Summary
Highlights
Methamphetamine, described as the most addictive illegal drug in America, destroys lives and communities. One puff can keep a user high for a day, but it takes everything good from their life. New laws passed in 2005 to control key ingredients found in cold medicines were circumvented by meth cooks using a new method called 'shake and bake,' which requires very little cold medicine but comes with extreme dangers of explosion and exposure to toxic chemicals. The human cost is staggering, with addicts losing their physical appearance and people like Deputy Brett King collecting booking photos that show the severe deterioration of users over time. The Oregonian newspaper highlighted meth as the leading cause of property crime and child removal from homes.
Reporter Steve Suo investigated why meth addiction rates across different states rose and fell in unison, regardless of treatment programs. He discovered that meth dramatically increases dopamine in the brain, leading to an intense euphoria, but prolonged use alters the brain's dopamine-producing ability, causing anhedonia and driving further use. Suo's groundbreaking discovery was that the rise and fall of the epidemic correlated with the purity of meth on the streets. This led to a deeper investigation into the forces influencing meth purity.
In the 80s, crystal meth emerged as a supercharged version of amphetamine, easily made from household products with ephedrine or pseudoephedrine from cold medicines as the essential ingredient. DEA agent Gene Hayslip proposed controlling these chemical components, inspired by his success against Quaaludes. However, the pharmaceutical industry, making billions from cold medicines, opposed regulation. In 1986, a loophole was created exempting cold medicines from strict chemical controls. Around 1989, 'super labs' emerged, industrializing meth production, primarily in California's central valley, turning it into a major profit-making operation. These labs obtained tons of ephedrine from large, legally operating factories, often in countries like India, which were not being monitored by the US government.
A chance discovery in Dallas in 1994 revealed the massive scale of ephedrine shipments by the Amezcua brothers cartel from India to Mexico. This led to DEA intervention and cooperation from factories like Krebs Biochemicals, effectively breaking the 'Indian connection' and causing a plunge in meth purity in the US. This decline in purity made it easier for addicts to get clean. However, the pharmaceutical industry pushed back, ensuring pseudoephedrine remained largely unregulated. Meth cooks then began using readily available pseudoephedrine pills, leading to a second surge in meth purity and wider spread of the epidemic across the US, including the East Coast.
Despite growing awareness, Congress initially showed little interest in regulating pseudoephedrine. A 1996 DEA regulation to license pseudoephedrine sales was suspended under pressure from the pharmaceutical industry, allowing traffickers a year to adapt. Bogus companies then flourished, selling pseudoephedrine to super labs. After a slow and underfunded effort, the DEA eventually shut them down, causing meth purity to fall again. New sources emerged, first from Quebec, then from Mexico, where cartels legally imported vast amounts of pseudoephedrine. Oregon, hit hard by the epidemic, implemented legislation similar to Hayslip's original proposal, requiring pseudoephedrine to be sold behind the counter and buyers registered, leading to a dramatic drop in meth labs and related crime.
For nearly 30 years, the US has been in a cycle of new laws being circumvented by meth cooks. The pharmaceutical industry continues to spend millions lobbying against prescription-only sales of pseudoephedrine, arguing for consumer access and against the cost impact. However, proponents of the Oregon model emphasize that the costs of inaction – lives destroyed, families separated, and rampant crime – far outweigh the inconvenience to consumers. The 'Oregon Solution,' by making pseudoephedrine a prescription drug, drastically reduced meth production and related issues in the state, offering a potential cure for the ongoing epidemic. The documentary concludes with former addicts reflecting on the devastating consequences of meth addiction.