Is meth really a bad problem in Portland (Tigard, Detroit: middle-class, crime)

[Cheeto]

Ive heard I'm a single dad moving to Portland soon from San Diego and was wondering about the meth problem there. I have three kids, one who will be starting middle school next year. I'm originally from Detroit, where crack is still the hard drug threat, and I,ve heard alot about meth here in San Diego, but it seems to be limited to white trash from the more rural areas and gang bangers. Lived in Tennessee a few years back, and it seemed like half the people in the town of less than 2000 were part or full time meth heads. Just wondering if meth is a bigger threat if in PDX, and if so what areas are more proned to have meth problems than others?

[little peg]

Originally Posted by Cheeto

Ive heard I'm a single dad moving to Portland soon from San Diego and was wondering about the meth problem there. I have three kids, one who will be starting middle school next year. I'm originally from Detroit, where crack is still the hard drug threat, and I,ve heard alot about meth here in San Diego, but it seems to be limited to white trash from the more rural areas and gang bangers. Lived in Tennessee a few years back, and it seemed like half the people in the town of less than 2000 were part or full time meth heads. Just wondering if meth is a bigger threat if in PDX, and if so what areas are more proned to have meth problems than others?

Just being on the I-5 corridor puts the area at risk, lived 12 years in an affluent suburb of Portland and had my kids tell me of kids on it, I think it is just everywhere, just have to try to stay involved in their lives and keep them as busy as possible. Good Luck

[babycoleslaw]

Originally Posted by little peg

Just being on the I-5 corridor puts the area at risk, lived 12 years in an affluent suburb of Portland and had my kids tell me of kids on it, I think it is just everywhere, just have to try to stay involved in their lives and keep them as busy as possible. Good Luck

What suburb? We just moved to Tigard and I'm not seeing much meth, though there are some random people out walking about who may have issues...
I agree with the keeping them busy and staying involved attitude. Also, I plan to educate them about what drugs, and meth in particular, can do. (I have 3 small children).
So I was curious what area you were in where your kids said some did meth?

[D from STB]

I've lived in Delaware, West Philadelphia, New Hampshire, NYC and Los Angeles and every one of them has a meth problem. True, it's not as interesting for the media to report on since, being less of a ghetto-dweller's drug of choice, there are less shootouts and corner wars over distribution for the newspapers to report on. Also, toothless trailer trash are less intriguing and terrifying (to the media) than tattooed gangbangers with baggy pants and cornrows, but it's everywhere...

[diggitydot]

Frontline did a great special on the meth epidemic in the US and many of their resources were from the NW, particularly the Portland area. (I think mainly because this area is one of the first "hot zones" and as such the law enforcement and social services divisions have considerable more experience with the subject than other jurisdictions.)

You can actually watch the whole documentary online here. It's very interesting.

[Mt-7]

good source!

[SeattlitefromNC]

Originally Posted by Cheeto

Ive heard I'm a single dad moving to Portland soon from San Diego and was wondering about the meth problem there. I have three kids, one who will be starting middle school next year. I'm originally from Detroit, where crack is still the hard drug threat, and I,ve heard alot about meth here in San Diego, but it seems to be limited to white trash from the more rural areas and gang bangers. Lived in Tennessee a few years back, and it seemed like half the people in the town of less than 2000 were part or full time meth heads. Just wondering if meth is a bigger threat if in PDX, and if so what areas are more proned to have meth problems than others?

The problem with meth is that meth is made up of relatively inexpensive materials, all of which are almost entirely accessible by nearly anyone anywhere. That is the sad truth. Meth is so insidious and difficult to stop because any Wal-Mart carries every ingredient -- and it won't cost you $10 altogether to get all your fix. It's a logistical nightmare for drug enforcers and innocent folks who may find themselves a little too close to a meth lab (or meth users).

The Pacific Northwest as a whole has issues with meth. I don't know if they are greater than other parts of the country, but it's definitely there. There are neighborhoods that are more notorious for meth, but I have heard of many (!) middle-class and upper-middle-class people who used meth for all kinds of reasons.

The best defense, therefore, is a good offense: talk to your kids about the ill effects of meth (brain damage, teeth falling out, nearly unkickable addiction, etc.) before someone else does. 'Cause believe me, teenagers are already knowing what's up and where to get it.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by Cheeto

Ive heard I'm a single dad moving to Portland soon from San Diego

Congratulations.

Meth is predominately a white persons drug, even though there are many white people on crack. While meth is normally found in rural communities-where it is mostly cooked up, but it can also be found in pretty much any city/suburb. The numbers of meth users are usually skewered either because it is seen as a white trash drug; middle to upper-class people keep it hush hush; it is assumed that the user is actually on crack.

Yes, there is meth in Portland. How big of a problem it is, I don't know, but typically the average meth dealer is either white trash, a biker, or a college student-not your stereotypical gang-banger. They can be irrational and paranoid at times, which can make for hairy situations, and users-like anyone addicted to any drug-generally commit a bulk of the crime to support their habits.

The average users are college kids, people involved in the rave or other club scenes, bored suburban teenagers, and poor white people. Middle to upper class people may use it, but they would probably see themselves above it and just get a prescription to Adderal instead-or just use cocaine; which for some reason does not carry the social stigma that other drugs do.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by SeattlitefromNC

The problem with meth is that meth is made up of relatively inexpensive materials, all of which are almost entirely accessible by nearly anyone anywhere. That is the sad truth. Meth is so insidious and difficult to stop because any Wal-Mart carries every ingredient

That is true. The typical ingredients are ephidrine and house hold cleaning supplies.

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

They can be irrational and paranoid at times, which can make for hairy situations, and users-like anyone addicted to any drug-generally commit a bulk of the crime to support their habits.

Methamphetamine abuse fundamentally changes the chemistry and structure of the user's brain and can cause an irreversible chemically induced state of psychosis, resembling paranoid schizophrenia. (A quick Google search of the terms meth and chemically induced psychosis will bring up a TON of information.)

As for the assertions that meth is a "white" drug, that isn't necessarily the case, anymore. When the epidemic originated, yes, it began with the biker gangs in rural areas, but quickly progressed to other organized crime syndicates and locations. (In the Frontline documentary they go into very intimate detail about the Mexican drug cartels and their roles in the spread of meth throughout the US.)

Addiction does not discriminate. An addict will use whatever they can get their hands on to get high. Yes, they usually have "favorites", but will many times use just about anything if they can't get their preferred drug of choice. That easy-to-get item is usually meth. It's cheap, fairly easy to make compared to other illicit substances, and unfortunately, pretty widespread.