Way back in January, I made a post about
Meth in Idaho. It was meant to be more humorous than anything, but it still had some staggering facts:
• Idaho spends between $60 to $102 million annually to incarcerate and treat the offender
who admits 'I have a problem with Meth' —this represents between 32% - 55% of the Idaho
Department of Correction’s total budget
o 52% of Idaho inmates directly attribute Meth use to their incarceration
o 89% of female offenders in county jail in Idaho indicate they have a problem with
Meth—73% of these women indicate that Meth is their drug of choice
• During 2007, more than 70% of Federal drug offenses in Idaho involved
methamphetamine
• Idaho ranks #4 in the country for past year Meth use by 12 – 17 year olds and 18 – 25
year olds
• Idaho ranks #7 for lifetime Meth use by high school students
I don't know about you, but that's some scary stuff. Meth is BY FAR the drug of choice in Idaho, and it's effects are everywhere.
It's freaky to see these people first-hand. I work at a non-profit, and one of the things we do is give out food-box vouchers for low income families, to take to the local food bank. When a tweaker comes in, you can't help but stare at them for a little bit. The twitching, the itching, the darting eyes, the fragmented sentences, it's amazing.
And all of this, just for a cheap high.
Surfing the net, I found this research picture from a local university. It speaks for itself.
Meth is a combination of battery acid, paint thinner, camp stove fuel, drain cleaner, cold tablets, brake fuel and a dozen or so other toxic chemicals. Anything that makes your teeth fall out, makes you want to tear your skin off, or turns you batshit crazy is not a good way to get high. Whomever thought to combine all this stuff and go "Hey, let's smoke this!" had something wrong in their brain.
I was out last night with my girlfriend and her sister, drinking and socializing and venting. You know, the usual. They're like me, they like to people watch from time to time. It was pretty obvious to us, as they walked in, who the meth-heads in the bar were. Surprisingly, there were more women than men (at least, what I saw).
The good news is, if you're overweight, I've never seen a fat girl on meth. They're all skinny. Coincidence? I don't think so. Maybe meth should get a sponsorship from a major weight-loss corporation?
Sorry. That wasn't funny. Meth is no laughing matter. At least, not like some of the other drugs...