Crack Then. Meth Now.
Meth Madness at Newsweek
The Meth-Mouth Myth
2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Methamphetamine
Last month use: 596,636
Percentage of last month users who used it on average at least 5 times in a month: 59.7
Percentage of last month users who used it on average at least 10 times in a month: 29.2
Last year but not last month use: 846,748
Heroin
Last month use: 165,270
Percentage of last month users who used it on average at least 5 times in a month: 78.9
Percentage of last month users who used it on average at least 10 times in a month: 67.8
Last year but not last month use: 239,089
Pot use does dwarf meth. Cocaine use is about 4 times that of meth.
Reporting of past month use just indicates recency, not frequency. So if the survey was in the beginning of June, and you used a drug in May then you are a past month user of the drug, even though you may not have used it in March or April.
So stay away from meth. Sure, you’ll think it’s cool to experiment with arithmetic or statistics. But then you’ll be moving on the the harder stuff - algebra, topology, calculus.
I just saw a TLC (or some other learning type channel) special on meth in a Missouri county. They started out the first segment by saying something to the effect of “here in our small agricultural county, we are mysteriously suffering from an ever increasing meth problem”.
Hmmmmmmmmmm…middle of nowhere, nothing much to do but tip cows and make out in the hayloft. The Bible Belt, where anything else that’s remotely fun (dancing, having a few beers at a barbeque) is forbidden by the Baptist church. Gee, what would make people turn to drugs as an activity?
I felt for them, but I have to admit I got more and more annoyed at their “whatEVER could be causing this growing problem” wide-eyed disbelieving stance.
Not one person interviewed, either the former drug users or the authorities trying to stop the problem even remotely referred to the possibility, or seemed to realize that there is NOTHING TO FREAKING DO THERE!
Perhaps, if these folks had something to do other than plow fields, milk cows and go to church/school people wouldn’t be bored out of their skulls and hunting down something, ANYTHING to keep themselves entertained.
But meth is supposed to be a bigger problem than heroin and coke combined.
It’s a good indicator of how popular a drug is. It’s not supposed to tell you about frequency of use. Of course meth is instantly addictive, so the past year not past month number should be zero.
Looks like a pretty typical War on Drugs article to me. Someone surveys a bunch of counties regarding what is perceived as the biggest law enforcement problem in regards to drugs (apparently weighted equally, rather than by population, law enforcement resources, or anything else), and a reporter spins that to imply a direct, universal relationship to drug usage.
Is it any wonder many people are skeptical of anything labeled “War on <problem>”? Oversimplifying problems and approaching each as if it were an open-ended war is not a good way to arrive at solutions. I suppose it’s effective at drumming up support, but I think it has the opposite effect on people with an analytical bent.
From a purely selfish and frivolous point-of-view, meth is a bigger problem than heroin, pot, and cocaine combined* for me *because of the idiotic restrictions that lawmakers have placed on the sale of over-the-counter decongestants because of STUPID TWEAKERS WHO SHOPLIFT SUDAFED TO COOK METH. So now I have to go give my damned ID and sign a goddam register and be restricted to only three purchases of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride products a month when all I want to do is be able to breathe during allergy season. I swear to god if I ever met anyone who was a meth dealer, I’d blow snot all over them.