METH is a highly potent form of speed. Just one hit can alter the
brain's chemistry and, if abused, may severely damage the
cardiovascular and central nervous systems and impair the functioning
of the heart, brain and spinal cord.
Meth was first
synthesised from amphetamine in Japan in 1919 by Akira Ogata
(1887-1978). In 1932 Smith, Kline and French marketed Benzedrine, an
over-the-counter bronchial dilator and inhaler with nearly one-third of
a gram of meth to treat nasal congestion. By 1936, Benzedrine was the
standard treatment for 39 disorders ranging from asthma to depression,
but by the end of the decade abuse of the inhalers had reached such
alarming proportions that meth was replaced by the weaker stimulant,
propylhexedrine.
When the going gets tough, the tough take Benzedrine
proclaimed
pharmaceutical company ads featuring images of GIs charging into combat
during World War II, which was fought by all sides on methamphetamine.
In total, over 200 million methamphetamine-variant pills were routinely
supplied to American air force personnel alone, and to British troops,
Japanese Kamikaze pilots on suicide missions, and Nazi storm troopers
and concentration camp guards to combat fatigue, heighten endurance and
elevate mood, as well as inducing emotional detachment and
quasi-psychotic aggression.
From 1942, Adolf Hitler was said
to be unable to function without regular daily injections of near-fatal
doses of Benzedrine by his morphine-crazed physician, Dr. Theodor
Morell.
It can only be speculated how methamphetamine may have
contributed to the deterioration of the Führer's mind, serving to
undermine his health, corrupt his judgement, steer his insanity and,
ultimately, affect the course of World War II. Certainly, in his final
years, the dictator was a ruined husk of a man. Looking at least 20
years older with his sallow skin and glaucous eyes, he was stooped,
shambling, drooling, trembling and incoherent, and exhibited acute
signs of Parkinson's disease - all classic symptoms of chronic meth
dependency.
After the war, methamphetamine-addicted war veterans
who had difficulty readapting to civilian life would continue to seek
out Benzedrine, while surplus supplies maufactured by Japaese
pharmaceutical companies for the war effort were dumped onto civilian
markets and advertised as an energising drug, leading to the first
epidemic of its kind when Benzedrine was administered to Japanese
factory workers to increase output. By 1954, two million Japanese were
addicted.
By the early 1950s, amphetamines were increasingly
being linked to antisocial behaviour in the US, such as robbery and
drug trafficking. Benzedrine was withdrawn from over-the-counter sale
in 1954 when Congress amended the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act
to require a presciption for barbituates and amphetamines, leading to a
steep rise in legal prescriptions of methamphetamine. John F. Kennedy,
a strong supporter of controls on amphetamines, was himself a
registered user. Violatiors of this new ruling faced one year in jail,
a $1,000 fine, or both.
The 1960s saw the rise of women's
fashion magazines like Cosmopolitan and Vogue and the emergence of the
first supermodel, symbolically named Twiggy. Page after page of
matchstick thin models exploited and fed the irrational misconception
of obesity among normal-sized women, sending the demand for weight loss
products soaring. In 1967 alone, 31 million methamphetamine
prescriptions were written, 80% of which were for women to treat weight
problems and depression. By this time, the dangerous aspects of
methamphetamine had led to hippee culture stigmatising the drug wth the
slogan Speed kills!
"We live with anorexia today because of [meth]."
~ Patricia Case [Harvard Professor of Social Science]
Ten
billion amphetamine and methamphetamine tablets were legally
manufacturered in 1970 catering for 23.3 million prescriptions for
"uppers" filed that year - the year the US federal government finally
criminalised the drug for most uses. Prosecutions for non-prescriptive
use of the drug followed, even though the Pentagon continued dispensing
pharmaceutical-grade methamphetamine to troops in Vietnam, and 393
brand-name drugs available to American consumers continued to list
amphetamine and methamphetamine as ingredients.
"In many ways, our society has unleashed a Frankenstein-type monster over which we seemingly have no control."
~ Claude Pepper [Florida Congressman, 1969]
The
crackdown heralded the re-emergence in popularity of cocaine and a
flourish of illicit meth production, which intensified in the late
1970s. In 1980, the US government imposed strict controls on some of
the more obscure chemicals and specialised equipment that was being
used mainly by biker gangs to make meth at the time, serving to
virtually eliminate the problem.
Several years later, a new way
was found to synthetically replicate methamphetamine's chemical
structure using cheap, volatile, highly toxic over-the-counter
substances and chemicals, resulting in the most dangerously potent
grade to date being mass-produced in clandestine labs. Sold under
street names including crystal meth, tina, ice, base, glass, crank and
devil's medicine, the dirty white glass shard-like crystals are often
bulked up with fillers and as little as 45% pure, and contain the
precursor chemicals
pseudoephedrine, iodine crystals and red
phosphorous, and a combination of acetone, alcohol, ammonia, anhydrous,
antifreeze, brake cleaner, coffee filters, denatured alcohol, drain
cleaner, engine starter fluid, ether, farm fertiliser, gasoline
additives, hydrochloric acid, lantern fuel, lead acetate, lithium
batteries, lye, matchstick ends, methanol, muriatic acid, paint
thinner, propane, rat poison, rubber tubing, sodium hydroxide, sodium
metal, sulfuric acid, salt and tolene. Where one or more ingredients
are unavailable, "meth cooks" will substitute with common household
products.
A new wave of pharmaceutical variants which mimic many
of the effects of street meth are also legally available this time
around, including Ritalin (methylphenidate), Adderall and Desoxyn
(methamphetamine hydrochloride), prescribed to treat, respectively,
acute attention deficit and hyperactivity (ADHD), narcolepsy and weight
disorders.
From Meth Kills