Methamphetamine Addiction California Drug Rehab
Need
The production, availability, and use of methamphetamine are
significant threats to the California Central District and require drug rehab
programs quickly. Methamphetamine addiction in the district remains at high
levels. From 1997 to 1999, the price and amount of methamphetamine seized in
the California Central District of California increased. Although the purity
levels of methamphetamine significantly decreased over the same period, recent
reports indicate purity levels are slowly rising. The Riverside and San
Bernardino County area is referred to as the “methamphetamine capital of
the United States” and is a severe need of addiction treatment programs or
drug rehab centers now. The California Central District is classified as a
major source because of the numerous methamphetamine laboratories located in
the district. These laboratories range from superlabs capable of producing 10
pounds of finished product per cook to numerous small-scale laboratories
yielding only nominal user quantities. Most of the superlabs in the area are
operated by Mexican DTOs. In response to increased law enforcement pressure,
some larger methamphetamine operations are being relocated to areas outside the
district. Mexican DTOs also use the district as both a destination and
transshipment point for methamphetamine produced in Mexico and smuggled into
the United States. Mexican DTOs and criminal groups control methamphetamine
wholesale and retail distribution, sometimes using street gangs and other
street level dealers. Crystal methamphetamine (ice) is available in the region
and those addicted need drug rehab programs to combat the meth addiction. Ice
is a purer, more potent form of the drug with purity levels estimated between
85 and almost 100 percent. Mexican DTOs supply powdered methamphetamine to
Asian criminal groups who convert it to ice. These Asian groups dominate the
sale of ice, which sells for up to $30,000 per pound. Seizures of Southeast
Asian methamphetamine tablets (“yaba”) in California and the
availability of those tablets at Southern California nightclubs suggest that
the use of Asian methamphetamine tablets may have already spread beyond
traditional ethnic Asian users. Yaba (Thai for “crazy medicine”) are
methamphetamine powdered tablets manufactured in Thailand and Myanmar (Burma).
Law enforcement continues to dedicate a significant amount of resources to the
methamphetamine threat but more is needed toward drug rehab programs.
Methamphetamine incidents accounted for 41 percent (6,212) of drug-related law
enforcement actions in the Los Angeles HIDTA’s area of responsibility in
FY1999. This represents a 23 percent increase over FY1998. Most
methamphetamine-related law enforcement efforts were directed at laboratory
operations.
Methamphetamine Addiction and Abuse
Methamphetamine is an odorless, bitter-tasting, crystalline powder
that dissolves easily in water making methamphetamine addiction easily
attained. Common names are speed, ice, meth, crystal, crank, fire, and glass.
It is a man-made, addictive stimulant-hallucinogenic compound, which associates
the properties of cocaine with those of LSD and often requires addiction
treatment to overcome. Methamphetamine excites specific brain systems and has a
high potential for abuse and methamphetamine addiction. Its use releases high
amounts of dopamine, a neurotransmitter, which stimulates the brain and
enhances mood and body movement. Methamphetamine can cause arrhythmia and
ventricular fibrillation similar to symptoms experienced during a heart attack.
It can cause weight loss and increases the risk of blood clots, stroke, and
hyperthermia. Methamphetamine addiction drug rehab programs are needed now. In
the California Central District, methamphetamine addiction remains high, but
data from CADDS indicate that use may be stabilizing. According to CADDS,
between FY1994 and FY1997, the number of amphetamine/methamphetamine admissions
to Drug Rehab facilities fluctuated between 8,627 and 10,764. After a change in
drug terminology, methamphetamine Drug Rehab admissions continued to fluctuate
between FY1998 and FY2000.
Methamphetamine Addiction and Availability
DAWN statistics for the Los Angeles–Long Beach area show a
downward trend in methamphetamine addiction but need for drug rehab programs
overwhelming. The estimated number of ED mentions decreased 35 percent from
1,400 in 1994 to 910 in 1999. In contrast, ADAM reports increases in the
percentage of male and female arrestees testing positive for methamphetamine:
male arrestees testing positive increased from 5 percent in 1997 to 9 percent
in 1999; female arrestees testing positive for methamphetamine increased from 9
percent in 1997 to 12 percent in 1999. The U.S. Attorney for the California
Central District suggests that methamphetamine addiction may soon surpass
cocaine as the most readily available drug in the district. More addiction
treatment is needed to combat this profuse problem. In Los Angeles, the average
purity of exhibits analyzed decreased significantly from 66 percent in FY1997
to 44 percent in FY1999. This decrease may have been attributed to the
inability of producers to obtain pseudo ephedrine, the primary precursor
chemical in methamphetamine production. In FY2000, the average purity of
exhibits analyzed rebounded slightly to 52 percent. Although the purity of
methamphetamine has decreased, its price has increased. The wholesale price
rose from 1998 ($3,800–$4,000 per lb) to 1999 ($5,000–$6,000 per lb).
In Los Angeles, the amount of methamphetamine seized rose 158 percent, from
1,077 pounds in 1997 to 2,598 pounds in 1998. As of August 1999, the Los
Angeles Police Department had seized approximately 719 pounds of
methamphetamine, on pace for slightly lower year-end totals. The amount of
methamphetamine seized in the Los Angeles HIDTA increased more than 668 percent
over the same period, from 1,656 pounds in FY1997 to 12,729 pounds in FY1999.
Where are the drug rehab programs and centers to help with this plague. The
USCS collected data on methamphetamine seizures occurring at various ports
within the California Central District for FY1998 and FY1999. Similar to the
upward trend for methamphetamine seizures in the Los Angeles HIDTA, amounts
seized by the USCS increased 92 percent between FY1998 and FY1999. From 1998 to
1999, seizure totals at the Port of Los Angeles more than doubled, and seizures
increased at airports in the district. Highly organized Asian criminal
organizations obtain chemicals to produce the drug and then distributions and
gangs dominate the sale of ice. These Asian traffickers also distribute Los
Angeles area.
Methamphetamine Addiction Drug Sales and
Violence
Although Mexican criminal groups operate only a small percentage of
all the laboratories in the area, they produce an estimated 95 percent of all
methamphetamine available in the district. The absolute control of large-scale
production and distribution by these Mexican groups reduces the likelihood of
violence. However, rivalry at the retail level among Hispanic gangs creates the
potential for isolated hostilities. For example, the Mexican Mafia was
violently opposed by several gangs as it attempted to organize and control
retail drug distribution. However, it should be noted that turf control, rather
than drug operations, motivates most gang violence in Los Angeles. The
small-scale individual methamphetamine producers have little reason to provoke
violence because most of their methamphetamine is produced for personal
consumption. Again, a huge need for methamphetamine addiction drug rehab
programs.
Drug Rehab Need Due To Methamphetamine
Distribution
According to the USCS Special Agent in Charge/ Los Angeles Area
Intelligence Unit’s FY1999 Threat Assessment, the primary means of
conveyance for methamphetamine entering the United States via Mexico is by
vehicle. In addition to private and commercial vehicles, drug traffickers use
mail and package delivery services to move methamphetamine into the district.
DTOs use these methods to move precursor chemicals into the California Central
District. One organization in particular ships pseudoephedrine from various
states into Los Angeles, where it is placed in storage facilities to await
distribution to various laboratory operators. Drug rehab programs and addiction
treatment facilities are needed very quickly. Mexican DTOs and Mexican criminal
groups control the sale and distribution of methamphetamine at all levels.
Asian criminal organizations dominate the distribution of ice in the Los
Angeles area. Hispanic gangs are the primary methamphetamine distributors at
the retail level. Small-scale methamphetamine laboratory operators encountered
in the district typically produce only enough methamphetamine for personal use
and for a limited number of buyers. |