Yes Montana has a meth problem (Missoula, Helena: credit, house, luxury)

[jenzebel]

Originally Posted by Quistoman

I get tired of arguing the point but the facts don’t support your post. Im not going to present evidence because its clear it would not matter what was presented you would not believe any different by viewing it. I'm sad our country has became so ignorant on issue's in general take global warming and gore pushing this complete crap about humans making a significant contribution what a joke, heh.

Anyway, Im not worried about meth in Montana and its not as wide spread as its depicted.

Do you even live here? Open your eyes if you do! I have numerous friends in social services that deal with these problems everyday. Through their networking with colleagues in other states, they know the degree of our problem compared with other states.

You don't present contradictory evidence because you don't have any! How convenient to just say I am full of @#$% and then say you won't present evidence because your evidence won't make a difference. All you do is take a hostile position based on emotion and then can't support it with facts.

Go ahead and prove me wrong if you can.

[jenzebel]

Originally Posted by Lisa_from_Debary

http://drugabusestatistics.samhsa.gov/2k5/meth/meth.htm

"The 50 States and the District of Columbia were divided into thirds based on the percentage of the population aged 12 or older who had used methamphetamine in the past year (Figure 4). Twelve states in the West,7 including Nevada (2.2 percent), Wyoming, and Montana (1.5 percent each),8 ranked among the top third of states for past year methamphetamine use. Connecticut (less than 0.1 percent), New York, and North Carolina (0.12 percent each) were among the states with the lowest rates; all nine states in the Northeast were in the lowest third."

Thanks Lisa for sharing some data.

[NYMTman]

Originally Posted by JoeJoeMan

Lesson One: - All problems are exaggerated by the government.
Lesson Two: - The government, contrary to popular beleif, loves to spend momey.
Lesson Three: any goverment agency would put itself out of bussiness it it solved the problem of its focus.
Lesson Four: - the bigger the problem can be proclaimed the more money the agency gets.

OK now put two and two together..........

Montanans have been using meth ever since I can remember, it's the poor man's drug, that's why it's so popular in montana. Also I've never seen any one that looks like those pictures in the ads. Soon as that guy did that initial meth campaing I could see it coming - all the new government money coming his way, its a great business model, wish I thought of it.
How about the guy in Kalispell they railroaded, He didn't do meth, he didn't even sell it, but the put him in jail and let the real users and meth dealers plee bargin and get away scott free...dah, they were made out to be the victims, they hung all the blame on the rich white guy, and you can bet your bottom dollar most of those users and dealers involved in that case are back up to their old ways.....So what does all this tell you.....it tells me that Montana politicians, agencies and law enforcement can talk all they want but they'd rather put a rich white guy in jail than do anything about a meth problem......with all that government money going those agencies, actually stopping or deminishing the problem would be like shooting the goose that laid the golden egg.............want proof....how long have they been doing this, (trying to stop the drug problem) and it just keeps getting worse, considering the outcome, one would have to say that they've really been sucessfull in promoting it.....which they are in a round about way............
Personally, I say let the druggies do all the drugs they want - "it's their body" - but don't ask me for a penny in help, and let'em all die in the gutter if that's what they want to do with their life, if that's what makes them happy - far be it from me to interfere witht their choices in life, beleive me NO ONE does anything they don't want to do, they want to do drugs and don't ever beleive any differenet and you couldn't torchure them into stopping, leave them alone it's their life to live any way they see fit or unfit - it's freedom, their freedom.

Here here! This is perhaps the wisest post in the entire City-data Montana forum.

[lorelei2873]

Until they shoot you or rob you. Both have happened in my neighborhood to folks.

[JoeJoeMan]

lorelei Wrote:

Until they shoot you or rob you. Both have happened in my neighborhood to folks.

People shoot and rob each other all the time that don't do drugs. On drugs or not - threw them in jail.
Chances are those scumbags would be robbing people even if they didn't do drugs.
In fact I'd be up for throw the book at them twice, once for the robbery and once for doing it while on drugs.....
People on drugs should be left alone to their vice, NO rehabilation, NO special programs, NO Help, No nothing, let'em sleep in the gutter if that's what they want, they will cleans themselves from society in short order, as long as we continue to put them into rehab we perpetuate the problem by supplying a saftey net for them to continue their behavior. Put a saftey net up and everyone will wanna' try walking the high-wire, if you fall who cares theirs a net there, I say remove the net, and let everyone see what happens when you hit the deck. Of course this simple solution to the problem doesn't involve government programs so no politician will ever go for it. So the problem will never go away, it hasn't yet.
Drugs don't turn people into scumbags, they're scrumbags to begin with. The drugs just give them excuse.

[NYMTman]

Not to mention the fact that most shoot and rob to fund their addictions - an addiction made more expensive due to its relegation to the black market. Legalize it and let the free market drive prices down. Legalize it and let addicts get meth from a pharmacy, rather than forcing them to a) buy from a dealer or b) produce their own, often with disasterous results.

But at the same time, as JJM said, you can't subsidize its use by putting government funds towards rehabilitation. People need to be responsible for their own actions.

[fbcobrn]

[quote=JoeJoeMan; I say remove the net, and let everyone see what happens when you hit the deck.
Drugs don't turn people into scumbags, they're scrumbags to begin with. The drugs just give them excuse.[/QUOTE]


[Fbcobrn standing up clapping and whistling]

I agree. I'm tired of the constant pitying and feeding the homeless, the druggies, etc. Most street people in Calif Bay area are drawing SSDI and chose to live on the street...oh hey, can't drink or do drugs in shelters. And ..OMG.. they have rules we'd have to follow. Noone has to support themselves so why bother? Rehab doesn't work long term for most and those that it would help can't afford it. Meth is big in my locale, too. Meth capital of California......lots of waterways and bare land to hide among. Rolling labs, apartments, cars, etc. Scary. Never know if that car parked near you on the street is cooking. Used to be able to smell when someone was cooking, but hey, technology, someone invented a deodorizer.

[Quistoman]

Originally Posted by jenzebel

Do you even live here? Open your eyes if you do! I have numerous friends in social services that deal with these problems everyday. Through their networking with colleagues in other states, they know the degree of our problem compared with other states.

You don't present contradictory evidence because you don't have any! How convenient to just say I am full of @#$% and then say you won't present evidence because your evidence won't make a difference. All you do is take a hostile position based on emotion and then can't support it with facts.

Go ahead and prove me wrong if you can.

I dont have any emotions about the topic really. Its more the misrepresentation of the situation. Either way the so called facts that have been provided are unconvincing to me, someone who has dealt with users and dealers in a controlled environment. So anyway its not that I cant brake down data and review statistics its that I already have a good idea of how valid they are coming from the sources shown so yeah not worth the effort.

[Lisa_from_Debary]

I am frankly astonished that anyone would come on here or anywhere and try to justify a drug like Meth...I am taken aback at the nievete...

In real life when someone is talking trash to me, I make a joke and say "put the crack pipe down and back away from the table"...here it would seem that saying might be literally true...

[GregW]

We probably have a similar problem here in New Hampshire but I have not seen any evidence in my daily life.

I work in Boston and, by preference, get to work about 6:30 AM. So every morning I see a fair amount of street people. The polulation has increased as it is now almost warm around here so sleeping on the pavement won't get you dead. Kind of an interisting society to watch. This morning one guy was complaining tha somebody had stolen his shoes. Living on the street is no picknic.

AFAIK the main effect of this drama is to remind me of just how fortunate I am. I think that applies to most of us.