METH...problem in the 'lower 48'. Much of a problem in rural AK? (Anchorage: foreclosures, rentals)

[roadfamily6now]

Originally Posted by heathen

Wasilla does have the most meth that I've seen in Alaska (I worked graveyards at a gas station in the valley for a year), but I don't have any statistics to back that up. There's some here in Delta, though apparently it was considerably worse a few years back. North Pole seems pretty bad too. In any case, none of it approaches the epidemic I left in rural Whatcom County in Washington. It's no fun to see people quite literally rot over the course of three years...

Yeah, Delta, we discovered was really bad just when we left back about 7 years ago. Sadly, very little has changed there from the looks of the place.

[Rance]

I just cannot fathom why anyone would snort or smoke something made from Drano or battery acid. They may as well put a gun to their head and pull the trigger.

[SityData]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I don't keep up on meth trends .. ..Most of rural/bush Alaska isn't on any significant road system like their counterparts in the lower 48 are. .

Ah ha.. but the problem in the villages is much more widespread than in the city areas. It is becoming the plague of every village - wide spread useage.

Trends change over time, in the 60's and 70's it was sniffing gasoline from the hondas and snowmachines - then pot and cocaine made their ways into other villages with increasing frequency.

Now the big major problem is meth.

On any given day in Point Hope - there are more 'dealers' than you have fingers & toes combined. The same is true in Barrow - Kotzebue & smaller villages. This is how some (many) people, choose, to make an income - by destroying other people's lives.

[tidelines]

It isn't just "scum" and "trash" who succumb to meth. Young moms, middle-aged dads, junior high kids, folks at loose ends along with those with bright futures try this stuff. Probably none of them considers it a risk for addiction when they do it the first time, but it only takes once. In the back of an ambulance, I transport those who cry for help. In my inspections around the borough, I asked permission to take pictures of sheds that obviously are used to cook. The folks I talk to can't escape it - at least, they haven't been able to. Some that I run into are in denial and will likely suffer longer. Others are desperate for an escape, be it medical help, rehabilitation, or death. It's family members, neighbors, childhood friends, coworkers and schoolmates. It's insidious, ruthless and lethal. Not a single person I've encountered is glad to be in the clutches of meth; to a one, they rue the day they started, even while seeking their next hit. It's a scourge on our society, a rampant evil, but just as you can't say all whites are trailer trash or all natives live off the system or all emmigrants are here illegally, as I deal with addicts one-on-one I see the pain and suffering and hopelessness. Yeah, it's everywhere here. Whether it's Anchorage or Hoonah or North Pole or Juneau or anywhere - the stuff has the grip of death. In my capacity as a compassionate caregiver and emergency care provider, those who cook, those who deal, those who profit from meth deserve the death penalty with the shortest interim sentence before definitive punishment. Maybe then the monetary benefit will not outweigh the risk of getting caught supplying.

[Ilovemymorkiepoo]

I cant for the life of me either understand why people would put that garbage in their bodies, I have heard that you can do that once, and your mind is gone. Your never the same again, and you rot from the inside out pretty fast, Its stupid what people do to themselves.

[Ilovemymorkiepoo]

Tidelines, I agree, most of the dealers and producers know not to touch it, for one there are great risks of blowing yourself up and the entire block if your not in complete control of things and second, they know what in it and prolly wouldnt want it in their bodies yet they will murder young kids and lost people who are too ignorant to know any better, yes, i say the death penalty to those people, for sure.

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by tidelines

It isn't just "scum" and "trash" who succumb to meth. Young moms, middle-aged dads, junior high kids, folks at loose ends along with those with bright futures try this stuff. Probably none of them considers it a risk for addiction when they do it the first time, but it only takes once. In the back of an ambulance, I transport those who cry for help. In my inspections around the borough, I asked permission to take pictures of sheds that obviously are used to cook. The folks I talk to can't escape it - at least, they haven't been able to. Some that I run into are in denial and will likely suffer longer. Others are desperate for an escape, be it medical help, rehabilitation, or death. It's family members, neighbors, childhood friends, coworkers and schoolmates. It's insidious, ruthless and lethal. Not a single person I've encountered is glad to be in the clutches of meth; to a one, they rue the day they started, even while seeking their next hit. It's a scourge on our society, a rampant evil, but just as you can't say all whites are trailer trash or all natives live off the system or all emmigrants are here illegally, as I deal with addicts one-on-one I see the pain and suffering and hopelessness. Yeah, it's everywhere here. Whether it's Anchorage or Hoonah or North Pole or Juneau or anywhere - the stuff has the grip of death. In my capacity as a compassionate caregiver and emergency care provider, those who cook, those who deal, those who profit from meth deserve the death penalty with the shortest interim sentence before definitive punishment. Maybe then the monetary benefit will not outweigh the risk of getting caught supplying.

Very well said. It destroys lives and knows 'no' boundaries. Like all illegal drugs, it's equal-opportunity.

[Marty Van Diest]

I don't know. I've gone to training classes in how to recognize a "meth lab" in houses but have yet to see one in over 20 years going in and out of houses here. I've seen plenty of "grow houses"...lots and lots of them.

I showed more than 50 houses last week on the low end of the scale. I had a cash buyer that did not want to pay over $200K for a house so we were looking at houses from $75K-$200K. Not a one of them looked like a meth lab. Don't get me wrong, these weren't pristine houses by any means and several obviously had been "growing" in the past. But I saw no signs of meth.

On the other hand, I do seem to run into crazy paranoid types quite a bit. I saw one at Carrs grocery store trying to use the self check out. I thought he was going to break it by running a bottle back and forth over the scanner about 50 times. When a clerk tried to help him he freaked out and started yelling at her and then just left his stuff and walked out. He was on something!

[EllaRose]

Originally Posted by tidelines

It isn't just "scum" and "trash" who succumb to meth. Young moms, middle-aged dads, junior high kids, folks at loose ends along with those with bright futures try this stuff. Probably none of them considers it a risk for addiction when they do it the first time, but it only takes once. In the back of an ambulance, I transport those who cry for help. In my inspections around the borough, I asked permission to take pictures of sheds that obviously are used to cook. The folks I talk to can't escape it - at least, they haven't been able to. Some that I run into are in denial and will likely suffer longer. Others are desperate for an escape, be it medical help, rehabilitation, or death. It's family members, neighbors, childhood friends, coworkers and schoolmates. It's insidious, ruthless and lethal. Not a single person I've encountered is glad to be in the clutches of meth; to a one, they rue the day they started, even while seeking their next hit. It's a scourge on our society, a rampant evil, but just as you can't say all whites are trailer trash or all natives live off the system or all emmigrants are here illegally, as I deal with addicts one-on-one I see the pain and suffering and hopelessness. Yeah, it's everywhere here. Whether it's Anchorage or Hoonah or North Pole or Juneau or anywhere - the stuff has the grip of death. In my capacity as a compassionate caregiver and emergency care provider, those who cook, those who deal, those who profit from meth deserve the death penalty with the shortest interim sentence before definitive punishment. Maybe then the monetary benefit will not outweigh the risk of getting caught supplying.

I tried to rep you, but I have to spread the love before repping you again.

Great post. Meth is a devastating addiction. It's shocking what that drug can do to a person in a very short period of time.

[Dusty Rhodes]

Originally Posted by Ilovemymorkiepoo

I cant for the life of me either understand why people would put that garbage in their bodies,

There are people who do not like their life, or, to gain acceptance within a social group, there are those who will do anything to escape. They understand that death may be one of the downsides but, the "It won't happen to me" syndrome takes over. Drugs, alcohol included, are a way to escape from reality, a means to enter your own little world and shut off the input from the parts of your world you do not like.