28:11 AM EST
    Does not mean that it is as bad as cops and the pols are making it out but it seems to be becoming the "it" drug.
    Which doesn't make it as benign as the pro-legalization lobby are making it out to be either. Look, don't take anyone's word. Open your eyes, you don't need a law degree, professional certificate or even an education to see how destructive addiction is and addiction to meth in particular. I've known heroin addicts who functioned and lived for years as normal people, and you would have never known. The same cannot be said for tweakers in my experience. The effects are very visible.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#17)
    by Aaron on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 11:55:51 AM EST
    Not really. I recall a case from a few years back where a "motorcycle gang" of sorts was being prosecuted under various state racketeering laws for running what amounted to a motorcycle chop shop and selling meth. The "gang" kept a ledger of customers who made purchases on credit, recording the actual names of their customers and the amounts owed. One of the defense lawyers created a bit of a stir when he read some of the names on the record during a preliminary examination - and unless a number of prominent people from the County were buying stolen parts for motorcycles they didn't own, a whole lot of people "who you wouldn't suspect" were regular buyers of meth. For better or worse, the local news didn't cover the exam and didn't pick up the story. There's nothing magic about meth - as pigwiggle's experience indicates - which makes it instantly addictive with symptoms you can't hide. (If you get to the point, though, where you're injecting or smoking it regularly, the signs are likely obvious.)

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#18)
    by Jlvngstn on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 11:57:41 AM EST
    P - i seem to recall you not being too bothered by those holding small amounts (personal use) of chong. Do you feel the same about small amounts (pu) of meth? and why not? I agree that addiction is the problem and while i knowingly do not know of anyone that uses h or meth, i know lots who smoke weed, and i prefer there company over the booze drinkers i know.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#19)
    by pigwiggle on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 01:05:33 PM EST
    “The 17 year-old daughter of my next door neighbor is hooked on meth. She was a reasonably decent kid, ....”
    Absent any evidence that a bit of meth (or anything else) can deprive someone of his or her will and volition I think you are just flat wrong. Your neighbor’s kid wasn’t a reasonable decent kid. She was the kind of person who would lie, cheat, and steal for something she wanted that bad. And to boot, she was irresponsible enough to work up a meth addiction. Combine the two and you get an exceptionally clear look into her character. Growing up around A.A. and N.A. I’ve been privy to more than my share of addict’s stories. They do what they do until the shame is greater than their love of getting high. Then they quit. It’s always the same. Some folks’ rock bottom is stealing from their loved ones or the threat of loosing a spouse, for some it’s their health, and some folks’ can $hit on everything and everyone good in their life and never reach their bottom. Some folks have loads of character, some have less, and some are just self-loving malevolent garbage, plain and simple.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#20)
    by Patrick on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 01:19:18 PM EST
    JL, Haven't crossed your path in a while, hope all is well. Personally, I think the harder drugs are more dangerous than marijuana, and there are less casual users, so a personal use possession case of meth is probably more likely to involve a person who commits other addiction related crimes than a PU marijuana case. Hypocritcal? Maybe, but I'm OK with my hypocracy, just not anyone elses.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#21)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 01:37:44 PM EST
    PW - I believe you are right, you won't get any arguments from me. She had/has all the same desires we all have and decided to choose a path of not keeping some of the more untoward ones under control. btw, she's in your neck of the woods right now. Albeit out in the desert freezing her a$$ of in a sleeping bag and hopefully coming to the recognition that she needs to get her $hit together.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#22)
    by Jlvngstn on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 02:00:53 PM EST
    Nah, i don't think it is hypocritical, probably because i give the same stigma to meth and h. I wasn't looking to throw a stone here, just curious more than anything else. You have really tempered your responses here over the last few months and i have actually enjoyed reading your responses in debates....

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#23)
    by Johnny on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 02:13:13 PM EST
    Sorry Sarc, your vicarious association with meth is not enough information for you to present a valid opinion on it. PW is absolutely correct on addiction. And yes, codeine is an addictive drug that people commit crimes to obtain. The difference is that codeine is manufactured under strict supervision, not by tweaked out addicts working from the trunk fo their car. Poorly produced alcohol will produce extremely deletrious health effects, dontcha know?

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#24)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 02:39:11 PM EST
    My opinion, Johnny, is that meth is not like Tylenol 3. Are you (before I bust out laughing) suggesting that it is? Regarding alcohol, you must be talking about distilling, not producing alcohol. Talk about valid opinions...

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#25)
    by Johnny on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 02:46:48 PM EST
    Sorry Sarc, before I bust out laughing, you really need to know what you are talking about. Produce/distill, if all you have to bust me on are semantic squabbles, must be tough to be you. Codeine is a drug people will lie, cheat, steal, deceive etc to obtain. Sound familar? Over the sounds of your uninformed laughter of course. So why dontcha go outside, snort a few lines and find out why the meth myth is just that-a myth.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#26)
    by Patrick on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 02:48:37 PM EST
    Poorly produced alcohol will produce extremely deletrious health effects, dontcha know?
    Oh, OK, so pure meth is much better..Got it. And if it were pure it would be no more harmful than tylenol 3. OK. As some wisened old poster once said, I think that's horsepuckey.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#27)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 02:54:04 PM EST
    Good night Johnny.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#28)
    by Patrick on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 03:16:55 PM EST
    Johnny, Do you know why the codeine in T3 is so sought after? It's not to get high, it's to keep from getting sick til the addict can get the next fix. It's not a replacement for heroin and while it is abused, I don't see too many people poppin 3's to get loaded. Perhaps you were thinking about oxycontin.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#29)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 06:16:02 PM EST
    the only thing that I disagree with, is meth mouth being a myth.... the effects of abusing meth are very disturbing. meth mouth is real, but it's for certain that this issue is gaining hysteria.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#30)
    by Johnny on Fri Jan 20, 2006 at 08:51:07 PM EST
    Oh, OK, so pure meth is much better..Got it. And if it were pure it would be no more harmful than tylenol 3. OK.
    Never said that. What is it about wrong-wingers and reading comprehension? Show me a "pure" strain of meth. you cannot. If it were manufactured under controlled situation like good alcohol, you ould be able to, and it would not be as dangerous. remember, heroin and morphine are highly related. My point is that people will commit crimes and destroy their health with any drug-the fact that a lot of people are willing to defend addictive narcotics like codeine and addictive depressants like alcohol whilst condemning meth is hilarious to me. Sarc-good morning. Have anything pertinent to say, or are you pulling a PPJ on us?
    Do you know why the codeine in T3 is so sought after? It's not to get high, it's to keep from getting sick til the addict can get the next fix. It's not a replacement for heroin and while it is abused, I don't see too many people poppin 3's to get loaded. Perhaps you were thinking about oxycontin.
    So? end result is the same. People committing crimes to ingest a controlled substance.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#31)
    by Patrick on Sat Jan 21, 2006 at 11:59:12 AM EST
    Johnny,
    Never said that. What is it about wrong-wingers and reading comprehension?
    I dunno, perhaps it's that other wrong wingers have a problem taking a clear position on an issue. Lets just simplify the issues. You don't know what you are talking about? Simple enough? There are plenty of good amature cooks out there who make pure or near pure meth. So what? It's not the contaminates that make it dangerous.
    the fact that a lot of people are willing to defend addictive narcotics like codeine and addictive depressants like alcohol whilst condemning meth is hilarious to me.
    Who's defending them? Certainly not me. The only difference being alcohol and prescription drugs are legal to possess in most cases. That certainly doesn't make them less dangerous.

    Re: Ripping the Meth Myth (none / 0) (#32)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Sep 16, 2006 at 02:40:49 PM EST
    Hi all. nice site.

    Ripping the Meth Myth | 32 comments (32 topical)