Monday, February 18, 2008
Another Documentary
Ice Age II: Lessons Learned from Bay County, Florida Methamphetamine Awareness/Training Documentary
Sunday, February 17, 2008
What is Meth?
What is it?
Methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that has a high potential for abuse and dramatically affects the central nervous system. It is a unique drug because it is easy to obtain and relatively cheap to buy. This is all made possible by the fact that meth can be manufactured literally in a person's backyard from relatively inexpensive, over-the-counter ingredients such as Pseudoephedrine — a common cold medicine, as well as paint thinner, cat litter and lighter fuel.
What does it look like?
Meth is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting powder that easily dissolves in alcohol or water and can be smoked, injected or snorted.
Where is it made?
Two-thirds of our country's meth supply is produced in super labs in Mexico and Southern California run by organized crime and street gangs. The remaining third is made in the U.S. in makeshift meth labs found in basements, bedrooms, kitchens garages, bedrooms and trunks of cars.
How is it made?
Meth is made from a fairly simple recipe found on the internet and can be produced in as few as 6 to 8 hours using apparatus and cookware that can be quickly dismantled and stored or relocated to avoid detection. A mere $200 can buy the ingredients to produce an ounce of meth (enough to get 100 people high). Since cooking meth produces such large amounts of highly toxic waste, there is always a pending danger of explosion or fire which could endanger the lives of children and adults, as well as harm the surrounding environment.
What are its effects on the user?
Meth can make a user awake and alert, and can keep him or her up for hours and even days. At first it can give him or her a rush and a sense of euphoria, decrease their appetite and provide feelings of confidence. After a "binge," a user will inevitably crash, and can become severely depressed and even suicidal.
Why is it used?
Like most drugs, people use meth for the rush. However, due to its effects on the body, people use it for energy, weight loss or to self-medicate — all of which have serious consequences.
How can I recognize a meth user?
A meth user could be anyone - a teen or parent, urban dweller to city folks, students to professionals — in your neighborhood. If you think someone you know might be using meth, or you're a parent who thinks their teen might be using, learn the warning signs to look for.
Teenagers by nature can be moody and unpredictable so it's sometimes difficult to tell if your child is using meth. However, there are warning signs to watch for. Take a look at the following to see if you recognize any of them in your teen.
Short-Term Use Can Result In:
Long-Term Use Can Result In:
(Information from http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/DrugIssue/Meth/resources.html)
Methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that has a high potential for abuse and dramatically affects the central nervous system. It is a unique drug because it is easy to obtain and relatively cheap to buy. This is all made possible by the fact that meth can be manufactured literally in a person's backyard from relatively inexpensive, over-the-counter ingredients such as Pseudoephedrine — a common cold medicine, as well as paint thinner, cat litter and lighter fuel.
What does it look like?
Meth is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting powder that easily dissolves in alcohol or water and can be smoked, injected or snorted.
Where is it made?
Two-thirds of our country's meth supply is produced in super labs in Mexico and Southern California run by organized crime and street gangs. The remaining third is made in the U.S. in makeshift meth labs found in basements, bedrooms, kitchens garages, bedrooms and trunks of cars.
How is it made?
Meth is made from a fairly simple recipe found on the internet and can be produced in as few as 6 to 8 hours using apparatus and cookware that can be quickly dismantled and stored or relocated to avoid detection. A mere $200 can buy the ingredients to produce an ounce of meth (enough to get 100 people high). Since cooking meth produces such large amounts of highly toxic waste, there is always a pending danger of explosion or fire which could endanger the lives of children and adults, as well as harm the surrounding environment.
What are its effects on the user?
Meth can make a user awake and alert, and can keep him or her up for hours and even days. At first it can give him or her a rush and a sense of euphoria, decrease their appetite and provide feelings of confidence. After a "binge," a user will inevitably crash, and can become severely depressed and even suicidal.
Why is it used?
Like most drugs, people use meth for the rush. However, due to its effects on the body, people use it for energy, weight loss or to self-medicate — all of which have serious consequences.
How can I recognize a meth user?
A meth user could be anyone - a teen or parent, urban dweller to city folks, students to professionals — in your neighborhood. If you think someone you know might be using meth, or you're a parent who thinks their teen might be using, learn the warning signs to look for.
Teenagers by nature can be moody and unpredictable so it's sometimes difficult to tell if your child is using meth. However, there are warning signs to watch for. Take a look at the following to see if you recognize any of them in your teen.
Short-Term Use Can Result In:
- Alertness and inability to sleep: Something might be up if you notice a change in your teen's sleeping patterns -- especially if he's staying up for days on end and then sleeping or fatigued for a few days straight.
- Nervous physical activity: You notice your daughter is fidgeting -- and possibly scratching or picking at her skin.
- Decreased appetite: Your child is uninterested in food, and starts to become dangerously thin.
- Euphoria and rush: Your teen might be extremely alert and energized, even after he or she was up all night.
- Increased respiration and/or increased body temperature: Your child might appear out of breath for no reason (meth is a stimulant that can speed up one's heart rate.)
- Burns, nosebleeds or track marks: If there strange burns on her lips or fingers, she may be smoking meth through a hot glass or metal pipe. Snorting meth could cause nosebleeds and eventually eat away at the septum inside the nose. If she's using meth intravenously there could be track marks on her arms.
- Carelessness about appearance: Has your teen stopped showering? Has she lost interest in grooming? Does he no longer brush his teeth?
- Deceit or secretiveness: Is your normally honest child lying to you all the time? Are her plans sounding fishy or vague? Is his bedroom door always closed? Has she got a seemingly endless string of excuses to justify her behavior?
- Violence and aggression: Meth affects the central nervous system, which in turn can affect a person's mood. Look for wild mood swings, hostility or abusive behavior.
- Presence of inhaling and injecting paraphernalia: If you noticed razor blades, mirrors, straws, syringes, spoons or surgical tubing in your child's room, this is a clear sign of drug abuse -- and a cry for help.
- Withdrawal from family and friends: Look for deteriorating relationships with family members and friends. She may be depressed or exhibit a lack of enthusiasm -- and not share or express herself as she used to.
- Loss of interest in school and extracurricular activities: Meth is highly addictive, and many users spend most of their free time looking for another way to find more of the drug. Therefore, interests that were once very important to your child may all of a sudden seem insignificant.
- Problems at school: This can include slipping grades, absenteeism and decreased motivation.
- Missing valuables: For the teen who's looking to buy drugs, their parents' house can be a gold mine of resources -- from stealing cash from your wallet to swiping valuables like jewelry and heirlooms to pawn for money.
Long-Term Use Can Result In:
- Dependence: If your child can't function in their day-to-day activities without meth, they are dependent - and possibly addicted.
- Addiction psychosis: This can include a number of disturbing behaviors:
- Hallucinations
- Paranoia
- Mood disturbances
- Repetitive motor activity
** In all cases of meth use, a user may experience a loss of inhibitions and a false sense of control and confidence, which can lead to dangerous behavior. |
(Information from http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/DrugIssue/Meth/resources.html)
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