One of the first things I saw when I got online this morning was this article from the Comcast.com news page:
http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20120123/US.Meth.Severe.Burns/
It’s a report on how burn centers in some states are being forced to close due to a spike in patients who were burned making methamphetamine in their homes. Since meth-related injuries are among the most difficult and expensive to treat, and patients who sustain this kind of injury usually don’t have insurance, the cost is being absorbed by the hospitals and burn units, which is leading to the shutdown. The reason for the recent spike in meth-related burn cases is the rise of a new meth-making process which involves combining the volatile ingredients in a two-liter soda bottle, which is then shaken near the face. In contrast to fires in a meth “lab”, which people can often escape, a meltdown in the soda bottle process invariably causes debilitating burns to the face, chest, and hands, and often results in blindness.
There are several reasons why this new, more dangerous technique is taking hold in states where meth is a severe problem — the new method is more cost-effective, requires smaller amounts of controlled substances, and produces a smaller quantity of meth, for personal use rather than sale. But wouldn’t the vastly increased risk make it a less attractive option?
The fact is that one of the many symptoms of addiction is a decreased ability to appreciate risk, especially where the addictive substance is involved. The strength of an addictive craving will convince a patient to take greater risks to their health and safety in order to fulfill it, but it doesn’t end there — after prolonged use, addicted patients show a habitual desensitization to, and comprehension of, risks to themselves or others. If the risks of soda-bottle meth (called “shake-and-bake” by the linked article) were associated with any other product, they would act as a discouraging factor; but because we are dealing with a specifically vulnerable population, it cannot be assumed that the greater risk will act as a deterrent.
Knowing that, and desiring to keep their burn centers open and able to serve all patients, it seems like the only course for affected states and hospitals is to try and prevent these people from sustaining these injuries in the first place. One of the reasons given for the rise of shake-and-bake meth was “greater attempts to crack down” on traditional, larger meth labs. As an experiment, I googled “how to make methamphetamine” and found thousands of recipes and explanations. Clearly, enforcement after the fact is not working, and will probably never really work; with no way to limit the spread of information on how to make meth, and a segment of the population who are less sensitive to risk and incredibly desperate to attain their drug of choice, it is clear that all attempts to “crack down” will only drive addicts to more dangerous (and possibly lethal) methods.
I have no doubt that extensive care to prevent meth addiction are already in place in these states where it is an epidemic, but these burn center closures are sending a clear message that whatever services currently exist are inadequate. Care designed to alleviate financial stress and the living standard of residents might be an improvement, since substance abuse is often tied to socioeconomic stress. And while any such care would undoubtedly be extremely expensive, it would surely fall far short of the “hundreds of millions” of taxpayer dollars currently being used to absorb the cost of treating uninsured burn victims.
This is just a symptom of a wider problem that I encounter every day — namely, the disgraceful lack of attention that is given to addiction as a wide-reaching problem on the national stage. People in positions of power, as well as most people who have never been affected by this disease, appear to think that drug addiction is “under control”, or is a problem that will never have any consequences for them. The fact is that, besides being a huge drain of human life and economic resources, addiction has shattering and unpredictable affects on all people in this country. Now, as we are seeing, victims of fires in some states will have less access to adequate care. The fact is that addiction is in no way a small or insignificant problem, and any attempt to decrease it must have just as widespread and long-lasting benefits.