Meth Addicts Demand Government Address Nation's Growing Spider Menace

From the Onion:

Following the tragic falling death of 32-year-old methamphetamine addict Phillip Diggs, who was reportedly attacked by spiders while scaling a large construction crane near Palo Alto, CA, thousands of outraged and confused meth addicts marched frenetically on Washington as part of a week of activities urging the federal government to address the nation's growing spider epidemic.

"Something needs to be done and it needs to be done soon—these spiders are everywhere," said Rich Harlowe, event organizer and founder of Tweakers' Rights NowNowNowNowNowNowNowNowNow!, in testimony before a Senate committee Tuesday. "The government must address this problem before the situation gets out of hand and these poisonous, acid-shooting spiders develop the powers of mind control or—God forbid—flight."

"America cannot afford to ignore this any crisis any longer," Harlowe added.

The rally drew addicts from every part of the country, many traveling on foot through the night, trading sex with truck drivers for rides, or stealing their brothers-in-law's bicycles. At dozens of rambling public speeches, organizers decried the fact that it took the spider-related death of an innocent meth addict to raise awareness of the issue, while lauding the bravery of meth addicts, and methamphetamines themselves.

A 45,000-word proposal was drafted by members of TRN during a marathon, 72-hour meeting under the Roosevelt Bridge, and presented twice to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. The document, which includes schematics for the development of a giant "spider bomb" the size of Rhode Island, concludes repeatedly that the problem would best be combated with large quantities of methamphetamines and steel wool.
Meth Addicts Jump

"This very morning, I saw a small child completely covered in hairy, bloodsucking, screaming tarantulas while his parents stood by and did nothing," said protester Joe Lopez, pausing to spit out a black and decayed tooth. "I was appalled. I shouted horrible profanities and incantations at them, but they ignored me."

"I, I, I don't—this is just, just, just—I, I, I—guh, ah," he added.

Pseudophedrine restrictions a boon to Mexican cartels

Recent efforts may have been successful at reducing American meth production, but it appears Mexican cartels may be picking up the slack.

The Combat Methamphetamine Act of 2005, which trumps laws that had already been passed in many states, made stores move their cold medicines containing the decongestant pseudoephedrine - which can be extracted and used to make methamphetamine - behind the counter, limit the amount that consumers can purchase and require purchasers to present photo identification. Stores must also keep personal information about these customers in a logbook for two years.
The regulations lend an illicit air to a legitimate attempt to banish a stuffy nose. Many cold meds now include phenylephrine, which doesn't carry the same restrictions - or efficacy....

But if consumers view this new counter ritual as a small sacrifice to keep meth off the streets, they may be disappointed to see that tough restrictions at the drugstore have failed to dent availability of the illegal drug. Restricting pseudoephedrine may have shut down small-time neighborhood meth cookeries, but Mexican cartels have seized the opportunity to swoop into unconquered territory and make those meth customers their own.

According to the National Drug Intelligence Center's 2007 National Drug Threat Assessment, "Marked success in decreasing domestic methamphetamine production through law enforcement pressure and strong precursor chemical sales restrictions has enabled Mexican (drug trafficking organizations) to rapidly expand their control over methamphetamine distribution - even in eastern states - as users and distributors who previously produced the drug have sought new, consistent sources."
Additionally, the flow of "ice" - highly concentrated meth that is usually smoked - from Mexico has increased sharply, most likely creating more addicts because of the better high it creates, states the report.

So while lawmakers have focused on regulating sniffling customers at drugstore counters, Mexican cartels have monopolized the gaps left in the meth market, bringing their goods - and guns - across a porous border. "Now, approximately 80 percent of all meth purchased in the U.S. originates from Mexican labs,"

This has gotten some attention on some blogs, but feels like they're trying to have it both ways: "Look! The boneheaded drug warriors have created a crisis. They've given a gift to those vicious Mexican drug cartels, who are invading thanks to our porous borders."; and "Look! The boneheaded drug warriors are hyping meth use. There's no crisis and there never was!"

This particular columnist is politically conservative and has previously written at least a few articles on immigration. Is this just an opportunity to raise alarm at illegal immigration?

About That Methedemic

Jack Shafer gives Newsweek a big TOLD YA SO!

Last Friday, Jan. 26, the federal National Survey on Drug Use and Health released results from a survey that showed meth use had "declined overall between 2002 and 2005" and that the number of "initiates"— people using the drug for the first time in the 12 months before the survey—had "remained relatively stable between 2002 and 2004, but decreased between 2004 and 2005."

Methylphenidate for Amphetamine Dependence

The American Journal Psychiatry ran a recent study on the effectiveness of methylphenidate for speed addiction. Could this be a future evidence-based practice? Let's hope not.

Alternative treatments give addicts a chance

An opinion piece on Sam Sullivan's (Vancouver's Mayor) proposal for stimulant maintenance programs. (Previous post here.) Grrrr.

Vancouver mayor proposes 'revolutionary' plan for addicts

Vancouver's Mayor is promoting his plan for stimulant maintenance again and calling it treatment. This is the same guy who suggested that addicts and the public need to get real and accept addiction as a permanent disability, like his experience of having to accept his spinal cord injury and life in a wheel chair.

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan is lobbying the federal government for an exemption from Canada's narcotics laws that would allow what he calls a "revolutionary" alternative drug-treatment plan to give substitute drugs to at least 700 cocaine and crystal-meth addicts.

If he is successful, Vancouver would be a global pioneer in running such a large-scale program of drug maintenance for stimulant-drug users.

Sullivan said the drug plan, along with three other key elements that have to come from Ottawa or Victoria, will eliminate most of Vancouver's problems with homelessness, panhandling and drug-dealing. Those are the three social problems he promised to reduce by half in time for 2010 in the Project Civil City initiative that he launched in November.

Do drug courts tame the meth monkey?

Utah's Governor starts a drug court push for meth addicted mothers and proposes significant investment in treatment:

Despite efforts to combat it, Utah's meth problem continues to grow - especially for women.
For five years, meth has been the top illegal drug of choice for Utahns entering public treatment. For women it surpasses even alcohol, the traditional front-runner, making it the only drug in history to have its female users outnumber males. Nearly half the women in treatment statewide have children.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has proposed investing $2 million in Utah's drug courts and $2.5 million to build two residential clinics in northern and southern Utah to treat 600 women, giving priority to those involved with the child welfare system. But Huntsman will have to convince lawmakers it's a wise investment, no easy task considering the stigma attached to addiction and a dearth of data on treatment, including how patients and drug court graduates fare over the longer term.

Helping Utah's women poses another challenge: transforming a system that wasn't built for them.

"Substance abuse treatment has been historically geared for white, middle-aged male alcoholics," said Salt Lake County substance abuse Director Patrick Fleming. "We're a hell of a lot better at treating women than 10 years ago, but there's room for improvement."

I'd challenge the "dearth of data" statement. We have a lot of data on the effectiveness of treatment and drug courts.

Treatment response by primary drug of abuse: Does methamphetamine make a difference?

Another study challenges the conventional wisdom that meth addiction is harder to treat than addictions to other drugs.

Speed a promising treatment for ice addiction: expert

More hope and optimism from Australia. About these "hard-core users" for whom there is no "good alternative"--were they ever offered treatment on demand of reasonable intensity and duration?

John Grabowski, from the University of Texas, will be the keynote speaker at a conference in Sydney today on ice use.

Speed, or dex-amphetamine sulphate, poses a high risk of dependency and abuse.

The conference has been called by the NSW Government and is being attended by government representatives from around Australia and international experts.

Dr Grabowski said one of the most promising treatments for ice, or meth-amphetamine - associated with intense violent and psychotic episodes among habitual users - was the drug commonly known as speed. He said dex-amphetamine was already widely used for the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder and research suggested it could stabilise Ice users.

Dr Grabowksi said that while there were political difficulties in using a legal form of a drug to combat its illegal use, research was showing sufficiently positive results to move forward. Just as methadone, a form of opiate, was used for the treatment of heroin addiction, so the use of speed may become acceptable for the treatment of Ice addiction.

He said there was probably no other way to deal with some hard-core users creating problems for police and hospitals. "There is a population for which I don't see any good alternative," he said.

Ice addicts flood injection rooms

A safe injection center in Australia is experiencing unanticipated problems with meth addicts:

Injecting centre medical director Ingrid van Beek said eight per cent of the 220 addicts using the centre each day were injecting ice - more than twice the number 18 months ago.

"Ice changes people's behaviour in such a dramatic way and can be quite scary,'' she said. '

"People become incredibly strong and quite aggressive, and that's what makes the impact of this drug greater.''

Staff had undergone additional training to manage abusive behaviour among ice addicts and to identify the early signs of psychosis, Ms van Beek said.

"Staff have to be aware of how to manage that sort of crisis situation, and our staff are specially trained in that.''

Ms van Beek said that if people showed sings of emerging psychosis, they were counselled and not allowed to enter the centre.

The Sunday Telegraph approached several addicts outside the injecting centre who admitted to using ice inside.

One man said staff did not check the type of drug he injected.

"I just don't tell them. They don't care; they just write you down on a piece of paper,'' he said.

"You just say, `I'm doing hammer (heroin)' and go boom, boom quickly. Just keep it quiet.''

Another addict, calling himself Ace, said: "Hell yeah, bro, it's a proper sealed joint in there with security guards and all. You can do what you want.

"It's amnesty once you cross the door; cops can't touch you.''

A security guard at the Mansions nightclub, across the road, said ice users were often seen stumbling on to the street, drug-fuelled and aggressive.

"They must be on ice - they're screaming and ranting and raving,'' he said.