Has Meth use/abuse affected your town/city? (crime rate, neighborhood)

[gimme it]

I keep reading that it's a big Midwest problem. Has crime rate gone up as a result or are laws getting stricter? How common is it really? Thinking about relocating to the Midwest or South and have some concerns about this.

[ontheroad]

It's been bad on both Coasts, East and West, but not aware of how it is faring in the South.

It is also rather problematic in the SW.

Last year a group of substance abuse/treatment directors met to discuss ways and means to eradicate it, but meetings are just that, and I haven't heard of any positive outcome.

Drugs are prevalent everywhere, but some pockets are if not drug-free, not obviously drug-prevalent.

[skatealoneskatetogether]

missouri actually holds the distinction of leading the nation in meth.

[normie]

This is an excellent question to ask the police community relations officers or the editor of the local paper. They will give you accurate statistics, often by neighborhood.

Sadly, you will not get reliable information about this topic on this forum. IMO. We have 1-2 people who get their jollies with this particular subject. After awhile, you can spot them because the writing style is similar. They often make claims like:

"noticed a disproportionate amount of crystal meth use among the town's workers."

Then they disappear, apparently hoping that they've just started a big battle between people who love a town and people who hate it. If someone tries to give evidence that this claim is full of baloney, the reply is always "you're in denial."

So far I have read that people have noticed a disproportionate amount of crystal meth in Asheville, NC, Crossville, TN, Central Florida, Colorado Springs, Houston, and Charlotte, NC. But the one that really tipped me off was when this claim was made about the town employees in Catalina, CA.

Catalina is a very small town on an island that is mostly reserved for a nature conservancy. People who live there know their fellow residents, and they certainly know the tiny handful of town employees personally. I'm a pretty observant person and I saw a lot of drunks there but I didn't notice the town workers had an unusual amount of the typical symptoms, which are:

White, clammy skin. Dilated pupils. Zits. Grinding teeth. Trying to "chew their ear off". Repetitive, meaningless motions and activities. Strange body odor. Odd walk with wildly swinging arms. Paranoia. "Clanging" speech (strange, rhyming words). Gulping and swallowing. Hair falling out in patches. Poor dental hygene. Sweating. Hat pulled down over eyes trying to "blend".

So that's how I knew people were making up stuff, just trying to start a little excitement by using a hot button word like "meth."

I hear on the news that meth is becoming a big problem in big cities and small towns across the country. But if you are really concerned about moving to a city becuase of this problem, I would ask the police about it.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by gimme it

I keep reading that it's a big Midwest problem. Has crime rate gone up as a result or are laws getting stricter? How common is it really? Thinking about relocating to the Midwest or South and have some concerns about this.

yep...right you are about it being a Midwest problem. In fact, Franklin County, whose easternmost border is located on I-44 in Pacific, Missouri, just a few miles west of Six Flags, is to my knowledge one of the most heavily concentrated areas of meth in the United States, though I've also heard of it being very prevalent in Iowa and Nebraska as well. It's not something that's usually talked about around here, but I think everybody knows that it's a problem.

[shelledyk1372]

From the perspective of a resident for 15 years in mesa, arizona. Meth has definitely taken its hold within the community. The area already has a high rate of halfway house, and rehabs. A high crime rate due to drug use. Our state and city goverments are now running an campaign towards the younger crowd to emphasis that once is not enough. The resturaunt I work at is open 24/7 so it attracts alot of homeless and wanders. I see alot of people that are a product of their drug use. As other businesses in the area we are all running into the problem of hiring staff that we soon find have a drug habit, and then have to deal with the group of people they associate with. It's like a never ending cycle within the system here. Its actually very sad to see how it is affecting the younger population. Parents are using around their children; hence starts another vicious cycle. CPS is overloaded here with case after case of
this issue within our community. I suppose one might say that this is something happening all over, but I say we definitely have it bad.

[jufrbo]

Montana, had a huge problem a while back. But they ran a very successful ad campaign called the Montana Meth Project, which featured very graphic ads about the effects of meth use.

[CortlandGirl79]

I think Coke and Heroine are still the big ones in Youngstown.

[scarletneon]

i'm pretty sure it's a problem in Tennessee... when I worked at a rural paper there, I actually went to a meth lab bust to take some pictures, and the "meth task force" guy was really excited to tell us about the decal on his truck...

But I think it's a problem there because I'm pretty sure Tenn had one of the first "NO Sudafed for you unless you sign your life away, i don't care if your face is swollen and your eyes are red and you're coughing and you obviously have sinusitis, it's a charade and you're only using it to make meth" laws in the country, before the federal one. (Sorry, that's one of the most obnoxious things ever, because i have HORRIBLE sinuses. Not that i ever buy more than two boxes at once, and I can buy that many at a time, it's just completely ridiculous that the government has to criminalize and watch over the rest of us just because a bunch of idiots want to cook meth in their kitchen.)

[metalfish]

I had a bit of a meth problem myself and i live here in san antonio tx. Its difficult to find now though.