4

Anti-Meth Stigma Can Make the Problem Worse

Psychonaught, via Wikimedia

Anti-meth ads are intense, even by overwrought drug PSA standards. Here's one saying that using meth once is worse than being crippled in a car crash, despite the fact that one can more or less "recover" from an addiction. Another implies that meth will put you in an abusive relationship, even though plenty of sober people end up in those, too. The media is so effective, in fact, that even other drug addicts stigmatize meth use.

Doug Menuez/Valueline/Getty Images
"I respect my body too much for that crap, thankyouverymuch."

When Jessica (not her real name) first saw her boyfriend using meth, her reaction was to storm out of the house in a fury, even though she was currently using heroin. After Oscar shot meth into his penis, he needed medical attention, but he lied and said he'd injected cocaine, because he "didn't dare admit to using meth." He had no trouble admitting that he stuck a needle full of drugs into his wang, which is generally a thing a person should have a problem with. He was only uncomfortable admitting precisely which drug was coursing through his dong.

Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
Not that there's much dignity to be saved with the guy palpating your swollen, track-marked wiener.

3

Regulating Pseudoephedrine Didn't Even Keep Meth Out of the Supermarket

Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images

We made it harder to buy pseudoephedrine, so clearly this whole meth thing is over. Allergy pills are behind a little plexiglass door now, everybody -- we won! Meth is over.

No?

California Dept. of Justice
No.

"The laws banning pseudoephedrine -- about all that's done is shift the production to Mexico. So it's giving another inroad to Mexican drug violence," says Oscar. "2007 is when I noticed the change. I stopped buying from locals and started dealing with gang members."

Never mind the many other illegal ways people procure contraband, regulating pseudoephedrine didn't even keep the criminals out of the supermarket. Meth cooks now just hire a bunch of addicts to head over to the CVS for some Sudafed. Each one of these "smurfs" ("I don't know why they call them that," says Oscar) will probably get paid in meth. So in the move to reduce drug use, we have now created entirely new jobs that get paid solely in drugs.

Ryan McVay/Digital Vision/Getty Images
Of course, after taxes, it feels like Uncle Sam's the one really getting high. Thanks, Obama.

2

Meth Addiction Comes With Bonus Downsides

Comstock/Stockbyte/Getty Images

"Meth has given antipsychotic meds street value," Oscar told us, "because people will take those to force themselves to come down and go to sleep." After, say, three days of using meth to keep your energy up while binge-watching every episode of The Wire, you'll do pretty much anything to get some sleep -- even if it means taking pills that can give you diabetes.

Keith Brofsky/Photodisc/Getty Images
"Damn it. The whole reason I went with meth was to avoid needles."

But it's all worth it for that sweet, superhuman methy energy, right? If it was good enough to keep our boys fighting in World War II, it's good enough for cleaning the house every weekend. Except, like all drugs, if you do meth enough, you stop getting the positive effects.

"Even though you think of tweakers as people who wanna get up and move and have energy, you kinda just sit," said Oscar. "My addiction slowly evolved to me sitting in my bedroom all weekend watching porn. I didn't even want to go to the trouble of doing anything else. Eventually I did happen to hook up with somebody, and I was so out of shape that a few minutes in I was drenched in sweat and had to stop. I made up something about a heart condition, I was so embarrassed."

And here we are again, arguing that the real problem with drug abuse is that it makes boning more difficult.

1

Meth Friends Are Not Imaginary

shironosov/iStock/Getty Images