You wake up one morning with the dreadful and familiar symptoms of a cold.
As you stumble out of bed, each cough, each sneeze jerks your already throbbing head. How will you make it through the day? Your aching muscles force leaden feet toward the medicine cabinet. You can barely see through your itchy watery eyes to reach for your favorite cold medicine. This is the only way.
As your sore throat swallows the pill, you get ready for work anticipating an end to your malaise.
That same morning, someone’s daughter wakes up knowing that something is crawling under skin. Before her eyes have fully opened, she can’t help digging at the imaginary bugs that leave deep open sores all over her body. She stumbles out of bed. Her hand shakes violently as she braces herself against the convulsions that rock her body. She is sweating profusely even though the temperature is mild. She stifles a cough that would have scorched her lungs. Her next meal will be through a small glass tube. It is expensive, but she must do anything to secure it. As her abandoned baby cries in the corner, she faintly remembers wanting to be a pediatrician.
She has new aspirations now. She will do anything for the next fix. Steal or kill. She is dying and cannot care. She is addicted to meth.
The main ingredient in cold medicines is destroying the lives of at least 1.5 million people in the United States. Pseudoephedrine creates the dangerous and intensely addictive drug Methamphetamine. It is quickly becoming the drug of choice alongside heroin and cocaine.
“According to the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 11.7 million Americans ages 12 and older reported trying methamphetamine at least once during their lifetimes, representing 4.9% of the population in that age category.”[1]
The spread of Crystal Meth addiction is facilitated by the availability of Pseudoephedrine to anyone willing to buy.
“In 2006, a whopping 15 percent of the population reported using meth as their primary illicit drug.” [2]
As the addiction to Meth spreads across the United States so does the violence and social unrest associated with the drug.
People addicted to the drug have been known to commit extreme acts of violence as well as burglaries, prostitution, and petty crimes. The 24 hour high produced by the drug severely lowers inhibitions which allow for a greater degree of social disturbance than other popular drugs.
Pseudoephedrine facilitates our social harm far more than our profit, and should therefore be made illegal. Even when used as a cold medicine, it has illicit effects. It has been linked to infant deaths, increased blood pressure and arrhythmias, along with many other side effects. “It has also been reported that pseudoephedrine may be associated with stroke even when taken properly.”[3] Before we began using the current batch of cold remedies with this dangerous substance, we survived the common cold. We would be able to make it through a week of congestion and a runny nose without cold medicine. However the addiction of so many in our nation could be halted by discontinuing our nation’s consumption of Pseudoephedrine.
A cold passes in about a week. An addiction is the battle of a lifetime.
As you stumble out of bed, each cough, each sneeze jerks your already throbbing head. How will you make it through the day? Your aching muscles force leaden feet toward the medicine cabinet. You can barely see through your itchy watery eyes to reach for your favorite cold medicine. This is the only way.
As your sore throat swallows the pill, you get ready for work anticipating an end to your malaise.
That same morning, someone’s daughter wakes up knowing that something is crawling under skin. Before her eyes have fully opened, she can’t help digging at the imaginary bugs that leave deep open sores all over her body. She stumbles out of bed. Her hand shakes violently as she braces herself against the convulsions that rock her body. She is sweating profusely even though the temperature is mild. She stifles a cough that would have scorched her lungs. Her next meal will be through a small glass tube. It is expensive, but she must do anything to secure it. As her abandoned baby cries in the corner, she faintly remembers wanting to be a pediatrician.
She has new aspirations now. She will do anything for the next fix. Steal or kill. She is dying and cannot care. She is addicted to meth.
The main ingredient in cold medicines is destroying the lives of at least 1.5 million people in the United States. Pseudoephedrine creates the dangerous and intensely addictive drug Methamphetamine. It is quickly becoming the drug of choice alongside heroin and cocaine.
“According to the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 11.7 million Americans ages 12 and older reported trying methamphetamine at least once during their lifetimes, representing 4.9% of the population in that age category.”[1]
The spread of Crystal Meth addiction is facilitated by the availability of Pseudoephedrine to anyone willing to buy.
“In 2006, a whopping 15 percent of the population reported using meth as their primary illicit drug.” [2]
As the addiction to Meth spreads across the United States so does the violence and social unrest associated with the drug.
People addicted to the drug have been known to commit extreme acts of violence as well as burglaries, prostitution, and petty crimes. The 24 hour high produced by the drug severely lowers inhibitions which allow for a greater degree of social disturbance than other popular drugs.
Pseudoephedrine facilitates our social harm far more than our profit, and should therefore be made illegal. Even when used as a cold medicine, it has illicit effects. It has been linked to infant deaths, increased blood pressure and arrhythmias, along with many other side effects. “It has also been reported that pseudoephedrine may be associated with stroke even when taken properly.”[3] Before we began using the current batch of cold remedies with this dangerous substance, we survived the common cold. We would be able to make it through a week of congestion and a runny nose without cold medicine. However the addiction of so many in our nation could be halted by discontinuing our nation’s consumption of Pseudoephedrine.
A cold passes in about a week. An addiction is the battle of a lifetime.
1 comment:
Hi, my name is Amber Fitzpatrick and I work at the Department of Alcohol & Drug Programs in California.
The 14 year old girl in the picture you posted in now 28 and was paid $5 to have this picture taken when she was addicted and homeless.
She called my department wanting to know if we could help get this picture taken offline since she is now clean and living a life... this picture is haunting her and she would like it removed.
I was hoping you could take her picture down. I think she'd appreciate it.
Thank you for your consideration, you can contact me at (916) 445-2056 if you have any questions.
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