Family Magazine
Meth Use in Fargo–Moorhead
The ripple effects of this dangerous drug.
One of the goals of The Village Family Magazine is to educate readers on topics that affect them and their families. One such article on the drug methamphetamine (meth) did just that two years ago, and it struck a nerve in our community that still resonates today. If fact, three weeks ago I received a call from someone who remembered seeing the article on meth and asked for a copy of it. Meth is still a growing problem in our community, and as part of our ongoing efforts to serve families, we decided to take another look at the drug which will “bring this country to its knees if we don’t wake up,” according to Michael Kaspari, agency director of First Step Recovery.
Meth refresher course
On many levels, meth poses more of a problem than any other drug our society has encountered. According to a statement released in February 2000, by a special Senate committee, “Methamphetamine has now emerged to become the most challenging epidemic to date in American society.”
Meth is a stimulant that messes with the brain’s release and blockage of dopamine, the chemical which controls feelings of pleasure. A user has a sudden rush of euphoria and energy—it is not uncommon to stay awake for days. But after feelings of extreme high, the user crashes for several days. Prolonged or high usage produces paranoia, hallucinations, itchy skin, acne, ulcers, nausea, depression, weight loss, and more.
Perhaps the affects of meth can best be described by someone using it. Jason Rurup, a juvenile counselor at the West Central Juvenile Center in Moorhead, tells the story of a local user.
Andrew (not his real name) started using meth at age 15. From the very moment he tried it, he was hooked and excited about it. However, while using it, he was very paranoid, enough so that he carried a backpack full of clothes with him everywhere he went. He made sure to change clothes before leaving home, a store, or a fast food place, because he was sure the FBI was trying to catch him. He stayed up for days, the longest being seven days straight.
Andrew experienced health problems, too. When he started using meth, he weighed 160 pounds but wasted away to 106 pounds within six months. His teeth were starting to decay. Eventually he got to the point where he talked to his probation officer about placing him in a treatment center. He realized meth had become something he couldn’t control, and although his desire to quit was, and remains, strong, he constantly thinks about using it.
When you hear what meth is made of, it is not surprising it causes deteriorating health. The main ingredient is psuedoeffedrine, the medicine commonly found in cold and allergy remedies. Other chemicals include, but are not limited to, Drano, formaldehyde, anhydrous ammonia, red phosphorus, starting fluid, and anti-freeze. Meth is a poison that eats away at your body and your life.
It is also an extremely addictive drug that is more difficult to quit using than any other drug out there. Seventy-five to 90 percent of those who try meth become addicted, compared to alcohol’s addiction rate of 10 to 13 percent. One reason for this is because the highs are so intense and the lows are so painful. Kaspari says one of the scariest things about meth is that “people aren’t casual meth users for any length of time.”
Kaspari also points out what makes treatment so difficult. “In most cases, with other drugs, once users are detoxed and through that very early part of recovery, they start to feel better. You can hold that out to them as a positive. In many cases with meth, despite the fact they’re clean, they feel worse. That’s because of the long-term damage chronic meth users do to their brain. As a treatment provider, we offer two to three years of a very dismal existence, with clinical depression, before they start to feel better. On the other hand, they know how to feel like the king of the world in about 10 seconds.”
Meth is readily available and easy to make. The ingredients are relatively easy to get and you don’t have to be a serious chemist to manufacture it, although there are huge risks in “cooking” meth because of the volatility of the chemicals used. Imagine transporting or heating up anhydrous ammonia.
Despite the danger, people do “cook” meth in their houses, apartments, cars, motel rooms, or church basements. Andrew says meth was the most popular and easiest drug to get in the community, and he became a dealer within a few months and was supplying his friends, adults and even a few grandparent-aged people.
Although meth labs exist in our community—five have been busted last year in the city of Fargo alone—Lisa McEvers, Assistant State’s Attorney for Cass County, says, “The meth labs we are finding here could not support the quantity that’s out there. There is an influx of meth from Washington, Oregon and the Twin Cities.” Mike Erbes, narcotics officer with the Fargo Police Department, adds that meth is also imported from Arizona, Texas and California. “It depends on where you’re connected,” he says. “California has super labs where meth is made in bulk, maybe 40 pounds at a time [an average hit is about one-eighth of a gram]. Whereas here they use coffee filters to strain things, there they use bed sheets.”
Who are the meth users?
McEvers says, “You can’t categorize the drug users anymore.” Kaspari agrees, “We have treated a 16-year-old honor student, a 60-year-old grandparent, and everything in between—professional people, college students, etc.”
College students use meth to stay awake to study. Women and girls use meth to lose weight. Young kids use meth at rave parties to sustain energy for all-night dancing. It’s no longer only the “druggie” types.
Dan Seymour, Program Manager for North Dakota parole and probation, says, “The age group we see using meth seems to be 30- to 40-year-olds. It used to be that the offender was younger. For example, now we see a lot of male construction workers, and the growth of the woman offender is on the rise.”
One thing for certain is that meth is a rising problem in our community. Seymour says, “Meth is pretty much what we deal with every day.”
Verne Heltemes, DEA task force officer in Moorhead, says, “Of our felony level narcotics investigations, 95 percent of them are meth-related cases. On the rise are large-scale distribution rings.” Erbes finds this in Fargo, too. “There is certainly as much or more meth in the city as there ever was. Five years ago, it was a novelty to see meth stuff when we did a search. Now it’s almost routine. We do three to four searches a week, and about 75 percent of our search warrants are meth cases.”
The ripple effect
Kaspari says, “If there was ever a ripple effect, this is a good example. The further we get into this problem, the more far reaching it becomes.” Meth use ripples beyond the user to his or her family, public safety, education, the environment, and even across generations.
Foster care. One of the most troubling problems created by meth is the influx of children into the foster care system. Usually, these children have been removed from their parents because they have been exposed to drugs or drug paraphernalia, which is a class C felony. McEvers says, “Parents who do that, I am charging them with it. All I really have to prove is that an adult knowingly or intentionally had a child or vulnerable adult ingest, inhale or have contact with the drug.” Thankfully, McEvers has never had to prosecute a class B or A felony, where a child experienced bodily harm or death, but with meth labs in operation, that is always a possibility.
Erbes describes many times where search warrants have discovered children exposed to living in conditions that are “incredibly bad.” He says, “The number of kids placed in custody is going through the roof. And it’s not because these parents don’t love their kids, it’s just that the drug takes over. Sometimes they’re remorseful, sometimes they’re oblivious. It’s the hardest part of my job.”
Chip Ammerman, Family Service Department Manager in Cass County, confirms the increased placement of children in foster care. Since January, 2004, of the 148 placements done, 54 , or 36 percent, of them were directly related to meth. Ammerman admits this is a “huge spike.” Rhonda Porter with Clay County Social Services says that currently, there are 98 children in home placements. Of those 98, 17 are due to meth use or concerns.
Ammerman cited three reasons for the spike in meth-related foster care placements. “First, the parents are exposing their children to danger [because meth is such a toxic drug]. Second, in the later phases of addiction, the parents primary need is to get the drug, so parenting awareness and skills decrease. Third, the user becomes paranoid. With this, the thoughts become rapid and illogical and the parent’s reactions can be very sporadic. The kids make demands or their behavior becomes noticeable in schools. That demand is placed upon the parent, and they can’t think and it distracts them from their addiction.”
Kaspari says, “Even after parents are clean, they have a limited skill set. Kids are the victims—they end up protecting the parent rather than being protected by the parent.”
Public safety. The safety of our community is affected on different levels. Meth labs pose a terrible hazard because of the toxic fumes they release and the probability of explosion or fire. If a meth lab is busted, it is up to the property owner to clean up the site, which can be expensive and time consuming. Even small lab cleanups can be over $5,000.
The court systems are also being clogged with drug cases. McEvers says “In 2000, we prosecuted 548 drug cases. We are on pace this year to do about 1,100, more than double. Not only are the numbers going up but the severity or level of crime has gone up. This year we have charged three AAA felonies (maximum life sentence) and have 13 pending. Last year we had maybe one or two. Yesterday there were 22 felony dispositional conferences held, and 13 were drug related.”
Part of the reason for the increase is the police are adding more officers and doubling their efforts. This year there were twice as many search warrants as last year. Heltemes says their efforts concentrate on larger distribution rings, which rely on tips or plea agreements from people who are arrested, or calls from concerned citizens. The stepped up efforts of the police increases the workload for prosecutors, who are trying to get additional help in the state attorney’s office. Along with the courts, probation and parole are seeing a large increase in numbers. Seymour says, “To keep up with the growth, we need one more person every year for the next four years. Meth causes so many other crimes, like stealing and domestic violence, and it’s harder to manage people [on meth] because the relapse rate is so high.”
Public safety is also threatened by the paranoia that accompanies meth use. Mary Jagim, Nurse Manager of the Emergency Center at MeritCare, Fargo, has seen an increase in violence in the emergency room. She says, “They [meth users] are really paranoid, agitated, and don’t want to be touched. We have had situations where we have tried to get control and it took several staff. We have also had to treat patients who were at scenes where meth is being made and were exposed to chemicals.”
Mental health issues. Users almost always become depressed, some may become bipolar or schizophrenic. Seymour says, “I see the deterioration of these people social-skill wise. That is where it is affecting the community. They get on the social services disabilities list because their functioning is affected so much.”
Kaspari says, “We haven’t seen the full generational effects yet, but it is coming. We are going to start seeing meth babies,” which will affect social services and educators. Also, studies have shown kids in foster care, in general, tend to have more social concerns.
Efforts are underway
A lot is being done to combat meth in our community. North Dakota’s Retail Meth Watch restricts the sale of packages containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. No more than two packages can be bought at one time, and you must be over 18 to purchase it. Some counties also have pilot programs where farmers are locking up anhydrous ammonia tanks. A new additive to anhydrous ammonia called Glo-Tell turns body parts pink if they come in contact with it. Minnesota has legislation pending concerning retail guidelines.
Although these laws are helping, a cooperative effort between retailers and the community are needed.
Education seems to be the key. Kaspari says, “We can’t arrest ourselves out of this problem. We need education and prevention across the board on the scope of the problem and what to look for in earlier stages.” See items and behaviors to look for.
Family support necessary for success
Ammerman says, “The one thing that has been present in the successful cases I’ve seen is strong family support, where the family has held the person accountable. They didn’t deny or dismiss the addiction or minimize it, but were very supportive and rallied around the user.”
Rurup adds, “For a person to be successful, they have to make a list of goals for themselves to stay off the drug. They also need to break off relationships with all friends who have a negative influence on them.”
It is also important to set down the ground rules with a person you are concerned about. Kaspari says, “If the person is living with you, let them know what is expected. It’s always best to discuss this kind of stuff before finding evidence. Tell them you will require a drug screen or will call in the police. Law enforcement is very willing to be an ally to people concerned with drug use. Their process is geared toward getting people help.”
And it is help we need. Plainly put, meth is scary. And it is not going away. We need to acknowledge it is out there, then educate ourselves, our children, our families, and our friends on its devastating effects. With a concentrated, across the board effort, we can keep meth from bringing our community to its knees.