FACTS ABOUT METHAMPHETAMINE

Drug Court Sidebar

While laws related to marijuana usage have loosened up in recent years, it
is unlikely the American public would ever turn a lax eye to
methamphetamine. Simply put, the reefer madness hysteria of the 1930s has
proven to be largely false, and it took decades before the laws were
changed in most states. Meth madness, however, can be backed up by
empirical evidence gathered by crime statisticians over the last 12 years.

According to the Koch Crime Institute, a number of despairing facts bear
out how the crude street drug ruins lives, both the user's and those they
victimize.

Fact: Meth use among high school seniors more than doubled between 1990 and
1996. (Parole and Probation Officer Robert Raymond told the Pahrump Valley
Times that meth is "clearly" the drug of choice at Pahrump Valley High.)

Fact: Women are more likely to use meth than cocaine.

Fact: The average meth "cook" annually teaches ten others how to make the
drug. (Raymond said there are hundreds of cooks in Pahrump, but only "a
couple of chefs.")

Fact: Every pound of meth produced leaves behind five to six pounds of
toxic waste. (According to Raymond, local hazardous materials technicians
are called in to clean up the mess, often at great personal risk.)

Fact: Seizures of clandestine meth labs in the Midwest increased tenfold
from 1995-1997. (The Nye County Sheriff's Office and its SCORPION meth lab
task force have taken down 31 such labs in Pahrump since a federal grant
was received last year to help combat their proliferation in the valley.)

Fact: The DEA has identified 20 Mexican meth trafficking organizations in
the Midwest.

Fact: Meth accounts for up to 90 percent of drug cases.

Fact: Meth kills by causing heart failure, brain damage and stroke.

Fact: Meth-induced paranoia has led to numerous homicides and suicides.

Fact: Meth usage produces hallucinations.

Fact: Meth users are the hardest to treat of all drug users.

Fact: Meth lab cleanups can cost taxpayers over $150,000.

Fact: Meth is highly addictive.

Fact: Meth usage increases risk of child abuse and neglect, and domestic
violence.