Meth Abuse Cited as Top Drug Problem for Law Enforcement AgenciesIncrease in Arrests Has Taxed Other County Departments; White House Says Marijuana Is Still No. 1 Woe
Associated PressWednesday, July 6, 2005
EVANSVILLE, Ind., July 5 -- The crippling reach of methamphetamine abuse has become the nation's leading drug problem affecting local law enforcement agencies, according to a survey of 500 sheriff's departments in 45 states.
More than half of the sheriffs interviewed for a National Association of Counties survey released Tuesday said they considered meth the most serious problem facing their departments. "We're finding out that this is a bigger problem than we thought," said Larry Naake, executive director of the association. "Folks at the state and federal level need to know about this."
About 90 percent of those interviewed reported increases in meth-related arrests in their counties over the past three years, packing jails in the Midwest and elsewhere.
The arrests also have swamped other county-level agencies that assist with caring for children whose parents have become addicted and with cleaning up toxic chemicals left behind by meth cookers.
The report comes soon after the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy restated its stance that marijuana remains the nation's most substantial drug problem. Federal estimates show there are 15 million marijuana users compared with the 1 million that may use meth.
Dave Murray, a policy analyst for the White House, said he understands that the meth problem moving through the nation is serious and substantial. But he disagrees that it has become an epidemic.
"This thing is burning, and because it's burning, we're going to put it out," he said. "But we can't turn our back on other threats."
Sheriff Jon R. Marvel of western Indiana's Vigo County estimates that 80 percent of the inmates in his county's jail in Terre Haute are held on meth-related charges.
He also points to an operating budget that has risen from $800,000 in 1999 to about $3.4 million last year to illustrate how policing meth has used county resources.
― andy --, Friday, 8 July 2005 15:21 (twenty years ago)
― Tigerstyle Shamanic Vision Quester (sexyDancer), Friday, 8 July 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)
― Hurting (Hurting), Friday, 8 July 2005 15:24 (twenty years ago)
― andy -, Friday, 8 July 2005 15:27 (twenty years ago)
― kingfish (Kingfish), Friday, 8 July 2005 15:29 (twenty years ago)
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 July 2005 15:47 (twenty years ago)
― Onimo (GerryNemo), Friday, 8 July 2005 16:02 (twenty years ago)
― andy --, Friday, 8 July 2005 16:24 (twenty years ago)
― Jimmy Mod Is Sick of Being The Best At Everything (ModJ), Friday, 8 July 2005 16:25 (twenty years ago)
What does crystal do for/to people anyway? I'm not up to speed with all these newfangled narcotics. It were all magic mushrooms and wacky baccy in my day.
― Onimo (GerryNemo), Friday, 8 July 2005 16:28 (twenty years ago)
― Tigerstyle Shamanic Vision Quester (sexyDancer), Friday, 8 July 2005 16:31 (twenty years ago)
― andy --, Friday, 8 July 2005 16:32 (twenty years ago)
― Onimo (GerryNemo), Friday, 8 July 2005 16:36 (twenty years ago)
― giboyeux (skowly), Friday, 8 July 2005 16:37 (twenty years ago)
― andy --, Friday, 8 July 2005 16:39 (twenty years ago)
crystal meth:c or d?
― rogermexico (rogermexico), Friday, 8 July 2005 16:41 (twenty years ago)
― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Friday, 8 July 2005 16:47 (twenty years ago)
― kingfish (Kingfish), Friday, 8 July 2005 16:51 (twenty years ago)
Who seriously prefers cocaine to speed? WTF?
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:02 (twenty years ago)
― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:04 (twenty years ago)
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:07 (twenty years ago)
And all the while OxyContin and other prescription painkillers are still getting prescribed to folks with no knowledge of how dangerous they are, a scary number of which become addicted to a pretty debilitating (and expensive!) opiate. Then a scary number of the folks that become addicted to that make the logical progression to heroin or spend the next several decades visiting a methadone clinic every day...
Maybe folks should judge a drug's danger level by ruined lives instead of casual users.
― matlewis (matlewis), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:07 (twenty years ago)
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)
Kenan, I'm gonna just go ahead and assume that you aren't at all familiar with the enormous price-to-product ratio.
― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:10 (twenty years ago)
-- Alex in SF (clobberthesauru...), July 8th, 2005.
I don't do either but yeah, um, seriously...around here cocaine is so common, like an everyman's drug. Meth is for the hardore orgy-party people, and is much more a "real druggie's" drug.
It also has amore dangerous connotation since, say, in Weho it's almost as if it comes with a free dose of STDs
― Vichitravirya XI (Vichitravirya XI), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:11 (twenty years ago)
x-post for real Vic? It is completely the opposite of that out here in flyover country.
― nickalicious why does he click submit so soon? (nickalicious), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:12 (twenty years ago)
― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:13 (twenty years ago)
Whaddya mean "prescribed"?
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-07/08/content_3193139.htm
― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:14 (twenty years ago)
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:15 (twenty years ago)
― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:17 (twenty years ago)
Oh, completely. Many of the bus posters of the gay-identified Village and Chelsea nabes of NYC are all about equating meth with promiscuous sex with AIDS. Maybe I can find a poster or two.
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:17 (twenty years ago)
― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:18 (twenty years ago)
No, I'm not familiar with that currently. I haven't done any such things in almost ten years. I just remember that good cocaine is really good, and the best speed I've ever had made me feel like going on a fucking killing spree. A fucking AND killing spree, maybe. Cocaine is for friends and loved ones.
― Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:18 (twenty years ago)
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:19 (twenty years ago)
And what was most troubling, the last time I went in for a routine std test, the guy giving me my results told me he's really depressed with his job and hates it since every week he tells 5-6 different 19-21 year old boys they're HIV positive, and 8 times out of 10 they answered yes to the "have you had sex on crystal meth" question during the diagnostic questionnaire.
Of course this clinic was in Weho, so it's not like this everywhere, but I'm sure Chelsea is not dissimilar. "Do you PnP?" = Aaaargh!
― Vichitravirya XI (Vichitravirya XI), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:19 (twenty years ago)
― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:21 (twenty years ago)
― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:22 (twenty years ago)
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:23 (twenty years ago)
Really? And I thought it was the shrinking use of condoms? Silly me.
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:23 (twenty years ago)
― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:24 (twenty years ago)
― andy --, Friday, 8 July 2005 17:24 (twenty years ago)
― Vichitravirya XI (Vichitravirya XI), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:25 (twenty years ago)
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:26 (twenty years ago)
Not only does it tend to loosen inhibitions but it weakens the immune system, making people more prone to infection. I have, in fact, lectured my gay friends about keeping their willies wrapped. The resurgence in syphillis and AIDS is giving me fucked up memories of all the people I saw die in the 80's.
― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:26 (twenty years ago)
― Vichitravirya XI (Vichitravirya XI), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:28 (twenty years ago)
― matlewis (matlewis), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:32 (twenty years ago)
― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:34 (twenty years ago)
As far as I can see, LAPD does NOT see pot as a priority at all, and all the news is about busting meth labs in the desert.
― Orbit (Orbit), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:36 (twenty years ago)
― Vichitravirya XI (Vichitravirya XI), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:39 (twenty years ago)
― oops (Oops), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:41 (twenty years ago)
hang on, where's that other thread on this i created...
― kingfish (Kingfish), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:42 (twenty years ago)
― matlewis (matlewis), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:43 (twenty years ago)
I'd say TEH GAYS component to the meth problem gives them one pretty attractive reason to ignore the problem, mirroring the beauracratic apathy towards AIDS back in the early eighties -- it's just a gay problem so who cares? etc. Not that meth is a problem exclusive to the gay community, of course...but, well, neither was AIDS.
― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:43 (twenty years ago)
http://www.onlinegamescompany.com/war/gallery/bugbear.jpg
"WHERE THE METH AT???"
― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:48 (twenty years ago)
― matlewis (matlewis), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:50 (twenty years ago)
― Vichitravirya XI (Vichitravirya XI), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:50 (twenty years ago)
― Orbit (Orbit), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:54 (twenty years ago)
― Vichitravirya XI (Vichitravirya XI), Friday, 8 July 2005 17:58 (twenty years ago)
― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Friday, 8 July 2005 18:01 (twenty years ago)
― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 8 July 2005 18:08 (twenty years ago)
― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 8 July 2005 18:12 (twenty years ago)
― giboyeux (skowly), Friday, 8 July 2005 18:13 (twenty years ago)
xpost
Their position has nothing to do with statistics, actual drug effects, crime, or any of that. It is pure, stupid, deep-rooted cultural fear of what can (and did, in a way) happen when massive amounts of Americans are stoned out of their minds.
― kingfish (Kingfish), Friday, 8 July 2005 18:13 (twenty years ago)
― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Friday, 8 July 2005 18:17 (twenty years ago)
― kingfish (Kingfish), Friday, 8 July 2005 18:19 (twenty years ago)
well, yeah. i mean, hell, we had a President and a Vice President who both copped to it(well, one was a bit weasely about it). We have a President NOW who's done worse.
Old battles die hard.
― kingfish (Kingfish), Friday, 8 July 2005 18:21 (twenty years ago)
― giboyeux (skowly), Friday, 8 July 2005 18:22 (twenty years ago)
― no tech! (ex machina), Friday, 8 July 2005 18:41 (twenty years ago)
― kingfish (Kingfish), Friday, 8 July 2005 18:48 (twenty years ago)
The race (and by extension locality and class) thing is even bigger. If meth production/distribution was in the hands of African-Americans, law enforcement would be dealing with it in a totally different way.
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 July 2005 19:05 (twenty years ago)
― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 8 July 2005 19:09 (twenty years ago)
― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 8 July 2005 19:32 (twenty years ago)
http://www.mapinc.org/norml/v05/n1065/a03.htm?134
― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 8 July 2005 20:50 (twenty years ago)
― Tigerstyle Shamanic Vision Quester (sexyDancer), Friday, 8 July 2005 20:52 (twenty years ago)
― oops (Oops), Friday, 8 July 2005 20:56 (twenty years ago)
― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 8 July 2005 21:06 (twenty years ago)
― I Named Veal (nordicskilla), Friday, 8 July 2005 21:07 (twenty years ago)
― oops (Oops), Friday, 8 July 2005 21:09 (twenty years ago)
― no tech! (ex machina), Friday, 8 July 2005 21:12 (twenty years ago)
― oops (Oops), Friday, 8 July 2005 21:17 (twenty years ago)
― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 8 July 2005 21:19 (twenty years ago)
― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 8 July 2005 21:26 (twenty years ago)
― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 8 July 2005 21:37 (twenty years ago)
― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 8 July 2005 21:38 (twenty years ago)
Pot-flavored pops a hit with candy lovers, but not lawmakers
By Mallory Simon, Court TV 1 hour, 50 minutes ago
(Court TV) — At Spencer's Gifts store in New York and Chicago, lollipops are flying off the shelves. The stores keep restocking, and people keep buying. ADVERTISEMENT
I'm a seeking a Age: to ZIP:
The draw? The suckers are marijuana-flavored, and they have grabbed the attention of consumers who want to try them and novelty stores in several states who are hoping to cash in.
One company, Chronic Candy, which sells four different flavored pops and other marijuana-themed items, ships 100,000 pops a month to stores and through online orders, according to its president, Tony Van Pelt...
[...]
But lawmakers point to the company's continued use of drug slang as evidence to the contrary. On Chronic Candy's Web site, the lollipops are listed in quantities of "One Ounce," "Half Ounce," "Twenty Sack," and "Nickel Bags," terms often used in the sale of marijuana.
Although the company has stopped shipping to Chicago, Van Pelt plans to take his case to court.
"This product is 100 percent legal and there's no reason to ban it," Van Pelt said. "This is my dream. Everyone has a dream and I've put in blood, sweat and tears and everyone who works for me has too..."
― kingfish (Kingfish), Friday, 8 July 2005 21:39 (twenty years ago)
I tend to agree but I like hash too. It's really quite a different drug/high really.
― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 8 July 2005 21:40 (twenty years ago)
― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Friday, 8 July 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)
plus I don't feel the need to complicate my pot habit with any newfangled devices/systems. hell, maybe I should just go back to good old laudanum...
x-post
― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 8 July 2005 21:52 (twenty years ago)
― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 8 July 2005 22:01 (twenty years ago)
― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 8 July 2005 22:09 (twenty years ago)
― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 8 July 2005 22:11 (twenty years ago)