European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 08, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                White lower Middle class High school education age 20-35 buys from friends Crank crack problem of the 1990s? by Carolyn Skorneck associated Pressi t s cheap it s easy to produce and drug dealers tout the fact that it s made in America " methamphetamine known in the 1960s As Speed and now widely called Crank is making a resurgence in the United Stales As an inexpensive alternative to cocaine or crack. Users arc beginning to smoke it sending an instant Jolt to the brain. Bui unlike crack Crank can give the user a High that lasts several hours. Quickly addictive it can also Lead its victims to Hospital emergency rooms their lists clenched raring Lor a Light even while strapped to gurneys Lor their own Protection and thai of Hospital workers. I think there s sound reason to say this stuff is More dangerous than cocaine or crack says James n. Hall executive director of the up front drug information Center in Miami. Speed killed in the 1960s and it can still kill in the 90s." the Justice department in a report last month said methamphetamine has the potential of becoming the crack problem of the 1990s." or. George m. Shumaik an emergency room physician at the University of California at san Diego medical Center describes Crank users As crazy and combative the complications Are the same As we saw with  Shumaik says of Crank users who overdose severely they re so combative and so Strong that they can throw you across the  the National Institute on drug abuse says the number of deaths involving Crank nearly tripled in 2vi years rpm 34 in the second Hall of 1985 to 91 in the first half of 1988 according to reports from 26 metropolitan areas. There has been an explosive growth in the use of methamphetamine Over six years the Justice department says. The problem has been especially severe in the Western United states and Southern California. San Diego according to the Justice department is the methamphetamine capital of the United  Shumaik says Many of those who come to his a cd emergency room suffering from Crank overdoses just need a place to come Down irom highs that can last up to 24 hours due to repeat doses. Their hearts will be racing their blood pressure will be High they la be paranoid and anxious but they la survive. But severe overdoses can result in seizures increased muscle tension or hyper Shermia. They la be so wired up their Muscles so tight so intensely clenched that the muscle protein Breaks Down gets into the blood Stream goes to the kidneys and can create kidney failure Shumaik says. They lose their temperature regulation. Our record Crank user statistics Emer. Room users drug deaths n ii34 drug labs 350 1444 1988 1986 compiled by Mph a and Mellon in drug Hind source associated press is 109 degrees. I be not seen any of those patients  myth amphetamine also is associated with a High sense of paranoia even greater than cocaine and definitely a greater degree of violent behaviour Hall says. There s a psychotic reaction. People go crazy with this  smoking Speed gives the user in initial Short term Jolt like crack Lor 10 minutes or so but it will have a residual Long term effect of several hours a stimulant effect he says. But users won t be impressed by the lingering stimulation so they Are very Likely while still under the Al fact of the stimulant. To repose again and again because they re chasing Iho Joll seeking that  the result can be an overdose. In the first six months of 1986,846 emergency room patients were found to have used Mel amphetamines according Lonida statistics from selected hospitals. In the final six months of 1988, those same hospitals reported 1,444 methamphetamine uses. Most of the increase occurred in Atlanta Dallas los Angeles Phoenix san Diego and Seattle. Crank users officials say Are overwhelmingly White lower Middle income with a High school education or less. They Range in age irom 20 to 35 and generally buy the drug from friends who also use it. Frank Tarallo the Chiel of the drug enforcement Agency s dangerous drugs investigations Section estimates Clandestine methamphetamine labs could produce 25 tons of the drug this year the number of labs seized Rose from about 350 in 1985 to about 600 thus far in 1989. The drug is relatively simple and inexpensive to make although the highly volatile and toxic chemicals cause health and environmental concerns. We have found people dead in these labs overcome by fumes Tarallo says. These Clandestine labs flush these chemicals Down the toilet Down the drains Bury it in Back  sometimes contaminating groundwater. Chemicals and equipment run about $400 to $500 per Pound of Crank which can be sold wholesale for $8,000 to $17.000, Tarallo said. Individual users pay $50 to $125 for a Gram which provides 10 to 15 doses Tarallo said. A beginning user might Lake one or iwo doses per Day but a heavy user who has built up a tolerance Over several years might take a full Gram in a Day. He said. By comparison cocaine prices Range irom $55 to $125 a Gram while crack cocaine Sells for $20 a Rock in Washington. D.c., according to Mario Perez of the Dea who says smaller doses sell Lor $5 to $10. A Normal user who needs to stretch limited funds might consume four rocks a Day while an extremely heavy user could take five to six times that amount. Dealers Tarallo says lout the fact that Crank is made in  no South american drug lords no problems gelling supplies past customs agents. The profits stay Here. Hall says some of Crank s popularity can be traced to the attention Given to the dangers of other drugs. We had users in san Diego who reported to us that they saw a lot on television about the dangers and risks of crack cocaine but heard nothing about this drug so they falsely assumed it was relatively  users generally begin using the drug by snorting it later taking it orally. Some inject it. Many now smoke it. A form of Smo Kable methamphetamine known As ice has appeared in Hawaii which has had a minimal encounter with crack and in the san Francisco area. It s a Nightmare Here and there is still Only a Glimmer of understanding of its Lon term effects . Attorney Dan Bent in Honolulu said recently. Tarallo said ice s crystalline form translates into a stronger form of smoke than the powdery domestically produced Crank. The High he says can last four to 10 hours. Bui Hall said smoking methamphetamine in any form will provide the same Rush. Speed and cocaine have almost see sawed through this Century in terms of popularity Hall says. Methamphetamine and amphetamine replaced the Early cocaine epidemic in Europe and the United Stales about the Lime of the closing Days of world War i when cocaine s effects were becoming rather widely perceived among the relatively Small group using it As addictive and a hazardous  amphetamines gained popularity in the Early 60s. When they were made available As pharmaceutical drugs prescribed As appetite suppressants. Hall says their abuse resulted in a Speed epidemic in the late 1960s and Early 70s. In the Early 70s. Physicians and pharmaceutical companies clamped Down on the diversion of the licit drugs into the illicit Market and the Speed craze waned but at the same time cocaine became More popular. Sunday october 1989 the stars and stripes Page 17