# Presentation: 545580

##  
What’s Cooking In Your Neighborhood?

- What’s Cooking In Your Neighborhood?

**Notes:**
Hello, I’m (NAME, TITLE, ORGANIZATION), and I’m pleased to welcome you to “Meth: What’s Cooking In Your Neighborhood?”

## Overview

- What is meth and where does it come from?
- What are the effects?
- Who uses meth?
- What is the impact on others?
- What can be done?
- Who can do it?
- Where can we get more information?

**Notes:**
Here is an overview of what we will cover in this presentation:

 First of all, we’ll tell you what exactly meth is and where it comes from.

 We’ll discuss why people use this drug, its immediate and long-term effects, and treatment options. 
 We’ll look at meth production and its effects.

 We’ll explore what can be done about the problem of meth in our communities, and

 Who can and should take care of it.

 And, finally, I’ll share resources you can turn to for more information.

## 

## Meth

**Methamphetamine**

**Speed**

**Chalk**

**Ice**

**Crystal**

**Crank**

**Glass**

**Uppers**

**Most widely abused illicit drug in the world after marijuana.**

**Notes:**
“Meth,” which is short for “methamphetamine,” is also known by several slang names, including speed, ice, crystal, glass, chalk, crank, and uppers.  

Meth is second only to marijuana as the most widely abused illicit drug in the world and is the most prevalent manmade drug manufactured in the United States.

____________________
(Note: Seven slang terms will pop up separately during slide presentation.)

## What is meth?

- Highly addictive stimulant
- Odorless, bitter-tasting, white crystalline    powder
- Smoked, snorted, injected, taken orally

**Notes:**
Meth is a stimulant that is very addictive.  

It is an odorless, bitter-tasting, white crystalline powder that dissolves in water or alcohol. 

It can be smoked, snorted, injected, or taken orally. 

## Where does meth come from?

- Meth/many ingredients come from Mexico
- Secret laboratories can spring up quickly
- U.S. production and availability of meth are increasing

**Notes:**
Organizations based in Mexico dominate most of the meth trafficking—both for ingredients and meth.  However, meth production is growing in the United States. 

Meth is made with relatively inexpensive, over-the-counter ingredients.  Because of this, secret labs, often called “mom and pop labs,” can spring up quickly and move easily.

Recently, organizations have begun operating “super labs” that can produce large quantities of meth.

These local labs, as well as shipments from Mexico, are increasing the availability of meth in the United States.

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## The effects of meth

**The effects of meth**

- Dramatically affects the brain
- Alertness/wakefulness
- Feelings of increased strength/renewed energy
- Intensified feelings of sexual desire
- Feelings of invulnerability
- Feelings of increased confidence/competence

**Notes:**
Meth dramatically affects the brain, spinal cord, and spinal nerves, also known as the central nervous system.  These changes have widespread effects. 

Many people are lured into using this drug for the initial good feelings it brings.  Immediately after smoking or injecting, the meth user experiences an intense sensation, called a “rush” or “flash.”

While that rush is described as pleasurable, it only lasts a few minutes.  It is followed by a high that can last up to 6 to 8 hours.

Some people start using meth to reduce fatigue and maintain productivity since meth makes users feel more alert and gives them feelings of increased strength.

Some people hope it will increase sexual desire and activity.  Others want to lose weight.

Other typical psychological effects include:
 Feelings of invulnerability.
 Feelings of increased confidence and competence.

## What’s the downside?

- Meth users suffer severe effects and
- consequences:
- Depression
- Binge and crash pattern of use
- Crash phase—“tweaking”—often includes feelings of anxiety and emptiness
- Addiction
- Brain damage

**Notes:**
Whatever the reason for using the drug, the meth high is followed by a devastating low.  In fact, the depression that follows meth use can be intolerable.  This depression often contributes to an individual’s decision to start using meth again. 

As a result, users often follow a “binge and crash” pattern of use.  That is, they continue taking the drug over several days to prolong the high and avoid that inevitable crash.  The crash phase, called “tweaking,” often overwhelms the user with feelings of anxiety and emptiness.    

The reality of meth use is that at some point users may lose control of the drug and become addicted.  And, whether addicted or not, meth users risk permanent brain damage.

## What comes after the “high”?

-  Irritability/aggressiveness/frustration
-  Anxiety
-  Depression
-  Fatigue
-  Paranoia
-  Hallucinations or delusions
-  Intense cravings for the drug

**What comes after the “high”?**

**Notes:**
In addition to depression, after the rush individuals typically experience a state of high agitation that can lead to violent behavior.  As the drug leaves their systems, users can experience:

Irritability/aggressiveness/frustration.
Anxiety.
Depression.
Fatigue.
Paranoia.
Sometimes these feelings are so extreme they lead to thoughts of homicide or suicide.  In addition, people who tweak may exhibit unpredictable and dangerous behavior.  When they are startled, confused, or confronted by anyone—including law enforcement, medical personal, and even their own children—they can be violent.
Hallucinations or delusions.
Insects crawling on the skin, for example.
Intense cravings for the drug.
Can lead to the binge and crash pattern we discussed, as well as addiction.

## Long-term effects 

- Memory problems
- Insomnia
- Decreased appetite and anorexia
- Increased heart rate and blood pressure
- Breathing problems
- Increased risk of stroke
- Increased risk of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, and other diseases from shared needles.

**Long-term effects**

**Notes:**
Meth users face a variety of long-term consequences.  Meth’s effect on the brain and the brain’s ability to recover are not entirely clear.  However, brain damage can be seen months after a person quits using meth. 

Research is continuing, but studies have connected prolonged use of meth with symptoms similar to those of people with Parkinson’s disease.  Another outcome may be brain damage similar to that caused by Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and epilepsy.

 In addition to brain damage and memory loss, users can experience:
 Insomnia—can’t sleep.
 Decreased appetite and anorexia.
 Increased heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature.
 Tremors or convulsions.
 Breathing problems.
 Lung, kidney, and liver damage.
 Increased risk of stroke due to irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain.
 Increased risk of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, and other diseases for users who inject meth and share needles.

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## Anyone can be a potential meth user

- Interstate truck drivers

- Restaurant, construction, and factory workers

- White-collar workers

- People with AIDS

- Students

- Youth at all-night parties

- People seeking weight loss

- People producing meth

- Athletes

- Gay men

**Anyone can be a potential meth user**

**Notes:**
Given these negative effects, you may wonder who would use meth?  Well, as with most drugs, it’s used by a broad range of people—every ethnicity, every income bracket, from all areas of the country.  

While anyone may use meth, some people more susceptible to use are:
 Students studying long hours. 
 Youth partying all night. 
 People trying to lose weight. 
 Athletes, both in and out of school, seeking temporary bursts of energy and feelings of increased physical endurance.

Men in some gay populations where meth is often used to boost sexual performance or alleviate depression. 
 AIDS patients seeking temporary relief from fatigue and depression.  They may not realize that meth damages their physical health and makes them more likely to neglect prescribed therapies. 
 People manufacturing meth at home to make money, support their own addiction, or both.

## Slide 14

**Notes:**
Other people are tempted by working long hours or doing repetitive tasks:

Interstate truck drivers trying to remain awake and alert during cross-country hauls. 
 Restaurant, construction, and factory workers hoping to reduce fatigue. 
 Some white-collar workers trying to become more competitive by working longer, more productive hours. 

## Who uses meth?

- Age of first use: teens
- Easy to go from casual use to being addicted
- In 1999, 7.9 percent of high school seniors reported taking meth at least once
*      **(2000 Monitoring the Future Survey)*
- 8.8 million Americans reported using meth *(2000 SAMHSA Household Survey)*

**Notes:**
While young people are mentioned previously, the impression may be that meth is most widely used by adults.  However, during the meth teleconference, experts emphasized that the typical age when people first use meth is in their mid- to late-teens.  

It was also noted that meth use is increasing, and it is very easy to go from so-called casual use of meth to slip into addiction.

Among high school seniors surveyed, almost 8 percent reported using meth at least once. 

According to the 2000 Monitoring the Future Survey, 8.8 million Americans reported using meth at least once.  That’s more than double the number in 1994.

Meth use is a national problem, and the dangers faced by those using meth are significant and must be addressed.  

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## Meth production and its effects

- Easily made at home
- Manufacturing = “cooking”
- Dangerous chemicals and toxic residue
- Labs can and do explode unexpectedly

**?**

**Meth production and its effects**

**Notes:**
Let’s take a closer look at meth production.  What is a “meth house” or a “meth lab” exactly?  And what are some of the very real and literally volatile problems associated with having one in your neighborhood? 

First, it’s important to understand that meth, unlike many drugs, is made with relatively inexpensive, over-the-counter ingredients.  Also, someone doesn’t need much space or special equipment.  This makes it fairly simple to manufacture the drug at home and explains why labs can spring up almost anywhere.  

Manufacturing meth is referred to as “cooking,” a process that is extremely dangerous due to the unstable chemicals used and the toxic byproducts produced.  Some of the chemicals used in cooking meth include sulfuric or hydrochloric acid, iodine, ether, and lye.  Whether inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through the skin, these chemicals pose serious health hazards. 

These poisons are usually dumped on the ground or pollute our rivers.  In addition, meth labs can and do explode unexpectedly and forcefully.

All of these hazards mean that anyone in or near a meth lab is at risk, including police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians who are called to these labs. 

## Non-users suffer too...

- Domestic violence and child neglect
- Threats to physical safety of community members:

*One in six meth labs explodes or catches fire*
*Every pound of meth leaves behind 5–6 pounds of toxic waste*

- Property values decline, crime escalates

**Notes:**
Meth poses tremendous risks for those around meth users as well.  More and more, meth is a contributing factor in cases of domestic violence and child neglect.  Meth also threatens the physical safety of children who live in meth labs as well as community members nearby.  

For instance:
 One in six meth labs explodes or catches fire each year.

Every pound of meth produced generates 5–6 pounds of toxic waste. 

Property values decline and criminal activities escalate when a meth house comes into a neighborhood. 

## Slide 19

**Notes:**
Toxic waste generated from meth labs requires specialized, costly, and dangerous cleanup. 

## Meth and pregnancy

- Premature delivery
- Low birth weight
- Abnormal reflexes and extreme irritability
- Learning defects

**Meth and pregnancy**

**Notes:**
Although meth effects many non-users, children are especially vulnerable.

When women use meth during pregnancy, it can lead to problems for the infant: 
Premature delivery—babies are born too early.

Low birth weights. 
Abnormal reflexes and extreme irritability.

Learning deficits related to verbal skills.

## Neglect—inadequate supervision
Daily activities

Health and hygiene

Malnutrition

- Daily activities
- Health and hygiene
- Malnutrition

**Meth—the impact on children**

**Notes:**
In addition, child protection services are reporting dramatically increased caseloads related to the manufacture and use of methamphetamine. 

Parents using or producing meth often:
 Fail to adequately supervise their children’s activities. 
 Fail to obtain appropriate medical attention when necessary. 
 Fail to either feed their children or provide them with proper nutrition.

## Slide 22

**Notes:**
In addition, users and people who tweak can be physically abusive to their children—just as they can be to anyone who bothers them while in withdrawal.  

## Photo of dresser with chemicals

**Notes:**
Children living in homes where meth is made may also be exposed to poisonous chemicals. This exposure can come from touching or eating the chemicals or by breathing the fumes. 

In addition, children are victims when home labs explode.

## 

## Treatments

- Drug education
- Family and group therapies
- Self-help groups
- Medication
- More research is needed for special populations

**Notes:**
How can we help stop this cycle of abuse?  Many meth users are unable to recognize problems related to their drug use.  Thus, techniques that help patients change their thinking, expectations, and behaviors are emphasized.

Strategies include drug education, family and group therapies, and self-help groups.  Treatment can also include medication, as needed.

The challenges related to paranoia, psychosis, agitation, and severe craving usually require knowledge and skills beyond those involved in traditional alcohol treatment.

More research is needed for concerns related to sexual behavior, weight issues, and ongoing paranoia.  Also, treatment issues for special populations, such as pregnant women, women with small children, the gay community, and the homeless are needed.

## Caregivers can preventmeth use	

- Establish and maintain good communication
- Be involved in their child’s life
- Make clear rules and enforce them
- Be a positive role model
- Teach children to choose friends wisely
- Monitor children’s activities
- Learn about meth and its risks

**Notes:**
What adults say or do not say about alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs influence the decisions young people make.  Parents and caregivers can help children avoid meth and other substance use in several important ways:
 Establish and maintain good communication with each child.  This has to be an ongoing process and a two-way street.
 Be involved in your child’s life.
 Make clear rules and enforce them consistently.  If the rules are broken, there should be appropriate consequences.
 Be a positive role model.  This includes abstaining from any illegal or unhealthy behaviors.
 Teach children to choose friends wisely.
 Monitor children’s activities.  Get to know your child’s hangouts, friends, and friends’ parents.  Build your own support network with other parents. 
In addition, parents should learn as much as they can about meth and its risks.  Then, they should educate their children about those risks.  

## Slide 27

**Notes:**
Parents should be aware that meth may appeal to teens worried about weight control or who want endurance for sports or other activities. 

Parents should be able to recognize possible signs of meth use and intervene as soon as possible to deter further use.

## Requires the entire community working
	together

- 	together

- Families

- Faith communities

- Media

- Schools

- Service groups

- Professional organizations

- Treatment agencies

- Businesses

- Social services

- Establish no-use community norm

**Preventing meth use**

- Law enforcement

- Health organizations

**Notes:**
Parents play a critical role in preventing meth use, but they need the support of the entire community.  Communities can combine environmental prevention efforts with individual and family-focused prevention activities.

Community groups can work closely with a wide range of partners.  These include, among others, families, faith communities, media, schools, service groups, professional organizations, law enforcement, social services, businesses, treatment agencies, and health organizations.

_______________
(Note: Nine words pop up individually)

## Government must play an active role 
Provide public safety 
Reduce demand
Regulate chemical ingredients
Protect children

- Provide public safety
- Reduce demand
- Regulate chemical ingredients
- Protect children

**Preventing meth production**

**Notes:**
Another way to prevent meth use is to prevent meth production. Government, as an integral part of a community coalition, plays a major, proactive role in this effort, by:

 Providing public safety, in terms of law enforcement and public awareness. 
 Working to reduce demand, through prevention and education efforts. 
 Limiting the availability of the ingredients necessary to produce meth through legislation and regulation.          
 And, partnering with community organizations to help provide safe care for children.

## Individuals CAN make a difference

Develop coalitions to work on problems related to meth use and production

Recognize and report potential labs and dealers

- Develop coalitions to work on problems related to meth use and production
- Recognize and report potential labs and dealers

**Community action can prevent ****meth production**

**Notes:**
While the community plays a fundamental role, individuals can and do make a difference.  So can groups of individuals or coalitions.  Groups can work with retailers to identify potential meth producers.

“Mom and pop” meth labs are located on public land, in rural areas, and, also, in residential neighborhoods. It is important that community members are educated to recognize and report suspected labs and dealers.

## Identifying meth labs

- Variety of ingredient jars and containers
- Cold medicine, acetone, camping fuel, paint thinner
- Lithium batteries
- Propane tanks with blue fittings
- Strong chemical smells

- For a list of additional meth lab indicators provided by the
- U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, go to _**www.SAMHSA.gov**_**.**
- Click on Campaigns and Programs and go to Drug Facts, Meth

**Notes:**
Some examples of materials used in meth production may include:
 A variety of ingredient jars containing clear liquid with white solids on the bottom, shiny purple crystals, or dark red or purple powder as well as jars with tubing attached.

 Several types of ingredients, including large amounts of cold medicine, acetone, camping fuel, and paint thinner. 
 Many lithium batteries that have been stripped.

 Propane tanks with fittings that have turned blue.

 Strong chemical smells like ether, ammonia, acetone, or urine.

It is important to stay away from these chemicals as they are extremely toxic, and they explode!  Meth cookers may be armed, and labs may be booby-trapped.  Report a suspected lab to the police.

A complete list of meth laboratory indicators, provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Clandestine Lab Enforcement Team, is available at the SAMHSA Web site.  Click on Campaigns and Programs and go to the Drug Facts icon and then to meth.

## Indicators of meth labs and dealers

- Houses
- Windows covered
- Porch lights coded
- Drug paraphernalia litter
- Lights left on for long periods
- Traffic
- Frequent vehicle or foot traffic
- People stopping by
- Taxis

**Notes:**
These are some typical characteristics of meth labs:
 Windows may be covered in cardboard or black plastic for complete privacy.
 Porch lights are coded to indicate when drugs are available.
 Drug paraphernalia may be scattered in the area.
 Dogs are used to guard a house with these characteristics.
 Heavy vehicle or foot traffic at all times of the day or the night.
 People and cars only stay for short periods.
 Taxis are used to avoid license plate identification.

People must contact the police or the nearest DEA field office if labs are suspected. Remember that clandestine labs can be extremely dangerous.  Do not approach the suspected meth producers yourself!

To find your local DEA office, look up the phone number in the blue Federal Government pages in the white pages of your local phone book, under the Department of Justice.

## 

## All groups working together can establish a no-use

- community norm.

**Notes:**
All groups working together can establish a no-use community norm.

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## Resources

- SAMHSA’s National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 1-800-729-6686, _**www.SAMHSA.gov**__._  Click on Campaigns and Programs and go to the Drug Facts icon.
- Informational Web sites
_**whitehousedrugpolicy.gov**_
_**www.nida.nih.gov**_
_**www.preventiondss.org**_
_**www.clubdrugs.org**_
_**www.cadca.org**_
_**www.usdoj.gov/dea/agency/domestic.htm**_

**Notes:**
Finally, there are a number of places to turn for additional information. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information is an excellent source for materials—audiovisual and printed. 

The Clearinghouse can be a first step when someone is seeking to help a friend or loved one who is using meth or other drugs.  It will give you the telephone number and address of a treatment center near you. 

Several other valuable Web sites are listed here as well. For example, the Prevention DSS Web site has a variety of community presentation materials and programs that can be tailored to meet local needs.

## Meth: What’s Cooking in Your Neighborhood?

-  _**www.SAMHSA.gov**__** **_Click on Campaigns and Programs and go to the Drug Facts icon

- To order the VHS video call:
**1-800-729-6686**

- To view slide presentation, 30-minute video, and 90-minute teleconference go to:

**Notes:**
This presentation and a 30-minute video were developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or “SAMHSA.”  These materials are available on the Internet at <www.SAMHSA.gov> for review.  Click on the Drug Facts icon and go to the meth section.

A 90-minute teleconference is also available for you to watch in streaming video format at this Web site.  You will need to use a Window Media Player.  

You also may order the 30-minute VHS tape from SAMHSA’s NCADI—the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information.  Call the 800 number to order.

##  What’s Cooking In Your Neighborhood?

- Teleconference produced by
**Office of National Drug Control Policy**
**Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s**
**Center for Substance Abuse Prevention**
**Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America**
**National Guard Bureau’s Counterdrug Office**
**National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse**

*as part of the teleconference series*

- Myths, Facts, and Illicit Drugs: What You Should Know

**Notes:**
A national teleconference of the same name was produced by a coalition of organizations as part of a series of teleconferences addressing myths and facts about illicit drugs. 

The other teleconferences in the series deal with ecstasy, heroin, marijuana, and inhalants.