Methamphetamine Trends In the United States

Meth is indeed uniquely suited to Middle America, though this is only tangentially related to the idea that it can be made in the sink. The rise of the meth epidemic was built largely on economic policies, political decisions, and the recent development of American cultural history.” Outside of labs, the Missouri State Highway Patrol seized 37,295 ounces of methamphetamine in 2011. Such initiatives include educating the public on the dangers of drug use and providing resources to those seeking help.

In this, the first in a three-part series (read chapters two and three) on changing drug consumption patterns in the region and its impact on criminal dynamics, InSight Crime explores how methamphetamine became the drug of choice in the United States. DeSantis said meth is “almost all coming across the southern border and it’s been accelerating for the last six months.” It doesn’t clearly show an “accelerating” pace of meth seizure, and most of it has been seized at official checkpoints. In August 2002 New Mexico State Police arrested two MexicanAmerican males from Florida and seized 15 pounds of methamphetamine that werebeing transported in a private automobile from California to Dade City. The meninitially were pulled over for a traffic violation; they were traveling wellbelow the 75 mile- per-hour speed limit, causing a line of cars andtractor-trailers to back up behind them.

But it’s misleading to portray an increase in meth trafficking as a result of Biden’s immigration policies. “That meth, if you go back 10, 20 years ago, you’d find these places where they’d be cooking this stuff up locally. That’s not what’s happening now,” DeSantis said at a June 16 news conference. “It’s almost all coming across the southern border, and it’s been accelerating for the last six months, and it’s deepening the problems that we are having in terms of getting a handle on this in our own communities here in the state of Florida.” Long-term methamphetamine abuse can cause addiction, anxiety, insomnia, mood disturbances, and violent behavior. Additionally, psychotic symptoms such as paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions can occur. The psychotic symptoms can last for months or years after methamphetamine use has ceased.

1. Although Tennessee has the eighth-highest number of meth seizure incidents, the overall number of seizures has decreased by 80% since 2010.
2. RAND, however, estimated more than three million methamphetamine users in 2016, a 50 percent increase since 2006.
3. Missouri claims the title of America’s meth production capital as of 2019, hosting 27.6 meth labs per 100,000 residents.2 The availability of methamphetamine has increased since 2012, resulting in a decline in street value.
4. They didn’t so much throw a pair of underwear in the suitcase to act like they were hiding the drugs.
5. The meninitially were pulled over for a traffic violation; they were traveling wellbelow the 75 mile- per-hour speed limit, causing a line of cars andtractor-trailers to back up behind them.

Production

Known as the hypo method, this method yields lower quality d-methamphetamine. Hypophosphorous acid is more prone than red phosphorus to cause a fire and can produce deadly phosphine gas. Purity levels for methamphetamine vary depending on the level ofdistribution and the production method used. According to DEA, in Floridakilogram quantities of methamphetamine produced in Mexico, California, andsouthwestern states are usually 80 percent pure before being cut with diluentssuch as MSM. Pound quantities of methamphetamine produced in these areas aretypically 20 to 30 percent pure, cut with two parts MSM per one partmethamphetamine.

As Florida Grapples With Opioid Addiction, Meth Emerges As Threat In Panhandle

Some of the worst violence took place in the small state of Colima, home to the Port of Manzanillo, a main entry point for precursor chemicals. Violence also ticked up in Baja California and Zacatecas, key synthetic drug trafficking corridors that saw homicide rates more than twice the national average. These criminal organizations go by a plethora of sometimes dynamic monikers. They include the Guerreros Unidos and Rojos (both formerly under the banner of the Beltrán Leyva Organization), the Cartel del Norte (formerly the Zetas), and the Juárez Cartel and La Línea (the latter having split off from the Juárez Cartel).

DeSantis leaves out context in claim about meth and the southern border

This is the single largest seizure of drugs and arrests made in the history of Polk County during an undercover wiretap investigation. We will continue to follow up leads and make more arrests, so those who think they got away from us – think again,” Judd said. The deception plays a role in skyrocketing use of the drug, as well as startling number of overdoses it causes. In 2019, the last year for which there is data, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) chronicled 16,167 methamphetamine overdose deaths — up from the 3,627 overdoses related to the drug in 2013. Part of DeSantis’ plan to address the problem is sending Florida law enforcement officers to states on the southwest border for about two weeks. At the news conference, with several sheriffs and state Attorney General Ashley Moody standing behind him, DeSantis did not clarify what exactly Florida officers would be doing in Texas and Arizona to assist with border enforcement — generally a federal matter.

The Administration’s Efforts to Prevent the Production and Use of Methamphetamine

The event focused on fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid that is often mixed with other drugs. “A much higher percentage of the overall drugs received in the panhandle are methamphetamine,” Havener says, “where in Orlando and Fort Myers area where you’ve got those central and southwestern counties you see a much higher percentage of cocaine.” Of the 52 overdoses related to methamphetamine in New Hampshire in 2019, 46 included some opioid. “We have drug trafficking organizations, cartels in Mexico, that are meth capital of florida making a business decision now to manufacture pills, Adderall pills, made with nothing but methamphetamine,” he said during the press conference.

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