Meth Menace

January 23, 2008 11:12 am

— The following article is the fourth in a seven-part series pertaining to methamphetamine use and its effects on Parker County.
It is not the intent of the Weatherford Democrat for the information contained within this article to aid would-be meth manufacturers. Rather, it is hoped a better general understanding of the materials and processes needed to produce the drug will assist readers in identifying meth users and clandestine production facilities. Key specifics of the manufacturing process were intentionally not included.

Galen Scott
gscott@weatherforddemocrat.com
The chemical ingredients used to manufacture methamphetamine have “poison” written all over them.
Paint thinner, chloroform, battery acid, freon and Coleman camp fuel (white gas) are a few of the essential components and precursors most commonly used to transform the pseudoephedrine from cold medicine into methamphetamine, also known as meth or speed.
Mexican superlabs smuggling meth into the U.S. reportedly favor the phenyl-2-propane (P2P) manufacturing method. Despite tougher commercial import laws in Mexico, P2P ingredients are still used to supply bigger meth producers south of the border.
Reports suggest Mexican “chemists” inherited the meth recipe from West Coast outlaw motorcycle gangs driven out of the meth business decades ago when the United States started regulating the sale of most P2P chemicals.
However, when P2P chemicals were prohibited in the United States, a new manufacturing method called “ephedrine reduction” started gaining popularity and eventually became the standard. Ephedrine reduction is currently the production method favored by the vast majority of domestic meth manufacturers.
Though overall lab numbers in most states are dropping, the dangerous ephedrine reduction process is still reportedly taking place in wooded areas, mobile homes, motel rooms, abandoned cars and almost any other area permanently or temporarily hidden from sight.
In general terms, the reduction method involves the use of chemical solvents to extract ephedrine or pseudoephedrine from over-the-counter cold medicines and diet pills. Excess chemicals are removed, and the ephedrine-base substance left over is converted into a usable form, dried and sold as meth at a national average of $16,000 per pound.
In addition to mercury, lead and other environmental hazards, flammable gasses are a byproduct of the ephedrine reduction method. The explosive gas is often trapped indoors by “cooks” trying to conceal the smell of their operation. As a result, a number of fatal fires and explosions have occurred.
In the same way regulation was able to all but eliminate the P2P production method in early domestic labs, more recent state and federal laws are helping to stamp out the ephedrine reduction method in America.
According to Drug Enforcement Administration statistics, the total number of clandestine labs and dump sites in Texas peaked in 2003 at 677, before dropping to 132 in 2006.
Drug enforcement officials agree Mexican superlabs are filling the void left by smaller domestic operators.
Moving ahead of legislation, meth recipes are constantly evolving, and new formulas replace what is no longer available with new chemical components. For example, disguised as a health supplement, manufacturers are reportedly importing organic powdered plant material containing the drug ephedra from Asian companies.
Most of the Coleman fuel, drain cleaner, paint thinner and other components of the toxic slurry combined to make meth are destroyed or consumed in the manufacturing process, but not all. Some meth labs unintentionally produce drugs with toxic byproducts, and the prevalence of trace chemicals found in street meth has been found to vary considerably from one batch to another.
Meth produces a “high” for the user by convincing the human brain to release a chemical messenger molecule called dopamine, which is particularly active in the brain’s pleasure and reward centers.
The high can reportedly last anywhere from a few hours when the drug is smoked, to 24 hours if ingested, depending on dosage and purity. As the drug’s effects diminish, the user’s brain’s natural stockpile of dopamine experiences a drastic shortage — what is commonly referred to as “crashing.”
It takes a significant amount of time — a period of days or weeks — before neurons in the brain recover normal dopamine signaling and the normal experience of pleasure can resume. During the “low,” meth users have described what is clinically known as “ahedonia,” an emotional state in which nothing feels pleasurable, and the resulting paranoia is believed to be a contributor to violent or aggressive behavior manifestations.
According to the Attorney General’s Office of Illinois, a state in which meth use has been identified as a growing problem, damage to the brain, body and central nervous system are among the most common effects of meth use.
In addition, because corrosive agents are heated, vaporized and swirled about the mouth when meth is smoked, tooth decay is a common problem among habitual users. Snorting draws the caustic substances down the nasal passages, draining in the back of the throat and bathing the teeth with corrosive substances.
After tooth enamel is weakened by exposure to chemicals, jaw grinding and cracked teeth may also occur.
Formication, a hallucinated sensation that insects or snakes are crawling over the skin, can occur when meth triggers increased body temperature, perspiration and blood flow to the skin. This phenomenon, combined with the obsessive tendencies of meth users, can drive the user to pick or gouge the skin repeatedly until open, red sores become visible.
The visible result of the formication effect, known as “speed bumps,” is considered a tell-tale sign of meth abuse.
Studies show a significant proportion of meth users also take sleeping pills or sedatives to ease unpleasant feelings that occur when the user is crashing. If the user remains awake, despite ingesting the sedative, bouts of amnesia can occur.
Parker County residents seeking information about drug-treatment options are encouraged to contact the Weatherford clinic of the STAR Council on Substance Abuse at (817) 599-7510.

Some information from the following sources and others was included in this article:
The Meth Awareness And Prevention Project of South Dakota
The Illinois Attorney General’s Office
The San Francisco Aids Foundation
Vince McLeod, CIH and Glenn Ketcham, CIH, writing for Forensic Magazine
The United States Conference of Mayors
U.S. Department of Justice/Drug Enforcement AdministrationToxic origins, hellish consequences of methamphetamine