Meth in the Evergreen State
The story of a 16-year-old who died from drinking "meth water" (the meth equivalent of bong water) got me to thinking about the meth problem in our state.
Within the city we don't see as much of a problem with meth. But in the rest of the state, the drug has long been a major issue. According to the drug resource site M-Files, Pierce County used to be one of the nation's top-3 "Meth capitals"). Luckily, our elected officials were able to employ some innovative techniques to lessen the problem considerably. Now other towns around the nation with meth epidemics are looking to copy our model.
But for those, such as myself, who wonder just how meth got so big. After all, according to an interview with Quentin Casey, meth expert Roger Lake - executive director of the Washington State Narcotics Investigators Association (WSNIA) - says the numbers skyrocketed almost overnight:
During the last years of Lake’s career, the state of Washington was hit hard by meth production and abuse. After California, Washington was the second state to experience a meth problem. Over a five year period starting in 1996, meth addiction increased by 240 per cent in Washington, he says.
In 1994, there were only 36 meth labs reported in the state. Four years later there were 349. By 1998, the number had reached 789 and in 2001 there are an astounding 2000 labs.
What caused the explosion? Here's a fantastic article that ran last year in Rolling Stone, which sheds light on the issue. It turns out the pharmaceutical industry blocked legislation that had the potential to pretty much wipe out the meth problem back in the mid-80's; because ephedrine is one of the key ingredients in meth, the companies did not want to hurt their bottom line by restricting how it was sold.
Just a little history. If any readers have further information on the meth problem in Washington State, I'd love to hear it...newer information on the topic is harder to come by.
