Meth use is receding.

[smack Down]

Go war on drugs, you have made a slight drop in meth-related emergency room and crime in two cities. Hey want to go look up how many meth-related emergency room visits there where before the war on drugs started? I'm willing to bet nobody has such a stat because the number of cases could be counted on one hand. But hey it is all go let me give up some more rights so we can have more minor and meaning less victories in a problem created by the war on drugs.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: smack Down
Go war on drugs, you have made a slight drop in meth-related emergency room and crime in two cities. Hey want to go look up how many meth-related emergency room visits there where before the war on drugs started? I'm willing to bet nobody has such a stat because the number of cases could be counted on one hand. But hey it is all go let me give up some more rights so we can have more minor and meaning less victories in a problem created by the war on drugs.

I am at a loss to see the relevance of your post, since meth essentially didn't exist in the US before the war on drugs started - its rise (and partial fall) happened entirely during the war on drugs, which started in the mid-80s under Reagan. I also don't see how you can plausibly call these "slight drops":

In Minnesota's Twin Cities, meth-related emergency room visits dropped from 1,402 in 2005 to 251 in 2006, according to a recent report by the nonprofit Hazelden Foundation.

In Montana, a new report from that state's attorney general noted that meth-related crime fell 53 percent in 2006, compared with the previous year.

Speaking as a person who is pro-legalization of drugs, I appreciate the laws restricting purchases of psuedoephedrine (I live in Minnesota, which has such a law) as a valid and apparently effective measure to stem the flow of meth. Meth is a scourge in much of the country, and given that the numbers seem to be improving since these laws were implemented, I am happy to deal with the fact that buying Sudafed is now a bit more of a nuisance.

 

[BoberFett]

If the war on drugs hadn't artificially pushed the price of other drugs up, meth would never have been invented. There wouldn't have been a market. As it is, it was simply filling the markets desire for a cheap high. His post is totally relevant.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: BoberFett
If the war on drugs hadn't artificially pushed the price of other drugs up, meth would never have been invented. There wouldn't have been a market. As it is, it was simply filling the markets desire for a cheap high. His post is totally relevant.

This post is simply inaccurate. Cocaine (the most obvious market competitor to meth) is CHEAPER now than it was when the war on drugs started. How many other things are cheaper today than they were 25 years ago? You could buy a car for $5K in those days (albeit not a very good one).

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: DonVito

Originally posted by: BoberFett
If the war on drugs hadn't artificially pushed the price of other drugs up, meth would never have been invented. There wouldn't have been a market. As it is, it was simply filling the markets desire for a cheap high. His post is totally relevant.

This post is simply inaccurate. Cocaine (the most obvious market competitor to meth) is CHEAPER now than it was when the war on drugs started. How many other things are cheaper today than they were 25 years ago? You could buy a car for $5K in those days (albeit not a very good one).

What does relative price have to do with anything? Are you denying that the illegality of drugs does not affect it's price?

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: BoberFett

What does relative price have to do with anything? Are you denying that the illegality of drugs does not affect it's price?

Illegality != the war on drugs. These drugs were always illegal, before and since the war on drugs, but you can't make the argument that the war on drugs has driven prices up (driving would-be cocaine users to meth), when the data says just the opposite.

 

[smack Down]

I am at a loss to see the relevance of your post, since meth essentially didn't exist in the US before the war on drugs started - its rise (and partial fall) happened entirely during the war on drugs, which started in the mid-80s under Reagan. I also don't see how you can plausibly call these "slight drops":

Meth sure did exist in the US prior to the 80s, it was prescribed in th 50s.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: smack Down

I am at a loss to see the relevance of your post, since meth essentially didn't exist in the US before the war on drugs started - its rise (and partial fall) happened entirely during the war on drugs, which started in the mid-80s under Reagan. I also don't see how you can plausibly call these "slight drops":

Meth sure did exist in the US prior to the 80s, it was prescribed in th 50s.

I believe it was first created in postwar Japan, but meth wasn't prevalent as a recreational drug until the '80s (if memory serves it first came across to Japan, then California), and didn't really explode until the '90s. Actually I was tangentially involved with a federal meth prosecution in Nevada (which was then the most prolific state for meth manufacturing in the country) in 1997 that was, at the time, the largest criminal conspiracy case ever prosecuted in the United States (I interned at the Reno US Attorney's Office when the case was ongoing).

Meth has never been prescribed to the best of my knowledge - I believe you're thinking of amphetamines (not methamphetamine), which are still prescribed for some purposes - actually Air Force flight crews are sometimes issued amphetamines for long flights.

 

[smack Down]

Originally posted by: DonVito

Originally posted by: smack Down

I am at a loss to see the relevance of your post, since meth essentially didn't exist in the US before the war on drugs started - its rise (and partial fall) happened entirely during the war on drugs, which started in the mid-80s under Reagan. I also don't see how you can plausibly call these "slight drops":

Meth sure did exist in the US prior to the 80s, it was prescribed in th 50s.

I believe it was first created in postwar Japan, but meth wasn't prevalent as a recreational drug until the '80s (if memory serves it first came across to Japan, then California), and didn't really explode until the '90s. Actually I was tangentially involved with a federal meth prosecution in Nevada (which was then the most prolific state for meth manufacturing in the country) in 1997 that was, at the time, the largest criminal conspiracy case ever prosecuted in the United States (I interned at the Reno US Attorney's Office when the case was ongoing).

Meth has never been prescribed to the best of my knowledge - I believe you're thinking of amphetamines (not methamphetamine), which are still prescribed for some purposes - actually Air Force flight crews are sometimes issued amphetamines for long flights.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desoxyn

 

[rickn]

the american gov't is stupid. they shouldnt' be spending money to fight drug use, they should be taxing it. 1 years of taxation could pay for Bush's 5 years of Adventure in Iraq.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: smack Down

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desoxyn

Huh - live and learn. Still, I am unaware of any significant meth use as a recreational drug until much more recently. In any case I feel the argument that meth has become popular as a by-product of the war on drugs is mistaken.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: rickn
the american gov't is stupid. they shouldnt' be spending money to fight drug use, they should be taxing it. 1 years of taxation could pay for Bush's 5 years of Adventure in Iraq.

No argument here, and certainly not as to marijuana.

 

[smack Down]

Originally posted by: DonVito

Originally posted by: smack Down

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desoxyn

Huh - live and learn. Still, I am unaware of any significant meth use as a recreational drug until much more recently. In any case I feel the argument that meth has become popular as a by-product of the war on drugs is mistaken.

Why meth use went through the roof as the war on drugs was started.