Santa Maria Times: Matters of Life or Meth – Prologue
The Santa Maria Times first published their award winning series on Methamphetamine on December 12, 2004. Here is the prologue to the series:
The highly addictive stimulant tears families apart, ruins careers, pollutes the environment and consumes law enforcement resources almost as fast as a user can eat, inject, smoke, inhale or snort it.
Addicts, sometimes called “tweakers,” can lose massive amounts of weight and behave erratically. Their potential for violence puts police officers on edge and their physical deterioration causes doctors to despair.
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Long popular in the American West, methamphetamine – also known as crystal, crank, ice and speed – has overtaken cocaine and heroin as the drug of choice from Lompoc to Santa Maria to San Luis Obispo.
“It really became a fairly prevalent substance right about 1994,” said Al Rodriguez, assistant director of Santa Barbara County Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services.
“No one is not affected by it because it’s so rampant within our community,” said Teresa Menchaca, program director of Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, a coalition dedicated to fighting substance abuse.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies and Santa Maria and Lompoc police made more than 1,000 arrests last year of people allegedly under the influence of methamphetamine. Of the approximately 300 county children in out-of-home placements, 80 percent were removed from their homes because of parental substance abuse, and about 65 percent of those because of methamphetamine.
Taxpayers in California spend abut $4 million annually to clean up illegal labs used to produce methamphetamine, according to the California Department of Justice.
Nationally, meth is also a huge problem. Approximately 12.3 million Americans age 12 or older – or 5.2 percent of the population in that age category – reported trying meth at least once in their lifetime, according to a 2003 survey, the Office of National Drug Control Policy reports.
Created in Japan about 1919, methamphetamine has been used medically since by athletes, truckers, soldiers and students. The 1970 Controlled Substances Act severely restricted its legal use, but the modest price and potency of meth sustained its illicit popularity.
Outlaw motorcycle gangs once dominated the meth trafficking, but Mexican nationals have taken over.
The 5-day series that begins today will describe the scope of this drug epidemic, explain the many effects on people and the community, and offer some possible solutions.
Today, we’ll look at how the drug affected Jaime Applegate, a bright Lompoc woman whose life went to hell because of her addiction.
Monday, we’ll hear about how police struggle to deal with a problem that is overwhelming them. We also write about the toxic but accessible products the drug is made of, and how it is imported or manufactured on the Central Coast. Then we’ll address how meth production affects the environment.
Tuesday, we examine what methamphetamine does to the body and brain, as well as its effects on children whose mothers use meth while pregnant.
Wednesday, we take a look at how methamphetamine affects families on the Central Coast and what social workers can do about it. We’ll examine how the drug affected three generations of the Reynoso family. We’ll also talk about how the drug is affecting teens, and what parents should watch for if they suspect methamphetamine use.
Thursday, we’ll hear about some potential solutions to the meth epidemic. We also profile George Sanchez, a man struggling to recover from the drug.
* Staff writer Erin Carlyle can be reached at 739-2218 or by e-mail at:
* Staff writer Quintin
Cushner can be reached at 739-2217 or by e-mail at:
Flap would not normally publish the authors names and e-mail addresses. However, these writers have done such a great job presenting this material it deserves recognition.
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