Review: The Meth Epidemic In 1992, the meth epidemic first occurred in Oregon and was known as the “shake and bake,” such that it was easy to make putting all the chemicals together and baking it. Around 2003, not only was it taking over the west coast, but it started to reach the east. In 1996, meth was at its lowest because the purity of the drug dropped. The purity of the drug changed with time; from methamphetamine to crack to crystal meth. When the purity dropped, the government was able to shut down the suppliers of the main chemical used in the drug.
The physical changes that occur in the lives of meth users are they look twenty years older than they should. Due to the variety of chemicals used in the drug, meth users go through a lack blood supply in their face forming wrinkles and blisters to appear and also for their teeth to fall out or rot. These physical changes cause many once beautiful people to look much older and uglier than they were.
Meth has been proven to alter the brain psychologically. Meth creates a part of euphoria that alters how the brain operates. Meth users become very paranoid and violent, causes the user to become high. This drug is the leading cause of eighty-five percent of property crimes in the United States. Once the user is hooked onto the drug, he/she will want more to feel the high. There are crack houses across the US that gives out this drug in exchange for stolen goods. In the situation when users do not have the money to give, he/she will burglarize homes and take whatever is of value in exchange for meth.
The social lives of meth users have been affected, in such that, fifty percent of the children of users are put into foster care. Children see how parents are while under the drug; such as the sexual activity, violence, and crimes that occurs. In the video, one psychologist discussed of a child who described to her very detailed about how the child’s father taught her to make meth, the feeling she had inhaling it, the sexual activity that occurred in her presence, and the domestic violence between her parents.
Treatment programs were made to try to keep families from falling apart. The programs made little to no difference in users. Meth users rose and fell in unison. Repeatedly, there were huge spikes in meth users then to
