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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0102.045 2000-2002 1 i ICE AND OTRER ' ~~.,le~1fL~JF r ~ ,~lETRAMPHETAMINE USE : s'iiiie.._~-_~,.~_.~_~_ By....~~~,~.~„~, AN EXPLORATORY STUDY Ca~~nty Council fP- FINAL REPORT The National Institute on Drug Abuse prepared by: Patricia Morgan, Ph.D. Principal Investigator Jerome E. Beck, Dr.P.H. Co-Principal Investigator Karen Ann Joe, Ph.D. Co-Principal Investigator Douglas McDonnell Project Director Rachel Gutierrez Administrative Coordinator TUE INSTITUTE FOR SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS 2235 Lombard Street San Francisco, CA 94123 Research Grant Number RO1DA06853 ~atrs~rs, ioI®B e F'il~ Imies. Ref. D~~ .g i `::>:f , f> 'Dealing and Distribution: Over three•fourths of both male and female respondents reported e a'~ sales and distributions connected to their use of methamphetamine. YVomen Dealers were substa~t likely than mate dealers to be successful business entrepreneurs and were more tikefy to des~~~ :Y::,:.....:rr r.... patterns in terms of business ethos and pride, and rules far operation. _ :::::><.>~::~~r:<: r;:~:;;~> . . :.ff{{: :i. r:< »:<::r:. . SI9111144~$Y FIIVI?INGS Our research found rrx:thamphetamine use to be firmly entrenched in some commun~ies, and is steadily spreading into new areas and populations, especially in California. In urban areas we found that many high risk behaviors are crossing boundaries. Dave and club scenes have become a nexus bringing together men and worrten from levels of society, both gay and straight, where meth is used and sold. ftesutts from the study in Honolulu ind'~ate that ice is finding and uncomfortable but considerable position anion other ttl~ctt drugs The„use of ?ce on Honolulu had led to particula serious h gal and g P ys psychologtcat problems and s~gnd~cant sok:~ai d~srupf~on ira poor oriunat ca~~,r~~es ~vi~ere r~place~ manluana which had becum~ scare and "expensive dt~ to erad~catiorf ~ooticies. fir; contthu~s to r~sdit in ~edr)O s~~ieus €ns~lvi~uai obse cusp€~utirec~'~~ t,h `dev~stt3g t o~ t~asa ~asa~ies. . 1~detharrtarratne drug control policy has results in several unintended cons uences. Th . ~ e fist w~ that tfre reduction of ava~able cherr~cals used to manufacture P2P meth encouraged its rept~err~ent by ~e ephedrine process of manufacturing. The chemical precursors for this process are not so dffficutt to obtain, it ~ somewhat easier to make arad conceal. a ressaft rr~ny s~ ~depender~ labs have bscorr~e more distr~uted tf~roughout the state, rraanufactutingprcducts of varfed and- unpredictable qualitDr. Thus more -users have easier access to ire a potentially dangerous product. The growing population of marginalized wortcing•ctass who are unskilled and relatively young from econorstty decking conmunitaes, ado encourages entrance info the lli~it rnetharv~hetarr~ne r~nufacture and distn'bution industry. Research findings suggest that greater amounts of teas expensive meth from the mainland gill be processed into ice in Honolulu, or 4n the mainland, leading to more corr~et~bn with '~sian° sources, thus driving down prices and increasing the social disruption. ~Iso, if increasing production of mainland rt'~thamphetamine promotes the irr~ortation of huh quality °glass' into Honolulu, it will seriously increase the problem in both areas. A higher quality, much cheaper, and more available ice will increase consurr~tion in Honolulu, and produt~ion on the mainland, ' ®isengrarrchised corr~mrnities, dysfunctional families and troubled iesdrviduals urge as the rraost substantial contrigauting precondstions in providing access, interest and predictably probtera~tic involvement with rnetharr~hetamine. The results from this study clearly show that methamphetarrane is partieularty seductive for poor people, and people Frith troubled backgrounds. . 1 . I I f At the smaller end of the manufacturing spectrum, San ®iego County also had many "Mom and Pop," labs. These were often a few mends, or a family, who got together to produce crystal `or their own use, and to sell on a small scale, in order to pay their drug costs. They lived at only slightly above subsistence level, rather than at the high-flying style of the big operations. Today San ®iego is an extremely active county for methamphetamine use and distribution, although respondents report that much large-scale manufacturing has reputedly moved to other areas, such as over the Mexican Sorder, San Semadino County, and other California counties. IF. H®nolulu ®Ice Ice in the U.S. is found predominantly in Hawaii (most particularly in Ftonolulu and its environs) where Curren4 methamphetamine use is almost exclusively limited to ice. Ice was developed and distributed completely independently from mainland methamphetamine networks so for several year users (and some law enforcement officials) assumed ice was an entirely different drug from methamphetamine. Although t~2R methamphetamine powder was available in Ronolulu area beginning as early as the 19f30's, its use was generally lemited io transplanted haoles (caucasians) from the mainland, and included a small enclave of bikers on the Sig Island. In the islands the main stimulant of choice into the 1950's was c:OCaine. 'Thus with no previous history with other forms of methamphetamine, Honolulu users separate ice from rnetharnphetarrtine products from the mainland. lNhen we began our study many respondents were confused about the link between ntetharrtphetamine powder and ice. Lost knew nothing about rrtetharnphetarnine, and those t4eat had heard of it thought that meth was a cootipletely different drug from ice. fVow 5orne users think methamphetamine is a tyt~ of ice, rather than believing tha4 ece is a type of rYtetharrtphetamine. It is referred to as "powdered iCe° oc meth ice. There are thought to be several influences on 4he tremendous growth of ice in F4onotulu after 1987. Residents were both pushed away front pakololo, their staple dnag of Choice, and pulled toward ice by a well organised marketing campaign by Asian distributors. ABso. the overwhelrrting smokeable drug of Choice, marijuana or pakalolo, which has been grown and used throughout 4he islands for r~aarty years, became the target of a government eradication Campaign. This drove up prices, drastically reduced availability and left locals without Yheir Customary, and many would say relatively benign, smoke. Also very importantly, many locals derived either part or all of their livelihood from marijuana production, robbed of this needed income many experienced considerable economic hardship. Thus when a new, easy to use, smokeable product entered the drug market, one which at first felt non-threatening to youthful novitiates ice it was readily accepted as a product to be used and sold. Initial users were often likely to tP~ink of it as a substitute of sorts for pakololo (®ayton, 1994). 1. Cription of tCe. Ephedrine is also the precursor for the "Ice' type of methamphetamine. In tact, the Federal register defines ice as a 'mixture or substance containing d-methamphetamine MCI of at least 80 percent purity (Federal Register 1991). Ice appears in a translucent, crystalline form, usually smoked in a glass pipe. The name `ice` refers to the appearance of the product. ®ne user when asked to describe it, stated: 22 happened a lot over here, lately. 1 think somebody should talk to those folks, find out what ice they were doing. !guarantee that every time we see that on TV, we all think it was somebody fucked up on ice! The rage is just fucking, flipped-out rages, man. 'The people 1 meet on it that deal it or do it, they're real scary, they have real dead eyes! I don't think they feel anything for anybody! (529) The following woman describes how ice has destroyed her social world, even though she herself has no intention to quit. I see a lot of things going down with ice. A lot of my friends gel all busted.... Sifher my friends go in a hole big tune, going to prison, they get into froub/e< friend younger than me just passed away a month ago. his girlfriend shoot hurt, he die! 1 heard that a deal went bad. She had Po do it, they were gonna shoot her or him, she had to do it....b~le was a local boy, a good solid friend ..rest gangster kind of brothers, but they not make trouble to me or my family...the saute friends still on the Sartre run, or in programs! ~y close, close lriends are I in prisons or programs. I really messed up our lives. (459) ' i An important finding emerging front this study concerned the eff~ on individuals and communities from the scarcity of marijuana due to the eradication campaigns. Users often reported this was a major contribution to the increase in the use of meth especially in Honolulu. In many communities it had a devastating effect. As one respondent stated. The Ice use on the Waianae Coast is greater Phan a lot of other plae~s in Phe StaPel This is like a centre! distribution center for ice. It's a known face among the drug addicts and users on the island. !t's easier to get Phan geed' It's noP much more expensive than weed, either! The amount of people here that use ice is increasing because people who Couldn't find weed were starting to find ice sealer/ Atenty guys l know use Ice because they can°t get pot! !'d rather see them smoking pakolodo c ease they were rrtellova~, nice peo~e. ~n ice, they change into robbing houses and carrying guns /n less than one month. Things they never did on weed (468) Sum ~ This Chapter presented an extensive examination of the major negative consequences experienced by respondents in this study. In providing a systematic integration of the qualitative and quantitative data, we were able to do more than merely highlight Significant issues and problems. The respondents, themselves, provided the meaning and context in often complex situational illustrations. It should be stressed that these illustrations, themselves, were able to portray a web of effects and consequences which tapped into the real-life dilemmas facing these users. Rather than a linear model of problem correlations, this chapter attempted to Construct a mosaic of competing events, beliefs, and conditions inhabited by our respondents. i 123 bas weaker pedigree, and a more negative history than it deserves, given its minimal potential for harm. fdloreover, successful periodic campaigns designed to eliminate this "evil" herb, serve to steer 4he user toward more dangerous substances. tarinspoon and Hedblom (195) note what might have influenced American society in the 1930s to greet the arrival of amphetamines as medical marvels while simultaneously condemning the "killer weed": While marijuana was being brought to the..public's attention as a menace capable of wreaking great havoc, amphetam.Ines were introduced and promoted as perhaps the earliest technology-derived drug to provide "better living through chemistry. " Amphetamines were products of modem technology; they came from the laboratories of great corporations, and, in the days before the growth of consumer skepticism, this lent Phem legitirryacy; unlike the dangerous foreign weed, Phey seemed to have reliable, sale, known properties. And, of course, they had the backing of medical authority (Grinspoon and 1°ledb/om, 1975:283). Findings presented in Chapter Seven on the social consequences of ice in Honolulu demonstrated that the latest version of the American campaign against marijuana continues to have the same unfortunate consequences. Amon Pacific Islander groups pre-existing drug use practices set the stage for the 9 introduction of ice into Hawaii. ~ariier studies have documented the role of alcohol in relation to indigenous intoxicating beverages ('awe), 4he eradication of 4hose traditional beverages, and the simultaneous promo$ion of western types of alcohol beverages, and institution of native specific alcohol control regulations (Keaulana and llVhitney, 1990). On the surface, native Hawaiians and other Asian Pacific Island residents in Hawai': accepted this substitution. However, there is a possibility that eradication of traditional alcoholic intoxicants was quietly replaced by 'pakodolo grown by "local" residents in family yards and fields. As government authorities began the campaign to eradicate marijuana in the i9f30s, a smokable drug known as "beta" from the traditional home of Island Filipir;os, bean td ~ €~~d in place of the increasingly rare and expensive pakololo. However, beta was not a tdition~! ~ intoxicant like 'awe or pakololo, it was a stimulant. As our interview data demonstrate in Chapter Seven, its popularization and widespread use had a number of unintended and harmful consequences for individuals as well as whole communities. Although the prevalence of ice use is not decreasing, there is a growing awareness among users that this is a dangerous substance, and a common realization that it is a poor substitute for pakalolo. C. HIV• High Pisk Sex and IV Meth Use As we discussed in Chapter Seven, the many of our respondents reported engaging in high risk sex activities due to their meth use. This was particularly true among gay and bi-sexual respondents, especially in San Francisco where meth as long been viewed as an adjunct to sex. j This tends more to be the case among gay respondents in a!! three sites. . Mforeover, in this study,' we found that many of these high risk behaviors are crossing boundaries into other social worlds. In San Francisco, for example, the club and• Dave scenes have become a nexus for a wide array of user types, ranging from straight suburban 163 ~ Fridav, July 19, 2002 Letters to the Editor Green Harvest causes ice' epidemic, crimewave Aloha. Your editorial of July 8th is one for the record books. Since you praise it so highly, I dare you to report on the unintended('?)consequences ofyour island's mari j uana eradication program. Kauai has a raging "ice" epidem is and other negative social indicators all around and yet you pretend to wonder where they came from'? Duh! From the program you praise so highly, that's where! Just ask Dr. Patricia Morgan, Associate Professor of Public Health at U.C. Herkeley. Shedid the Hawaii study connecting the dots from marijuana eradication directly to the ice epidemic from 1991- 1994. Her telephone number is (510) 642- 4861. Heremail ismomorgan@uclink.berkeley.edu. Prohibition ofcannabis has CAUSED the hard drug epidemic, property crimes and worse on Kauai. Extreme prohibition of the natural and safest sacrament, medicine and THE all-round most useful plant ON EARTH has taken most ofthe cash liquidity out ofyour island economy over the last 12 years and CAUSED more personal, social, economic and environmental damage than anything but lava and hurricanes in history. I dare you to examine it. Your editorial view reminds me of the tone ofthe Taliban Ministry ofReligion who would spy on home sanctuaries and then deliver extreme and cruel sentences for gardening. Surely you can do better than that. Pakaloha, RogerChristie The Hawaii Cannabis Ministry I--Pilo htip..'iwww kauacworld com dtspla. inn_ednonals.edct0'_ tact Pie 1 0l' I Z~~ 3~ e, 3 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Haw~i cantril~ated to t$ee ~ ~ ~ €ofdeug ~ ~ "ice" ~u ~ a o-~ ~ ~ ~ Ib g ~ - ~ tst ~ ~ R -;?}f~ study i~f ° 454! . _ ~ . €s ~ ~ ` ~ t i~ 9 Patricia fc ag ~ ~ ' • ~ ~ ~ the Sclnoo! of public at the - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Uniity of ~or~:a ~ 13e~e- ~ ~ a, ~ ~ ley. s ~fioniag [Cone ~ v 3 ~ ~ when l~arn•s o ~ ~ °v : ~ o exxe~ stmt, silly ICenoi, ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ wantex' to wig he€ to dis- ~ cuss the eeport ICe~i is helping ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ a ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ to a "h surnrnit on ~ ~ ~ .a ~ the F3ig Islaead taeAt ~aatDa. > • ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ fdlargan's 1994 poet, sorre~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 200 pages lang. foa:nd that the: v ~;u ~ ~ ~ ? ~ u California eraetharnphetarrtine ~ i; ~ ~ ~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ a ~ users were snore likely to snort ~ ~ ~ `,c ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ u oe inject the drug, while E6 per- ''c ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ rr ~ - e ~ C cent of the Hawaii users ; ~ - • ~ ~ ~ o ~ , a+ smoked the ceystal foem. o ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ °°'i~ae use of ice in Honolulu ~ ~ „ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ u ~ had led to particularly sersesus pi~ysical and psychological peoblems and significant social disruption in poor working communities where it replaced l~~, ~ag~ 8 ~ ~ ~ m, 3 ~ ~ ~ ~ I • ~ ~ Q a~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~-a, ~ _ ~ ,v ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ T ~ ~ - . ~ - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t ~