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McNairy County Drug Task Force

Meth

What is Crystal Meth?
Methamphetamine, or Crystal Meth, is a powerfully addictive stimulant that has been sweeping through communities across the United States, including New York City’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community – specifically, among gay and bisexual men.
Crystal Meth users are of all races and ages, and they are drawn to the drug for a wide variety of reasons. Many gay and bisexual men use Crystal Meth to lower their social anxiety and to seek intimacy and connection with other gay men. Deep-seated feelings of isolation – often a result of cultural and political intolerance toward the LGBT community – can render gay and bisexual men particularly vulnerable to the drug’s euphoric, liberating effects.chalk, shabu, or zip .

Chemical contamination

The chemicals used to cook meth along with the toxic compounds and by-products resulting from its manufacture produce toxic fumes, vapors, and spills. A child living at a meth lab may inhale or swallow toxic substances or inhale the secondhand smoke of adults who are using meth, receive an injection or an accidental skin prick from discarded needles or other drug paraphernalia, absorb methamphetamine and other toxic substances through the skin following contact with contaminated surfaces; clothing, or food, or become ill after directly ingesting chemicals or an intermediate product. Exposure to low levels of some meth ingredients may produce headache, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue. Exposure to high levels can produce shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain, dizziness, lack of coordination, eye and tissue irritation, chemical burns (to the skin, eyes, mouth, and nose), and death. Corrosive substances may cause injury through inhalation or contact with the skin. Solvents can irritate the skin, mucous membranes, and respiratory tract and affect the central nervous system. Chronic exposure to the chemicals typically used in meth manufacturing may cause cancer, damage the brain, liver, kidney, spleen, immunologic system, and may result in birth defects.

Normal cleaning will not remove methamphetamine and some of the chemicals used to produce it. They may remain on eating and cooking utensils, floors, countertops, and absorbent materials. Toxic by-products of meth manufacturing are often improperly disposed outdoors, endangering children and others who live, eat, play, or walk at or near the site. For every one pound of meth made, 7 pounds of toxic lab waste is produced. Most of this dangerous toxic waste will be dumped secretly in your community.

Discovery of Meth Labs

Approximately 15% of meth labs are discovered as a result of a fire or explosion. Careless handling and overheating of highly volatile hazardous chemicals and waste and unsafe manufacturing methods cause solvents and other materials to burst into flames or explode. Improperly labeled and incompatible chemicals are often stored together, compounding the likelihood of fire and explosion. Highly combustible materials left on stovetops, near ignition sources, or on surfaces accessible to children can be easily ignited by a single spark or cigarette ember.

Availability

Because meth production and trafficking for a period of time were concentrated primarily in the West and Southwest United States, particularly California, Arizona, Utah, and Texas, availability and abuse were high in those areas. However, the expansion of Mexico-based meth traffickers and the growth of independent U.S.-based laboratories has dramatically increased the availability and abuse of meth in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, and some portions of the Southeast, particularly Georgia, Tennessee, and the surrounding states. There is also evidence that meth production and availability is beginning to spread to Mid-Atlantic states, such as Virginia, and even as far north as New England. In 1998, meth labs were, for the first time, found in New Jersey, Delaware, and Massachusetts.

Sources

Historically, suppliers of methamphetamine in the United States were outlaw motorcycle gangs and other independent trafficking groups. Although motorcycle gangs continue to produce meth and control a share of the market, Mexico-based trafficking groups entered the illicit methamphetamine market in 1995 and now dominate the trade. With their ability to obtain wholesale (multi-ton) quantities of precursor chemicals on the international market, their access to already established smuggling and distribution networks, and their control over laboratories capable of large-scale production and distribution of methamphetamine, these criminal groups from Mexico now dominate wholesale meth trafficking in the United States.

How is Crystal Meth Linked to the Transmission of HIV and Other STDs?
Studies show that HIV-positive men are more likely than HIV-negative men to use Crystal Meth.1 Coupled with the fact that Crystal Meth users are more likely than non-users to engage in unsafe sex, the link between Crystal Meth and the transmission of HIV becomes clear.
For HIV-positive users, Crystal Meth can accelerate the progression of HIV to AIDS. The drug interferes with HIV medication and can also make the user forget to take them at all. And because Crystal Meth can be injected, the risk for HIV infection increases not only through unsafe sex, but through needle sharing as well.
Crystal Meth is also associated with the spread of other sexually transmitted diseases among gay and bisexual men, including syphilis, Chlamydia, and gonorrhea. Because of its potent effect on sex drive, Crystal Meth users often have more sexual partners than non-users

What are the Long-Term Effects of Crystal Meth Abuse?
Chronic Crystal Meth users often embark on binges that last from a few days to two weeks; the user foregoes food and sleep with constant use of the drug. The behavior associated with such excessive abuse are intense paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and violently out-of-control behavior.
Of course, Crystal Meth affects not only the user, but the friends, family and coworkers of the user, as well. Users have a tendency to withdraw from their social network and isolate themselves from nonusers as their addiction grows. Counseling and support are needed at this level of addiction, which the Center is qualified to provide.