by Jane Ricard EDD-9200-BS Trends and Issues Nova Southeastern University March 21, 2009

 Destroys the health of users (Cartier, Greenwell & Prendergast, 2008)  Harms children who live in meth labs (Weisheit, 2008)  Injures first responders to lab accidents (Weisheit, 2008)  Costly to prosecute, imprison, and treat (Morton, 2007)  Creates toxic waste sites from manufacturing byproducts (Weisheit, 2008)  Effective treatment modalities are available (Jett, 2007)

 Methamphetamine stimulates the central nervous system (Weisheit, 2008; Cartier, Greenwell & Prendergast, 2008)  Used by smoking, eating, snorting, or injecting (Weisheit, 2008)  Physical effect - tooth decay and breakage in users. (Morton, 2007)  Increases alertness and suppresses the appetite(Anonymous, 2006; Weisheit, 2008)  Injection users exposed to HIV (Morton, 2007)

 In 2006 that more than 42 million people used methamphetamines (Messina, et al., 2008)  Used mostly in rural areas and the Western United States (Staton-Tindall, et al., 2008; Brown & Ramirez, 2007; Ward, McDonough, Keeva, Tebo, et al., 2006)  Mostly whites, American Indians, and Hispanics (Brown & Ramirez, 2007; Anonymous, 2007; Weisheit, 2008)  50% used by women (Messina, et al., 2008)

 Physical and sexual abuse affects the development of the brain causing it to react more severely to life stressors (Messina, et al., 2008)  Primary predictor for substance abuse is substance abuse by family members (Messina, et al., 2008)

 Mostly in rural areas and western United States Messina, et al., 2008)  Manufactured close to where it is sold (Staton- Tindall, et al., 2008; Brown & Ramirez, 2007; Ward, McDonough, Keeva, Tebo, et al., 2006)  Easier to manufacture than heroin or cocaine (Weisheit, 2008)

 Dangerous substances used in manufacturing (Weisheit, 2008)  Anhydrous ammonia  Explosive, burns skin and eyes  Swells throat to cut off breathing  lithium that is removed from batteries  Lye that burns skin  Sodium, magnesium, and potassium metals that can explode with exposure to air or water

 Children of manufacturers are injured by chemicals and final product (Weisheit, 2008)  Toxic waste from process is illegally dumped (Weisheit, 2008)  Some states now prosecute parents for child abuse when children are found in meth labs (Weisheit, 2008)

 In short term incarcerations teeth are treated and offender is educated about proper care (Morton, 2007)  Longer term incarcerations make addiction treatment possible (Anonymous, 2006)

 1990 California enacted the Substance Abuse And Crime Prevention Act (Jett, 2007)  Focus on community treatment, not imprisonment (Jett, 2007)  Initial appointments happened that day or evening for workers (Jett, 2007)  Childcare provided when needed (Jett, 2007)  Personalized treatment (Jett, 2007)  34% completion rate (Jett, 2007)

 30 months after offenders had completed their treatment taxpayers had saved $4 for every dollar spent in treatment (Jett, 2007)  Proved that methamphetamine addiction could be treated as well as other abused substances (Jett, 2007)

 Sober Living Houses successful (Polcin, Henderson, 2008)  Encourage 12-Step program participation (Polcin, Henderson, 2008)  No alcohol or drugs are allowed (Polcin, Henderson, 2008)  Factors for success (Polcin, Henderson, 2008)  Active 12-Step program participation  Less underlying mental illness

 Methamphetamine abuse is costly to addicts’ health and to taxpayers’ wallets  Education to prevent first use is important due to its severe addictiveness  Treatment programs based on success in California should be duplicated  It is essential to protect children from exposure to drug addiction and from the dangers of meth labs to prevent future addicts