METH INFORMATION
Many people do not realize methamphetamine not only affects the addict, meth affects all of us. Directly or indirectly, methamphetamine can affect your life through family members, neighborhoods, and entire communities. Meth labs can exist even in your own neighborhood and go undetected for years. Toxins created and hazardous waste left over from meth production affects the environment in which you live. Read further to see the various ways meth can and will affect your life.Meth And The Environment
The ingredients used to produce methamphetamine are hazardous and toxic substances. Some examples of the ingredients used to produce meth include battery acid, Draino, lithium, brake cleaner, antifreeze, lye, matches, acetone, and pseudoephedrine.
For each pound of meth produced, five to six pounds of hazardous waste are created. Waste created from the cooking process are routinely dumped into the city water system, streams, rivers, fields and backyards. By doing so contaminates water resources for humans and animals. Toxic fumes produced during the cooking process permeates walls, carpets, furniture, clothing, toys, and anything else present. Often the amount of permeation renders these houses or buildings uninhabitable. Certified cleaning companies are necessary to decontaminate a former meth lab. Depending on the amount of damage, costs can exceed the worth of the residence.
Drug Endangered Children
Hundreds of children are neglected every year after living with parents who are meth "cooks." Children who reside in or near meth labs are at a great risk of being harmed in such a toxic environment, due to the noxious fumes which can cause brain damage and the explosive elements that go into making the drug. Cooking meth is extremely dangerous, and labs often catch on fire and explode. A child living inside could overdose from meth left out by parents, suffer from attachment disorders or behavioral problems, be malnourished, physically or sexually abused and/or burned or fatally injured from a fire or explosion.
Children Displaced From Home
The number of foster care children has been rising rapidly in states that have been hit by the meth scourge. Children are taken from their parents who may have been using or making methamphetamine, and placed in foster homes, crowding an already overflowing system with limited resources. According to an article in The New York Times, it has also become difficult to attract foster parents for these children because they often have many behavior problems. For example, they can't sleep at night since they are used to sleeping on a floor and they often have not been toilet trained due to the neglectful nature of their upbringing. This overwhelming influx of cases has been suffocating social workers, leaving them desperate for help.
HIV/AIDS & Hepatitis
When under the influence of On meth, users can feel hypersexual and uninhibited, often forgetting to use protection. Also, since meth can be administered intravenously some users opt for dirty needles. These acts of carelessness can lead to the transmission of serious and deadly diseases, such as hepatitis, HIV and AIDS.
Hospitals and Burn Units
Meth production is a dangerous and illegal business that takes place in living spaces - from kitchens to basements to hotel rooms. The materials that are used to produce the drug are toxic and often flammable and any mistakes can result in an explosion or injury to not just the meth cook, but their families as well. These chemical burns are tough to treat, and extremely expensive. Much of the care in these specialized units goes uncompensated, which puts a great financial strain on the hospitals and state medical programs.
Crime
Meth labs along with the selling of the drug can breed crime, including burglaries, thefts and even murder. Both teenagers and adults addicted to the drug and who have no income to pay for their habit, may steal valuables from their own homes or even their friends' homes. High on meth, there's no telling what a person would do if provoked - people have been killed for not owing up to a drug payment or coming through on a transaction. This type of crime requires a great deal of attention from the police, for which a town may not have the funding or the resources to spare
Many people do not realize methamphetamine not only affects the addict, meth affects all of us. Directly or indirectly, methamphetamine can affect your life through family members, neighborhoods, and entire communities. Meth labs can exist even in your own neighborhood and go undetected for years. Toxins created and hazardous waste left over from meth production affects the environment in which you live. Read further to see the various ways meth can and will affect your life.Meth And The Environment
The ingredients used to produce methamphetamine are hazardous and toxic substances. Some examples of the ingredients used to produce meth include battery acid, Draino, lithium, brake cleaner, antifreeze, lye, matches, acetone, and pseudoephedrine.
For each pound of meth produced, five to six pounds of hazardous waste are created. Waste created from the cooking process are routinely dumped into the city water system, streams, rivers, fields and backyards. By doing so contaminates water resources for humans and animals. Toxic fumes produced during the cooking process permeates walls, carpets, furniture, clothing, toys, and anything else present. Often the amount of permeation renders these houses or buildings uninhabitable. Certified cleaning companies are necessary to decontaminate a former meth lab. Depending on the amount of damage, costs can exceed the worth of the residence.
Drug Endangered Children
Hundreds of children are neglected every year after living with parents who are meth "cooks." Children who reside in or near meth labs are at a great risk of being harmed in such a toxic environment, due to the noxious fumes which can cause brain damage and the explosive elements that go into making the drug. Cooking meth is extremely dangerous, and labs often catch on fire and explode. A child living inside could overdose from meth left out by parents, suffer from attachment disorders or behavioral problems, be malnourished, physically or sexually abused and/or burned or fatally injured from a fire or explosion.
Children Displaced From Home
The number of foster care children has been rising rapidly in states that have been hit by the meth scourge. Children are taken from their parents who may have been using or making methamphetamine, and placed in foster homes, crowding an already overflowing system with limited resources. According to an article in The New York Times, it has also become difficult to attract foster parents for these children because they often have many behavior problems. For example, they can't sleep at night since they are used to sleeping on a floor and they often have not been toilet trained due to the neglectful nature of their upbringing. This overwhelming influx of cases has been suffocating social workers, leaving them desperate for help.
HIV/AIDS & Hepatitis
When under the influence of On meth, users can feel hypersexual and uninhibited, often forgetting to use protection. Also, since meth can be administered intravenously some users opt for dirty needles. These acts of carelessness can lead to the transmission of serious and deadly diseases, such as hepatitis, HIV and AIDS.
Hospitals and Burn Units
Meth production is a dangerous and illegal business that takes place in living spaces - from kitchens to basements to hotel rooms. The materials that are used to produce the drug are toxic and often flammable and any mistakes can result in an explosion or injury to not just the meth cook, but their families as well. These chemical burns are tough to treat, and extremely expensive. Much of the care in these specialized units goes uncompensated, which puts a great financial strain on the hospitals and state medical programs.
Crime
Meth labs along with the selling of the drug can breed crime, including burglaries, thefts and even murder. Both teenagers and adults addicted to the drug and who have no income to pay for their habit, may steal valuables from their own homes or even their friends' homes. High on meth, there's no telling what a person would do if provoked - people have been killed for not owing up to a drug payment or coming through on a transaction. This type of crime requires a great deal of attention from the police, for which a town may not have the funding or the resources to spare
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