Juan | ENGLISH 219 | February 25, 2014

CRYSTAL METH
BERNALILLO COUNTYS PROBLEM
ANALYTICAL REPORT
PAGE 1


INTRODUCTION
Methamphetamine is not a new drug, although it has become more popular and powerful as its
manufacturing techniques evolved. This drug was first developed in japan in 1919. The state of New
Mexico has a drug problem more specifically a Crystal meth problem. According to the
Whitehouse.gov/sites in 2007-2008 New Mexico ranked first among all states for illicit drug
dependence among persons age 12 and older. However New Mexico is far away from being one of
the largest producers of meth in the country according to policymic.com Bernalillo County has the
most meth labs in the state with an estimated 97 labs or more. There is an increase usage of
methamphetamine in the
state. Ironically the place
with the most illicit labs
Bernalillo County is also
the place where the hit
series from AMC breaking
bad was filmed,
coincidence I think not.
The purpose of this report
is to determine how big of
a problem
methamphetamine or
specifically crystal
methamphetamine abuse
is in the Bernalillo County.
Methodology
The crystal methamphetamine problem is a problem that has multiple variables and can be hard to
decipher all in at once. The methods used to analyze this problem will help understand the severity
of the issue. I have used news articles, websites and other entities that specialize in collecting
crystal meth and other types of drug abuse statistics.
These organizations include the whitehouse.gov/sites,
policymic.com articles, lcsun-news.com, Bernalillo
county website bernco.gov and nmprevention.org. These
sources offer insight needed to collect the statistics
about usage, crime and health issues some that lead to
death.

PAGE 2
Results

Step One: History of Methamphetamine
Amphetamine was the predecessor to methamphetamine which was first made in 1887 in Germany,
a more powerful version which is methamphetamine was created in 1919 in Japan. The Japanese
version of the drug was a crystalline powder that was soluble for injection. Methamphetamine was
put use in WWII by both sides to keep troops awake. After the war the abuse of methamphetamine
by injection reached epidemic proportions when supplies used for military became available to the
Japanese people. In the 50s methamphetamine was prescribed as a diet and depression aide, it was
easily available for students, truck drivers, and athletes thus the abuse of the drug expanded. In
1970 the US government made it illegal for most users. This drug can be smoked, ingested, inhaled
and injected.

Step Two: Abuse
Methamphetamine abuse is increasing in New Mexico including Bernalillo County. According to
justice.gov from 1993 to 1998 the admission for methamphetamine treatment more than doubled.
In in 1999 15.3% of New Mexico high school students respondents reported lifetime
methamphetamine use and in 2000 study according to content on justice.gov. 4.7% of all male
arrestees tested positive for methamphetamine use in the same time period. The use of
methamphetamine dropped significantly in 2007-2008; consequently, it has been rising again in
between 2009 and 2010 nationwide as stated by utexas.edu. According to nmpreventiom.org in
2009 students in the 9-12 grade range in Bernalillo county had an abuse of meth at 5.8% which is
higher than the rest of the state 3.9% and higher than the rest of the country 4.1%
PAGE 3


Step Three: Crime and Violence
As Abuse of methamphetamine goes up crime follows. According to Illinois Attorney General 70%
of the responding officials say that robberies or burglaries have increased because of meth use, and
a 62% reported increases in domestic violence. Sadly another survey found that meth is a major
cause of child abuse or neglect. In a similar study from rrobserver.com the research shows that
meth addicts commit 50-70% of all property crimes. Also according to the Herald Sun news in an
August 2013 report crystal meth is also linked to violent crimes, in at least a dozen murders
committed or tried in court, crystal meth was used by the killer. It can safely be assumed that the
abuse of methamphetamine leads to crimes from petty theft to murder. Justice.gov reports that in
New Mexico Meth users increase violence because of how the drug affects the nervous system. The
Albuquerque Journal reported that in December 2013 a drug ring investigation involving crystal
meth resulted in the arrest of 15 men.

Step Four: Health Issues and Death
The average meth addict will live for only 5-7 years after addiction according to rrobserver.com.
Why do meth users keep coming back to the drug? Methamphetamine users experience a sudden
rush of pleasure or a prolonged sense of euphoria, as well as increased energy, focus, confidence,
sexual prowess and feeling of desirability as stated by pbs.org.
Methamphetamine affects the brain because it releases a surge of dopamine causing euphoria;
consequently, overtime meth destroys the dopamine receptors making it impossible to feel
pleasure. Chronic abuse can lead to psychotic behavior including paranoia, insomnia, anxiety,
extreme aggression, delusions, and hallucinations.
0.00%
1.00%
2.00%
3.00%
4.00%
5.00%
6.00%
Bernalillo
County
State of New
Mexico
United States
Meth Abuse 2009 Grades 9-12
Meth Abuse 2009 Grades 9-12
PAGE 4
New Mexico has the highest drug-induced death rate in the nation. Bernalillo County continues to
have the highest burden of drug-induced deaths in the state with the greatest number of deaths.
Physical issues of chronic abuse of meth include destruction of tissues and blood vessels and
inhibiting the bodys ability to heal itself. The skin experiences more acne, sores and makes the
user look up to decades older due to the loss of the skins elasticity.
The mouth or the meth mouth as its called induces destruction of the teeth making them turn
yellow and rot this is caused by salivary gland to dry out and the mouths acids then eat away at
tooth enamel thus contributing to the teeth rot.
Other effects on the body due to meth use include but are not limited to increased heart rate, lower
immune system, liver damage, convulsions, high fevers, stoke and of course death.
Step 5 Economic Impact
The economic impact cost of methamphetamine in the United States as a whole reached 23.4
billion in 2005 according to rand.org with each state having it fair share toward this economic
impact.

Discussion of Results and Conclusion
In Conclusion reviewing the five steps mentioned above starting with history, abuse, crime and
violence, health issues and death, to economic impact we can see that methamphetamine is a
genuine problem. Overall the steps mentioned above give us copious amounts of information about
why Crystal Methamphetamine is a problem not only at the national and state level, but also in the
county level. With the correct approach and diligence this problem can be minimized or
completely eradicated. If nothing is done the problem will grow to epidemic proportions.



Images

http://www.vegastripping.com/news/blog/2054/note-to-self-dont-retrieve-bag-full-of-meth-at-
casino-lost-and-found/
PAGE 5
CITATIONS
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/state_profile_-_new_mexico.pdf
http://www.policymic.com/articles/65703/how-much-meth-does-your-state-cook-these-maps-
show-the-drug-s-foothold-in-america
http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/crystalmeth/history-of-methamphetamine.html
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_23762934/drug-use-nm-teens-exceeds-chicago-
detroit
http://www.nmprevention.org/Project_Docs/2011%20Community%20Epi%20Profiles/New_Mexico
_Community_Epidemiology_Profile_BERNALILLO_FINAL.pdf
http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs07/803/meth.htm
http://www.utexas.edu/news/2012/01/24/methamphetamine/
http://www.no2meth.org/impactsofmeth.htm
http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/methnet/news/edition1/story1.html
http://www.rrobserver.com/news/local/article_829c99a8-4f75-11e2-b690-0019bb2963f4.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/body/



http://www.abqjournal.com/319263/news/drug-ring-investigation-results-in-arrests-of-15-men.html
http://www.homefacts.com/methlabs/New-Mexico/Bernalillo-County/Albuquerque.html