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When there are TV jokes about meth it's usually somebody has a relative in Nebraska who makes meth. Is it because of the absence of cocaine, which is more in big cities?
Maybe it's just culture. Some people are more exposed to a particular thing so they get into it. Then it snowballs.
Most smaller towns and cities are not on the agenda of the drug dealers/distributors that import/distribute/sell the products that are grown internationally like cocaine and heroin so addicts and potential addicts in small town America have to make do with the manufactured drugs like meth and "hillbilly heroin" (pharma drugs like Vicodin, oxycontin, etc.).
Meth labs are also easier to set up and less prone to detection in rural/semirural areas where your neighbors are further away than in more densely populated areas due to the stench of the cook. The stench is very noticeable. Hence places like rural Missouri is the "king" of meth making in the USA rather than a place like NYC ... and there is almost no meth use in NYC compared to small town and rural middle America.
Not sure why, but race has a lot to do with it too. I live in a small town that's 50% white and 50% black, but nearly all of the meth users I encounter are white. The black drug users seem to prefer marijuana or crack.
I also wonder if there are some cultural reasons for this split of meth users being predominately white. Like do the white folks in small towns associate certain drugs, like crack or weed or H as a "black" thing they want no part of because they're part of "ghetto" culture? Given the feelings about black people in some (but definitely not all) rural areas I've been in, which can range from indifference to disdain to suspicion to outright hostility, I can imagine that's the case. But even in towns where race relations are OK most meth users it seems are still white. Why is that?
I also wonder if there are some cultural reasons for this split of meth users being predominately white. Like do the white folks in small towns associate certain drugs, like crack or weed or H as a "black" thing they want no part of because they're part of "ghetto" culture? Given the feelings about black people in some (but definitely not all) rural areas I've been in, which can range from indifference to disdain to suspicion to outright hostility, I can imagine that's the case. But even in towns where race relations are OK most meth users it seems are still white. Why is that?
I don't think their choice of drugs is racism against blacks per se, but in many parts of middle America there are just practically no blacks. However, there are still plenty of low life and criminal whites and from these you get your hard core drug addicts and they use what is available (see my post above about why the chemical rather than naturally grown drugs are more likely to be available to them) not that they pick and choose and declare some drugs off limits as ghetto. Don't believe me anyone? Watch MSNBC's show "Lock Up" and you will see plenty of prisons in majority white states full to bursting with a majority of white criminals, both male and female -- 1% bikers, gang members, murderers, rapists, etc. -- no or few blacks doesn't mean there's no need for prisons in the area!
Well, you can make it at home. Unless you have some cocoa leaves, you can't make cocaine. It's also highly, highly addictive, so there's a lot of very motivated people to sell it to. A cocaine high lasts, I don't know...it doesn't last long though. Meth has "legs". The high lasts a loooong time, so more bang for the buck. It's not more prevalent in small towns, it's just that meth heads stick out more. Not everyone's brain has the same receptors, so what may be attractive to one person has absolutely no appeal to another. It's pretty cheap too. Terrible drug. But of course, the two drugs that kill the most people in America, and cause the most social damage, are both legal. Tobacco and alcohol.
There is a LOT of meth in NY. But not in Long Island.
Maybe there's not as much to do, smaller job market, less educational options. Also, cops may not take drug abuse as seriously if they know the people using them.
Well, you can make it at home. Unless you have some cocoa leaves, you can't make cocaine. It's also highly, highly addictive, so there's a lot of very motivated people to sell it to. A cocaine high lasts, I don't know...it doesn't last long though. Meth has "legs". The high lasts a loooong time, so more bang for the buck. It's not more prevalent in small towns, it's just that meth heads stick out more. Not everyone's brain has the same receptors, so what may be attractive to one person has absolutely no appeal to another. It's pretty cheap too. Terrible drug. But of course, the two drugs that kill the most people in America, and cause the most social damage, are both legal. Tobacco and alcohol.
There is a LOT of meth in NY. But not in Long Island.
As best as I could tell my neighbor's son was supporting a fairly er... "healthy" meth habit on a few hundred bucks a month. Basically whatever odd jobs he could find between heavy binges and picking up scrap metal. He'd run out of meth periodically and go through violent withdrawals, but for the most part was able to stay high most of the time. At one point he and his girlfriend managed to get their hands on $500 and it was PARTY ON for several days - until she overdosed! Oops.
Just as an aside. Oelwein was the principal hub of the Chicago Great Western Railroad, a secondary competitor to some of the bigger lines; it had access to several "places that counted". but could not generate enough business, or keep the physical plant well-enough maintained, to sustain itself. So it was sold to parallel Chicago and North Western in the late Sixtiesvend almost completely dismantled; the high-paying jobs left with it. Not the only cause of the problem and, despite the hype, not one the politicians can do much about, but it was a factor in the town's demise.
I live 75 miles south of Oelwein. The town is isolated, empty buildings, a distance from the larger towns/cities, and has virtually no jobs. Except for the few in law enforcement or teaching, most live in poverty in much older, decrepit homes. Many come from abusive homes (mental illness/alcoholism) and grow up under crazy circumstances, which obviously perpetuates the problem. As mentioned previously in this thread, some young people find their way out of these towns (usually from healthier families/income) and move on to productive lives, while others have an addictive nature, been affected more negatively from their upbringing/environment and get sucked into the darkness of a town with a hopeless future.
Last edited by smpliving; 12-17-2013 at 07:29 PM..
Druggies in rural areas can't afford the heroin and cocaine so popular in urban and suburban areas, plus drug markets don't exist. Meth is the only real option.
The profitability and risk make small towns problematic to deal some kinds of drugs in. IMO meth is in part a social problem as well as a drug problem not unlike alcohol abuse on Reservations.
I also wonder if there are some cultural reasons for this split of meth users being predominately white. Like do the white folks in small towns associate certain drugs, like crack or weed or H as a "black" thing they want no part of because they're part of "ghetto" culture? Given the feelings about black people in some (but definitely not all) rural areas I've been in, which can range from indifference to disdain to suspicion to outright hostility, I can imagine that's the case. But even in towns where race relations are OK most meth users it seems are still white. Why is that?
I remember back in the 80's and early 90's that crack was used by both whites and blacks. For some reason in the late 90's whites started making the switch to meth. I don't know, I just always assumed black people didn't like the way meth makes them feel.
A friend of mine works in a popular retail store, and he says "meth heads" come in all the time to buy 100% lye drain opener, lithium batteries, and camping fuel (Coleman fuel).
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