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The Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act (CMEA) was signed into federal law on March 9, 2006. The law regulates over-the-counter sales of medicines containing essential ingredients used to make meth: ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. It sets daily and monthly purchase limits, requires ID verification for purchase, and mandates retail sales logbooks to keep track of who is buying the medicine. The law also requires reporting for import, export and international transactions involving ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.
In July 2006, Oregon went further than any other state when it re-classified pseudoephedrine and ephedrine as prescription drugs.
Five years after the meth laws were enacted, we look at their effectiveness to combat an epidemic of drug addiction and crime. Unlike any state in the country, Oregon has seen the most dramatic decline in meth-related crime. The Multnomah County Sherriff's Deputy who produced the landmark photo series, "Faces of Meth" estimates that jail bookings on meth charges in Mutnomah County have dropped from 27 percent to around 5 percent. The author of the law that re-classified certain cold medicines as prescription drugs reports that as a result, smurfing (pdf) — purchasing large quantities of cold medicine for manufacturing meth — has been virtually eliminated in Oregon.
Now that meth has declined in Oregon, authorities are shifting their focus to the root causes of addiction.
Do you have experience with meth or know someone who has? How have the last five years since the laws passed impacted the meth epidemic in Oregon? What do you want to know about the root causes of addiction?
GUESTS:
- Bret King: Multnomah County Sherriff's deputy
- Michael Pollack: Recovering meth addict
- Karen Wheeler: Addictions Program Administrator for Oregon Health Authority
- Rob Bovett: District Attorney for Lincoln County and author of drug laws
Tagged as: addiction · law · meth
Photo credit: Radspunk / Creative Commons
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I agree jacob, the illegal aliens bring a culture of lawlwssness and violence. Last Monday in Portland the police made the biggest meth bust ever >. 24 pounds worth several million dollars.
Eladio Luna, 21, and 18-year-old Igcacio Luna were taken into custody and charged with manufacturing of a controlled substance, delivery of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance in the first degree.
I wonder if these individuals are anchor babies or children of illegals who would have been eligible for the dream act.I live in the Woodburn area and know for a fact that 100% of the drug trade involving meth involves people of MEXICAN HERITIAGE.
Do we really want the MEXICAN DRUG CULTURE here??
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DFUND
Sorry man, over here in Central Oregon it is pretty much all white guys and gals.
I learned that as a Grand Jury Foreman who had to listen to the detectives presenting their evidence against them.
You simply cannot blame American Drug culture on Mexicans. In fact the problems that Mexico is having with drug gangs is due to the American demand for drugs.
I wish it were not so, but it is.
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TOM >. yes Americans use drugs which are supplied by Mexicans >>.i do not blame the MEXICANS , THEY ARE JUST DOING JOBS THAT AMERICANS WONT DO.
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DFUND
"i do not blame the MEXICANS , THEY ARE JUST DOING JOBS THAT AMERICANS WONT DO."
That is a Conservative lie.
They are imported to undercut American wages as Cheap-Labor. The real problem is that American employers don't want to pay American wages to American workers to do the work. That is a problem in residential carpentry for one example.
American workers are willing to compete with other American workers for American jobs and American wages but they should not be forced to compete against illegal workers, to the detriment of our nation and our nations security.
Maybe the law should be changed so that an employer of illegals would be stripped of their American citizenship when caught and put on some ship to travel as a man or woman without a country for the rest of their lives.
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TOM >. may I remind you that the democrats would not allow a GOP amendment to the jobs bill that would have required E- VERIFY >>>PERHAPS THE LAW SHOULD BE THAT THOSE WHO PANDER TO ILLEGALS AND ENCOURAGE THE CONTUATION OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION SHOULD FACE SOME PENALTY>>> LIKE THOSE WHO SUPPORTED THE DREAM ACT.
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this reminds me of the song "Blame Canada!"
Mexico's "drug culture" is actually ours, isn't it?
Blaming it on Mexico is jingoism, and blaming the Mexican people is an insufferable exercise in racism - i'd like to be sure you don't mean that, but since you have repeated that a few times that i have seen, i have to cast a lot of doubt on your reasoning abilities in general
one can get prescriptions up the ying-yang in this country, and be perfectly legal and completely stoned - so stoned they don't notice their kids sneaking their dope out of the medicine cabinet - but who cares - eh? more ‘legal’ profits for big pharma - and they give back, don't they?- you’ve visited their private vacation island, right?
can one go out and grow marijuana? i mean legally -, which we have evolved with, by the way, if you would take some time to do some actual research, you'd understand that. And while it is not totally harmless, it is more innocuous and less toxic even than alcohol - which i am sure many, including you two above, have partaken of in such a fashion as to either wake up with a hang-over, or you are beyond that stage already -
educated people do so much better in self-control, and no drug can remove that from them if they have that knowledge to exercise their own will - some have no will, drugs has nothing to do with that
banning drugs just makes them more desirable - just like guns, but that’s another argument
educating people as children to learn that they don’t need many drugs would make for a healthier public, but then, certain politicians wouldn’t find an educated public so easy to scare and manipulate
Which party of our vaunted two has the best record of supporting good education for all?
Which party thinks that cutting education funding for the public serves the nation?
Blame Mexico? you can’t be serious
except you are, and that line of reasoning is fatuous and can produce no good result
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THE MUMBLINGS OF A LIBERAL ARE QUITE AMUSING
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"educating people as children to learn that they don’t need many drugs"
It sounds like you have a list or a proposal in mind, would you mind sharing it (genuinely curious),
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amusing, perhaps, to a small mind -but your ramblings are much more alarming, just as the brownshirts were alarming in Munich and Milan - nothing like a little fascism to warm the heart, huh?
and you still think you're so special as to need to use caps locks? - who whispered that in your ear?
have you known a fact since you were two and the diaper was wet?
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LOLO >>>> I USE ALL CAPS JUST TO AGGRAVATE PERSNICKETY LOW BROWS>............. DEAL WITH IT
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deafened
you use all caps because you're a sad case, and have a loud mouth but no brains to back it up
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I'd like to ask your guests whether it was the Oregon law itself or the combination of the Oregon law and the federal restrictions that has caused the slump in Meth arrests.
I ask because it seems relatively easy to get limited quantities of decongestant in other states as long as one is willing to sign for it.
Second question... where is Meth in Oregon currently coming from (perhaps a statistical breakdown)?
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re: your question above, and forgive this short reply:
education is a magic bullet - education is not 'brainwashing', memorization, nor cramming in the greatest amount of 'facts' in the shortest time
- when a child learns to learn, learns that he can learn, when an adult learns that she cannot 'teach' anyone anything, but rather act as a guide on the path to learning for the child, these are the first steps
this is not a question which has a tweetable response that would be sensible -
to continue then -
learning is active, being taught is passive, as an analogy
the educated mind and person is a learned being, not a taught animal, a conditioned being - even dogs and parrots do better when treated as if they learn, rather than treating them like "i'll teach you" - which sounds like the threat it is
acquaint yourself with history and civilization - always you will find education - don't dis the 'teacher', when most of them are more knowledgeable of the above than you or i -
and most also know that they are an aid to learning and not an enforcer of teaching(s)
learning is acquiring knowledge and understanding it -
i can't go on - it's really so simple - go out and start to learn, then you'll better understand not just one thing, but all things - and you'll be a better person for it, and all those around you will be better for that, too
the 'avoidance of bad drugs' is a miniscule benefit of education - i anticipate most of your coming argument - please don't share it, go to the library instead and inform yourself
i hope this helps
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sorry for not being crystal clear lolo... I was interested in the list of drugs you think children "don't need"... thanks
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of course you were interested in so-called facts and statistics which you could wrap your fist around and use like a hammer, rather than thinking anything out and arriving at a more useful solution by giving it a good, hard, think-around
as far as being 'crystal clear' - i haven't seen you hit that mark yet - and i think your 'facts' are most of what's in your way- that and some of your mental habits
but thanks for asking and responding - i am sorry it wasn't worth your effort to actually think - but i understand - it's easier to let someone tell you what to think and then mouth that - you do that rather well, and it's pointless
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In one of the teasers teeing up for this show they said that they will have someone talking about "gateway" drugs.
Pot is pretty much always slandered and libeled as a gateway drug, but I suggest that the real gateway drugs are alcohol and tobacco, which are legal and heavily advertised, and even celebrated as signs of what it means to be an adult in movies and on TV shows like Mad Men. I suggest that a person does not need either alcohol or tobacco to be, or even act like, an adult.
And I suspect that alcohol and tobacco are at the root of more harm to individuals, families, and society than all of the other illegal drugs combined.
Two drinks of alcohol are enough to loosen a persons inhibitions and corrupt their mental decision making processes, making them vulnerable to the offer of other gateway drugs whether legal or not.
Long ago I learned that the CIA teaches their agents to never have more than two drinks of alcohol because of what it does. That is probably a good policy for civilians too.
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Gateway drugs? Well, if you read brain research, you'd find that food could be considered a gateway drug. Supersize Me had it's own point to make, but it identified research current at the time that showed how opiate receptors respond to foods in a fashion similar to "drugs". McDonalds as a gateway drug?! If you take it to the next step, how about tobacco- smoking cigarettes, which (again) research has identified has been altered to act on these regions of the brain to cause addiction; a little relaxed, a little up. Ok, now, let's add some "energy drink" to the mix....Now, it's 10 o'clock at night and it's time to sleep...better have a cocktail. If a person has any sort of issue (predisposition to addictions, exposure to high stress) and/or this is the lifestyle they live and know (parent/guardian examples), it is nearly inevitable. By being one in these perfect storm circumstances, it makes me sad to think of the possibilities. Cigarettes and alcohol are legal and still so socially acceptable. And, I agree, education (which is another topic for TOL) is critical to help prevent some of this.
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strong and reasonable points
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pdxmimi — Fri Feb. 25th 9:43a.m.
I agree with all of your points and I would add that old saying that "religion is the opiate of the masses".
A lot of things can and ought to be recognized as gateway drugs and their bad effects ought to be minimized.
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Gateway drugs? No! Fallacious reasoning. Yes, it's probably so that everyone who uses meth started using less serious drugs, but how many people use marijuana and never, ever touch meth? Lots of them?
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The only reason marijuana is a gateway drug, is because it needs to be purchased by a drug dealer, who also pushes other, harder drugs. If it were legal people would not need to buy from illegal dealers and get the drug from legitimate businesses that pay taxes.
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A worthwhile consideration. According to the US 2010 Drug Threat Assessment, 25.8 million people avge 12 and older reported using marijuana in 2008, and 15.2 million used prescription drugs. But only 5.3 million reported cocaine use, 850,000 meth, and 453,000 heroin.
Faces of Meth was excellent and effective. And as Tom D. Ford above suggests, alcohol can be pretty destructive--we've all seen 'faces of alcohol'. But I just don't think 'faces of marijuana' would be effective simply because the harm is not present.
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Totally agree! (I've never seen someone high behaving violently!)
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sberry — Fri Feb. 25th 9:20a.m.
I had not seen those figures and you make good points.
I wonder how many of the users in each category are what could be considered "functional", that is, they are able to "use" and yet still do their work and relationships without harm or much harm to themselves and others.
Or stated the other way, how many are actually "problem" users to themselves, families and society?
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Totally agree! (I've never seen someone high behaving violently!) -- pdxmimi — Fri Feb. 25th 9:45a.m.
PCP, which is what Rodney King was allegedly on when he was beaten mercilessly by the LAPD can cause violent behaviour. I don't pretend to know whether he was, indeed, high on "Angel Dust" or not, but I do remember the LAPD officers who were involved in the incident claiming that Rodney King was high on PCP.
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I truly believe that education is the lynch pin of this issue. We need to be honest about the severity of drugs - they are by no means the same, and the education children receive right now portrays them all as terrible and life-ruining. When they become curious and experiment with the more benign ones and learn that they aren't as bad as they were told, this will make them think that the other ones were over-stated as well, and then they will find themselves in real trouble.
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There are already a lot of comments suggesting a drop in meth related arrests may be attributable to the drug's manufacture moving south to mexico--and contributing further to their violence and instability.
Also, I have been drinking locally brewed beer and smoking locally grown marijuana for years, without so much as thinking about using anything harder.
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Well, I'm glad that the control of pseudoephedrine has cut down on meth production but I'm ticked off that I can't purchase it to control my rhinitis. It's the best drug to manage my sinus and lungs response to central Oregon. I'd love it if we could be like Washington state and have to sign for it.
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I thought that the Sudafed makers changed the ingredients to something nearly as effective but not useful for making meth? That apparently does not work for you? Or am I misinformed?
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Sudafed has indeed been re-formulated. If memory serves, the active ingredient now is Phenylephrine, and the product is now marketed as Sudafed PE. (Same little red pills that look like Red Hots.)
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Oregon may be the only state that requires a prescription for Sudafed, an anti histimine. Other states jsut require a "sign for it" approach. It is an added TAX on Oregon citizens. It's a tax on people who don't do anything wrong, we (the citizens) are just punished to help powerless people feel powerful.
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I think it is a shame that Sudafed was taken away as a cold medicine, because it was the only one that did not make a person drowsy and unable to work. So a lot of normal people suffered unnecessarily because of the meth users and cookers.
And that is a problem with a lot of illegal drugs, they are taken away from all non-abusing personal users because of the abuse of a few.
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I started using meth at the tender age of 16 (quit about a year later). I started using because I lacked a strong and supportive family life, had a very low self esteem, had lost interest in school and was convinced that I had no future - all of these issues were outcomes of poverty and growing up in a culture of poverty. Education is important for lifting our citizens out of poverty - reduce poverty and you will reduce the use of seriously life destroying drugs (not marijuana).
Despite my prior drug use, I really think that Oregon's law is excessively strict. I have issues with fluid in my middle ear due to deformed eustachian tubes. When I get a cold, I am prone to ear infections, which are the catalyst for calcium growth that eats away at the bones in my middle ears. A couple years ago, lacking health insurance, I couldn't get ahold of any effective decongestant, which led to an infection in my middle ear that made me go deaf until I was able to get health insurance, at which time I had a surgery (that cost me $4,000 out of pocket). If we, as a society, aren't going to ensure access to doctors, it seems really excessive to make it impossible for people to get the most effective decongestant on the market.
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The problem with this type of program, who's intent is good, is that it defeats it's intent when every time there is a major or minor drug "bust" the amount of of money that the drug is worth is also is also advertised. I do mean advertised in the strictest sense. The disclosure of the money worth of the drug in turn drives the drug trade and influences others to get in the business of making and selling drugs of all types. This free advertisement must be stopped.
Stories, such as the present addict's story are a dime a dozen.....they sort of take on a hero worship among the drug cult, all of these people love to hear these never ending drug stories.
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Reiterated by Michael Pollack! The need to be noticed, important, adored or worshipped. I've often wondered why the street value was covered by the news, or actually, why is it even broadcast as news? It definitely glamorizes and reinforces the wacky subculture of drug abuse. Nicely stated Raoul!
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pdxmimi — Fri Feb. 25th 9:49a.m.
Your points remind me of people who are apparently pathologically greedy for wealth. Can that be considered an addiction that is harmful to society and ought to be well regulated?
Hmm, awfully similar.
"wacky subculture of drug abuse" could be paraphrased as the "wacky subculture of wealth abuse".
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The lead in to this show discusses how making the precursor chemicals to the manufacture of methamphetamine more difficult to obtain has led to a dramatic decline in meth-related crime.
Oregon took a non-law enforcement approach to dealing with the meth epidemic and it was effective!
Treating addiction as a criminal justice problem is not the solution. I'm disheartened to hear you refer to pot and alcohol as "gateway drugs." The best way to prevent addiction-driven crimes is by treating addiction as a public health problem rather than a criminal justice issue.
Take a look at how effectively Portugal's decriminalization of drugs has reduced crime in that country.
There is broad concensus that the "War on Drugs" has failed. Why in the world would Oregon law enforcement declare war on pot and alcohol, now?
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I think we ought to look at the motivations behind abusing these drugs vs the drugs themselves. My suspicion is that these drugs fill a void that our society has created. We're an extremely isolated and emotionally dysfunctional country who puts premiums on economic status, but doesn't teach our kids how to relate, feel self-worth, or feel connected to others.
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Gads, all this confusion between cause and effect and correlation. We have a huge obesity problem in this country. Maybe we should teach kids that they don't need food. Food leads to McDonalds, then Burger King, then what? A life of being overweight and ostracized.
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The thing I have seen about fear type teaching is that if a person feels out of control of their own life, they might begin to use that feared thing in order to show the parents or other authority figures who really is in control of that persons life. In other words the person is even willing to hurt themselve to get back "perceived" control of their life.
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I think cigarrettes are the ultimate gateway drug to meth!!
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Certainly I had smoked pot first, but but my first full blown addiction to Amphedamines was via a prescription from a doctor for ADHD. When I quit taking the dexadrine that I was prescribed I simply had a cross-addiction to Cocaine and then speed. How many people that were given legal speed addictions from a doctor, later ended up with crippling addictions to meth? It seems to me that the huge push for ADD and ADHD drugs was shortly followed by a huge increase in meth use. I know I made my own horrible choices, but the addiction I had at 17 did not help.
-John
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I live in Cave Junction and I have seen, on occasion, young women approximately the age of 30, appear to be on meth, as their faces look very similar to the photos on faces of meth. It`s so sad to see them look so shriveled. I have often thought of asking them if they are alright. I`m wondering if hearing someone cares is useful?
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"I`m wondering if hearing someone cares is useful?"
I don't know for sure but I'd like to think so and I suspect that you would never know if it was the first time or after many many times that finally got the caring message through.
And I would be aware that you might get a violent response from someone drugged out so in my opinion you ought to be careful.
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Good advice. There`s always the possibility the question of caring may lead to provoacation.
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It takes courage to care.
And caring is what makes a better world.
Like my old aunt told me, "god is love".
'Nuff said.
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Howdy--
There is so much speculation around the topic of gateway drugs that just doesn't match my decades of experience as a pot smoker. Sam Kinison, the screaming comedian, performed a classic routine on Saturday Night Live back when crack cocaine first made headlines. The gist of his monologue was that crack was a response to border clampdowns which limited marijuana availability. Since cocaine is more concentrated, it was easier to slip into the country. His punchline, at full volume, was, "Give us back the pot! We won't smoke crack! Just bring back the weed!" Not surprisingly, SNL cut the scene when the show was repeated.
Many pot smokers could relate. We smoke because some kitties like the catnip. Many mammals seek a relaxing buzz. Marijuana provides that.
Sure, I've experimented with much of the pharmacopia in search of the right high, including meth. It was a horrible experience. Other hard drugs, opiates, psychedelics, etc., were also all too strong. Even alchohol (or maybe especially alcohol) is too strong, and too toxic. You can fit a lethal dose of alcohol in a pint glass; there is no lethal dose of pot.
In all my experience, pot dealers rarely stock other drugs, except some psychedelics. And the pusher just doesn't exist. In fact, it can be difficult to make the acquaintance of pot sellers--they are justifiably suspicious of new customers. They don't push--we pull.
I'm almost hesitant to post here, because marijuana doesn't even belong in this discussion. It is to alcohol/meth/herion what coffee is to cocaine.
Happy Trails,
(Name withheld, for obvious reasons. I can't wait for the day when I can sign my name to this kind of opinion.)
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(The Late) Sam Kinison wasn't the only "screaming comic;" Gilbert Godfried ("AFLAC!" duck's voice) and Bobcat Goldthwait also used screaming as part of their bit.
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Brains scans are the latest new thing in scientific studies and I see that as a good thing , but I think that the elephant if the room that needs study is religion.
Around 80 % of Americans claim they are religious and most of those are in one of the versions of the Abraham religion, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The central teaching about parenting in that religion is the King Solomon instruction "spare the rod and spoil the child", also taught as "put the fear in the kids early". The problem I have seen is that a child who lives in fear of punishment will do whatever she/he can to relieve that fear, mentally and behaviorally, sometimes with small harm to themselves, but sometimes huge bad effects. And drugs can change that persons personal experience of reality. So alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs get taken up and a few percentage of users go overboard to change their reality and harm themselves.
I suggest changing to parenting with positive psychology to reinforce desired behaviors and mental confidence, and avoiding punishment.
I think that the religions ought to be revised to fit modern science about effective parenting because this is one more instance where the religion is wrong.
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If alcohol is one of the number one culprits to current and future addiction why is is allowed to be held harmless. Maybe we should not raise the alcohol tax for consumers but hold the alcohol industry responsibile for the impact that they are having by some type of industry tax. We are say behind on this issue and need to be aggressive (just like the alcohol and tobacco industries) in funding prevention and intervention. Prevention gets the smalles piece of the "pie" but can have the biggest impact as stated by Dep. King.
D. Jones
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I'd point out that Islam teaches that no one should use any stimulants and I believe it is a pretty strict taboo, so they prohibit alcohol and other drugs. So those various Muslim peoples could be studied for the effects of a total ban. I have heard and read that they do actually use various stimulating drugs, like coffee and tea, and I heard on NPR recently that some Afghanis are abusing and getting addicted to Opium.
And of course the weathy elites from some nations like Saudi Arabia use alcohol when they are in western countries.
So total bans don't seem to be effective, even when it is imposed by religion and theocracies.
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I have read that the US Air Force gives their pilots amphetamines on long flights to keep awake and alert. I wonder if their research and techniques and methods are available to the general public?
That is, if they have problems with pilot addictions and what they do to handle it? I imagine that a trained pilot has at least a few millions of dollars invested in them by the time they are given responsibility and so keeping them healthy would be very important
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Not anymore Tom... meth was put into chocolate by the Germans in WW2 (see Fliegerschokolade or Panzerschokolade)... for all I know most of WW2 was meth-enhanced.
Over the past 10yrs other, non-amphetamine, non-caffeine, non-addictive (yet very effective) mental alertness drugs have taken their place in our military (for the most part).
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Thanks for clearing that up, rethomas.
I didn't know about meth in WW2, but I guess I should not be surprised.
Now I wonder what mental alertness drugs our military uses and if they might be used as substitutes for current meth addicts to help them get off meth. Sort of like methadone for herion addicts.
And of course college students would like them for those all night cram sessions.
And what about as replacements for coffee? I'd think that business would pick that up, big time, like Starbucks, etc.
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One of the problems with legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco is that the governments are also addicted to them in the form of taxes to run the governments, so if you are going to effectively reduce the harm, you are also going to have to effectively reduce the tax revenues.
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Comments are now closed.
Five years later, Meth Production has left Oregon(Yeah!) and moved South of the Border to Mexico, along with its sisters Marijuana, Cocaine and Heroin.
And the Drug Markets have become Violent Drug Cartels slaughtering Mexicans, causing a Narco-Anarchy and making the area more dangerous than Iraq, Afganistan or even Libya today. Journalist are hunted down. Women are kidnapped, raped and disappeared. Decapitations are common. A major American growth industry is importing coffins to Mexico.
It is astonishing that Americans believe, Lawless Sociopathic Murderers will just stop misbehaving once they cross norte, the Rio Grande / Mexican- US Border. No they will bring their guns and their 'You talkin to Me' attitudes.
We will have spill over violence into Border states, and it may by necessity become MILITARIZED.
This is NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. I would not blame the fed-up Mexicans if they rose up in a Social Media- Twitter movement @ La Plaza de la Constituition in Mexico City to start a revolution and overthrow the violent status quo. Oil Based Wealth, Severe Class Inequity, Corruption, Endemic Violence, Gut Wrenching Poverty, Desert Enviorment Negatively Impacted by Global Climate Changes, Human Rights Abuses Left and Right, Secret Conspiracies, Assassinations-----Not an Arab country, this is Mexico.
It used to be Mexicans immigrated for jobs and a better economy...now they are immigrating to avoid, crime, violence and TO SAVE THEIR LIVES. This is a an international problem more important to America than Israeli-Palestinian Peace, and it is a major failing of our foreign policies.
For now, deepest I will be venturing into Mexico is Taco Bell-- I am addicted to their Chimichungas (just glad they are not a Schedule IV Drug.)