CODE Name Columbus FBI Operative
About Methamphetamine or Crank
Methamphetamine is an extremely addictive drug that stimulates certain parts of the brain. Methamphetamine is very much the same as Amphetamine with the exception that Methamphetamine is much more effective within the human nervous system. Methamphetamine is manufactured by way of clandestine laboratories. It is extremely addictive and has the high potential for dependency and abuse.
Methamphetamine releases high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine which stimulates brain cells and affects individual mood and body functions. Over time this drug will cause skin ulcers in different areas on the body. It will cause the immune system to be affected and influence physical appearance and affect physical mobility. Over a period of abuse it will cause the individual to experience symptoms similar to Parkinson’s Disease. This drug can be taken orally, smoked, injected or snorted. This drug increases wakefulness, increased physical activity, decreased appetite, increased respiration, hyperthermia and euphoria. Users often become irritable, confused, unable to sleep for very long periods of time, anxious and aggressive.
This very dangerous drug causes increased rapid heart rate and high blood pressure. It is likely over time to cause irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain that will eventually cause strokes (nih.gov. Mar 2005).
Synthesizing Methamphetamine can be accomplished by way of various methods. Many of the products that are needed to synthesize methamphetamine can be acquired simply from common household products. Drain cleaner, sulfuric acid, salt, iodine, red phosphorous and alcohol are just a few of these products.
The primary supply of Methamphetamine comes from California and Mexico. However, production of this illicit narcotic is on the rise in other parts of the west, southwest and Midwestern United States.
The main ingredient needed in order to manufacture Methamphetamine is Ephedrine or Pseudoephedrine. Ephedrine can be acquired from many supermarkets or department stores and can be purchased over the counter. These over the counter ephedrine products are manufactured with a gumming agent that makes it difficult to extract and separate the ephedrine from the other inert ingredients. Much of the Ephedrine or Pseudoephedrine can also be acquired in large quantities on the black market. In 2002 the Drug Enforcement Administration successfully crippled and decapitated a Pseudoephedrine black market ring operating in the Northeastern part of the United States. This organization was responsible for providing vast quantities of Pseudoephedrine which made its way into the San Joaquin Valley for illicit use.
There is a new and up coming illicit Ephedrine product which has been discovered in the Western United States called Yaba. These tablets are popular and manufactured in Southeastern and Eastern Asia. They come in different designer colors of red, orange or green. Yaba is over taking the Rave Scene opposed to the popular and dangerous Ecstasy. Yaba comes in tablet form, it is easy to conceal and is about the size of the end of a common size straw.
According to information acquired from the Drug Enforcement Administration, during 2001 the price of Methamphetamine ranged nationally from $3,500.00 to $23,000.00 per pound, $350.00 to $2,200 per ounce and $20.00 to $30.00 per gram. The average purity of Methamphetamine decreased from 71.9% in 1994 to 40.1% in 2001. International controls have reduced easy availability of chemicals used to produce high grade of purity
Methamphetamine and may have contributed to the decrease in purity levels.
From October 1, 2000, to September 30, 2001, there were 3,932 Federal Drug arrests for either Methamphetamine or Amphetamine, representing 12% of all Drug Arrests (DEA 2005). In 2001 Federal Agencies reported seizures of 2,807 kilograms of Methamphetamine compared to 3,373 kilograms seized the previous year. In a twist Federal Agencies reported seizures of 301,697 Southeast Asian Methamphetamine tablets in US Postal Service facilities in Oakland, Los Angeles, and Honolulu in 2000, representing a 656% increase from 1999 seizures of 39,917 tablets (DEA 2005).
Methamphetamine is classified as a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substance Act of 1970. A drug under this classification has a high potential for abuse and may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence. Many of the chemical that are used to manufacture Methamphetamine is also classified in this category. Anyone found to be in direct violation can receive enhanced penalties as intended by Legislation.
FBI OPERATIVE
CODE NAME COLUMBUS FBI OPERATIVE
FBI OPERATIVE
CODE Name Columbus FBI Operative
FBI OPERATIVE
Code Name Columbus FBI Operative
www.FBIoperative.com
www.FBIoperative.com
www.FBIoperative.com
About Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine, a derivative of amphetamine, is a powerful stimulant that affects the central nervous system. Amphetamines were originally intended for use in nasal decongestants and bronchial inhalers and have limited medical applications, which include the treatment of narcolepsy, weight control, and attention deficit disorder. Methamphetamine can be smoked, snorted, orally ingested, and injected. It is accessible in many different forms and may be identified by color, which ranges from white to yellow to darker colors such as red and brown. Methamphetamine comes in a powder form that resembles granulated crystals and in a rock form known as "ice," which is the smokeable version of methamphetamine that came into use during the 1980s.
Effects
Methamphetamine use increases energy and alertness and decreases appetite. An intense rush is felt, almost instantaneously, when a user smokes or injects methamphetamine. Snorting methamphetamine affects the user in approximately 5 minutes, whereas oral ingestion takes about 20 minutes for the user to feel the effects. The intense rush and high felt from methamphetamine results from the release of high levels of dopamine into the section of the brain that controls the feeling of pleasure. The effects of methamphetamine can last up to 12 hours. Side effects include convulsions, dangerously high body temperature, stroke, cardiac arrhythmia, stomach cramps, and shaking.
Chronic use of methamphetamine can result in a tolerance for the drug. Consequently, users may try to intensify the desired effects by taking higher doses of the drug, taking it more frequently, or changing their method of ingestion. Some abusers, while refraining from eating and sleeping, will binge, also known as "run," on methamphetamine. During these binges, users will inject as much as a gram of methamphetamine every 2 to 3 hours over several days until they run out of the drug or are too dazed to continue use.
Chronic methamphetamine abuse can lead to psychotic behavior including intense paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and out-of-control rages that can result in violent episodes. Chronic users at times develop sores on their bodies from scratching at "crank bugs," which describes the common delusion that bugs are crawling under the skin. Long-term use of methamphetamine may result in anxiety, insomnia, and addiction.
