NEW METH RECIPES

Chocolate... With a New Kick!

It is truly frightening what methamphetamine cookers are getting away
with lately. Not only do they turn neighborhoods into potential bomb
test sites with their "labs," but now they are looking to recover
from the decline in new users.

USAToday reports that the number of people 12 and older who used
methamphetamine for the first time in the previous year decreased
from 318,000 people in 2004 to 192,000 people in 2005, according the
National Survey on Drug Use and Health by the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration.

Remarkably, one of the ways that new users are being seduced is
through fruit and soda flavors.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents have gathered intelligence
from informants, users, local police and drug counselors that
methamphetamine cooks are adding flavors to the crystalline form of
meth. D.E.A. spokesman Steve Robertson says that eight states
including California have reported these findings.

"Drug traffickers are trying to lure in new customers, no matter what
their age, by making the meth seem less dangerous," Robertson said.

It seems to law enforcement that the crystal meth dealers and cookers
are adding flavors so users can get past the bitter, chemical taste
of meth. The other effect is that it draws in new users, mainly a
younger age group, says D.E.A. agents.

Among the flavors are strawberry, street name "Strawberry Quick,"
chocolate, cola and other sodas, Robertson said.

USAToday reported that a patrol officer who stopped a car on Feb. 13
in a rural area of Greene County, Mo., seized a bag of "strawberry
meth" from a female passenger, said Capt. Randy Gibson of the Greene
County Sheriff's Department. The seized drug had a slight strawberry
smell to it, he said.

Greene County deputies have seized colored meth before, Gibson says.
Several years ago, blue methamphetamine, known as "Smurf dope"
circulated in the area, Gibson said.

"Our Narcotics Division confirmed that this stuff is out there. The
division has not seized flavored Meth, but other agencies have," said
Rancho Cucamonga Police Department Sergeant John M. Nuss.

Meth is one of the worst drugs on the streets today. It has been
known to chemically eat away at you body and mind.

The shocking thing is that people are trying to make this more
appealing. Or even worse is that the get away with it.

According to the Drug Endangered Children program in Riverside,
approximately 15 percent 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 are left on stovetops, near ignition sources,
or on surfaces accessible to children which can easily be ignited by
a single spark or cigarette ember.

Meth labs are "bombs waiting to be ignited by a careless act." Safety
equipment is typically nonexistent or inadequate to protect a child.

With over $13 million spent this year so far, according to
drugsense.org and with most of that money going to fight a plant, it
seems that the government needs to do a self-check on the war on
drugs, and decide what the real dangers are.