THE EFFECTS OF METHAMPHETAMINE OR “METH
...dition to state laws Higgins (2005) stated that “retailers such as Wal-Mart’s, Target, Kmart, CVS, Walgreen’s, ShopKo, Rite Aid, Longs Drug Stores, Albertsons, and Medicine Shoppe have voluntarily pulled medications containing pseudo ephedrine off the shelves and put them behind the pharmacy counters”. It is also hurting the people who need it most due to the fact that prices are raising also on these drugs to compensate for the lost of sales. People who do not have a driver’s license or state identification card cannot purchase any of the cold and allergy drugs containing pseudo ephedrine in many stores. Even though law does not require it, just yet the store still has the right to refused to sell to you. The manufactures that make these cold and allergy drugs containing pseudo ephedrine are having problems with predicting how much should be produced. With all the new laws that government is passing it is making sales predictions almost impossible. Higgins (2005) stated that “Strict mandates in the law were partly to blame for the sales shift, said Mr. Doyle, senior vice president for Information Resources’ Healthcare Solutions Group”. In addition, shoppers just go straight to the pharmacy counters and do not browse the store shelves causing a drop in sales over all in the stores. “Meth” Effects on Americans Meth is a stimulant, more commonly known as speed has been growing though out the countryside for some time now. Farmers in the middle of nowhere are having problem with theft of products. These farms could be as much as thirty miles apart, and they are still losing products that grow our corn and other foods. This stimulant is being made anywhere from your next door neighbor whether your neighbor is the house next door or the apartment next to yours to behind the barn of the next farmhouse to the middle of the woods. In addition, your child’s schoolteacher or principle could be making meth; you just never know who is making the stimulant. Every year when it is time to do the cropping for farmers they find old meth labs in springs, creek beds, national forests and other places children like to play. Even our law abiding Americans cannot keep their children safe from the toxic chemicals that come from meth labs. Any Americans or foreigner can get the recipe to make the meth right off the internet. Just type in methamphetamine and go from there. You will find what you are looking for to make a home base lab. Of course, it is against the law to have a meth lab, but that does not stop these drug peddlers. The attraction of this type of stimulant (speed) is simple. It is not the money; there is none in making meth anyone can do it. Woolery, (2003) stated, “the prize is it is cheap to make and you get a bigger buzz or bang off it”. Lowe (2005), a source who spent time in jail for making a meth lad, stated that, “you can lose a lot weight in a very little amount of time from it. In addition, meth can actually keep you awake for up to seventy-two hours”. Lowe (2005) stated that, “you also have better sex life with this stimulant who needs Viagra”. Reported by CBS News on July 17, 2005, in Keizer, Oregon a toddler in a T-shirt and diaper had been found along at a busy road. Police found out the child was 16-month old boy whose parents had left him along while they were sleeping. The CBS News stated that, “the parents were arrested for possession of a controlled substance — methamphetamine”. Just a few miles away and a few weeks earlier in the state capital of Salem, girls barely in their teens at the Waldo Middle School was possibly exchanging sex for meth per police investigation (Knickerbocker). Meth’s impact has gone way beyond just the users to crime victims. Addicts will steal to support their habits. There are thousands of children neglected or abused by people who are addicts. Agencies of Social service’s in the country reports increases of children taken out of their homes because of meth. A study by the National Conference of State Legislatures finds that 10 percent of users were introduced to meth by their parents or other family members. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, children were present at 20 percent of all meth lab busts last year (Knickerbocker). Women are more likely to use meth to lose weight and it puts an impact on their children. One federal survey of people arrested for all crimes found that 11.3 percent of women had used meth within the prior month compared with 4.7 percent of men. In a workshop in Portland, Oregon, earlier this month, White House deputy drug czar Scott Burns called meth "the most destructive, dangerous, terrible drug that's come along in a long time (Knickerbocker). Sang terms for “Meth” Narconon (2005) states that, “there are many different slang terms for the drug, for example “speed”, “meth,” “crystal,” and “crank.” Crystallized methamphetamine known as “ice,” “crystal”, or “glass”, is a smokable and more powerful form of the drug”. Side Effect of “Meth” According to Narconon (2005) the side effects of meth include, “paranoia, short term memory loss, wild rages and mood swings as well as damage to your immune system”. Some other side effects could be, but not limited to: • Hyperactivity • Irritability • Visual hallucinations • Auditory hallucinations (hearing "voices") • Suicidal tendencies • Aggression • Suspiciousness, severe paranoia • Shortness of breath • Increased blood pressure • Cardiac arrhythmia • Stroke • Sweating • Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea • Long periods of sleep ("crashing" for 24-48 hours or more) • Prolonged sluggishness, severe depression • Weight loss, malnutrition, anorexia • Itching (illusion that bugs are crawling on the skin) • Welts on the skin • Involuntary body movements • Paranoid delusions Narconon ™, (2005). How widespread is meth addiction? San Diego, CA, area has a substantial drug problem. Meth addiction is reported as the dominant drug problem as well as in other sections of the Southwest and West. There are indications also, including both rural and urban sections of the South and Midwest. According to Narconon ™, (2005), “mostly meth is associated with white, male, blue-collar workers”. “According to the 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, an esti...