Methamphetamine, also called meth, is a highly addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system by increasing the amount of dopamine in the brain. Meth takes the form of a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder or crystals. Meth causes increased talkativeness and activity, decreased appetite, and a sense of euphoria. It can also cause faster breathing, rapid and irregular heartbeat, and increased blood pressure and body temperature. Due to methamphetamine’s potency can last longer and have more harmful effects on the central nervous system. The model calls for a yearlong outpatient rehabilitation program along with other treatments for methamphetamine addicts.
Billal Rahman is an immigration reporter based in London, U.K. He specializes in immigration policy and border security. He has uncovered allegations of misconduct among border agents under investigation and exposed claims of abuse at ICE-run detention centers in the U.S. He has covered the British Post Office scandal and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
As Florida Grapples With Opioid Addiction, Meth Emerges As Threat In Panhandle
This category includes metrics such as population growth rate, age structure, gender balance, and urbanization. There are also articles covering factors such as migration, fertility rates, and healthcare. But it’s unknown exactly how much meth comes through the southwest border undetected or at what pace.
As the investigation progressed, PCSO detectives learned of a suspected drug trafficker in Georgia, 37-year-old Brian Stanton, known as “Lil B,” who was arranging for the sale and delivery of methamphetamine in Polk County. Money laundering poses a serious threat to Florida, particularlyin the greater Miami area. Law enforcement authorities and money launderingexperts report that Florida faces one of the highest money laundering threats inthe country. The state’s transportation infrastructure, international banks,ethnic diversity, and proximity to drug source and transit countries as well asto offshore banking centers make Florida an ideal location for money laundering. The percentage of drug-related federal sentences in Florida ishigher than the percentage nationwide.
They typically sell pound quantitiesof methamphetamine to Caucasian and other Mexican criminal groups who then sellounce quantities to local independent Caucasian and Mexican dealers, thedominant retail distributors in the state. Gangs such as Latin Kings, ViceLords, and Sure�os 13 also distribute retail quantities of methamphetamine inFlorida. The director of the Polk County Health Department reported asignificant increase in the number of hepatitis A cases in that county. As ofDecember 31, 2002, 227 residents had been diagnosed with hepatitis A, comparedwith 15 cases in 2000 and 164 in 2001.
Polk County’s bad reputation the product of growing pains
Treatment data indicate that there are fewermethamphetamine-related admissions to publicly funded treatment facilities inFlorida than for cocaine, heroin, or marijuana. According to TEDS data, thenumber of methamphetamine-related treatment admissions increased from 379 in1997 to 467 in 2001. The DEA office in Greensboro reported having a 2,000% increase in meth seizures since the fiscal year 2017. It is expected that drug traffickers are sending bulk shipments of meth straight to North Carolina from Mexico. Evansville was once described as the meth capital of the world, although the number of incidents has greatly decreased. The top counties in Indiana with meth lab seizures were Delaware, Vigo, Knox, Bartholomew, and Jackson.
$53 million in drugs seized in multiagency operation including the Polk Sheriff’s Office
Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are the dominant producers of methamphetamine in California, Mexico, and southwestern states. Local independent Caucasian dealers typically produce methamphetamine in Florida. On May 27, 2002, local law enforcement officials discovered thebody of a 19-year-old Caucasian male in Polk County. The body had 17penetrating, blunt force wounds to the head and multiple contusions, abrasions,and lacerations to the skull. Although Tennessee has the eighth-highest number of meth seizure incidents, the overall number of seizures has decreased by 80% since 2010. A major DEA meth operation in Tennessee resulted in seizing 317 pounds of methamphetamine.
In the absence of comprehensive data, immigration officials, lawmakers, and analysts tend to rely on drug seizure data for a sense of how and where illicit drugs cross U.S. borders. Historically, officials seize more illicit drugs at ports of entry than between ports of entry. Part of DeSantis’ plan to address the problem is sending Florida law enforcement officers to states on the southwest border for about two weeks.
Polk Kicks Meth Mecca Reputation
Furthermore, California and Texas, two border states have the highest number of users, which suggests there is a link between the flow of drugs and states with the most users. The principal chemicals are ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, iodine, and hypophosphorous acid. The required hydriodic acid in this variation of the hydriodic acid/red phosphorus method is produced by the reaction of iodine in water with hypophosphorous acid. Hypophosphorous acid is more prone than red phosphorus to cause a fire and can produce deadly phosphine meth capital of florida gas. The principal chemicals are ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, iodine, and red phosphorus.
He was forced to resign in 1987 after a protracted and widely reported series of scandals. The Polk Sheriff’s Office dealt with the aftermath of much of the mayhem, which means media audiences experienced it vividly. Yet, day after day in December and January, during an extraordinary six-week eruption of crime and mayhem that left 21 people dead, Polk seemed to live up to its reputation as a menacing Mayberry.
- The percentage of drug-related federal sentences in Florida ishigher than the percentage nationwide.
- Several years ago, the county suffered under the unofficial nickname of the methamphetamine capital of Florida.
- In 2017, Philadelphia saw a 112% increase in meth-related overdoses from 2016.
- For example, sentences for powdered cocaine and heroin aresignificantly higher in the Southern District of Florida than in the rest of thestate.
Stanton, according to the release, arranged the sale and delivery of meth in Polk County. Libbie Combee, head of Polk County Mothers Against Methamphetamine Abuse, said that she has heard that methamphetamine is harder to get at the moment, but addiction is still as strong as ever. And volunteers who work with drug addicts are far from declaring victory over methamphetamine. Instead of making their own, addicts and dealers are buying from Mexican drug gangs, he said.
Miami often isreferred to as the cruise capital of the world because approximately 17 cruiseships dock in Miami harbors. Most cruise ships depart from Florida fordestinations in the Caribbean, a major drug transshipment area for cocaine andSouth American heroin destined for distribution in the United States. Variouslaw enforcement officials report that some passengers or crew members aboardcruise ships transport drugs–usually concealed on their person or in theirluggage–to Florida. Florida’s proximity to drug-producing and transshipment countries and its well-developed transportation infrastructure make it an ideal gateway for the movement of both licit and illicit goods into and through the United States. Drug transporters frequently use maritime vessels, commercial and private aircraft, and package delivery services to smuggle illicit drugs into Florida.
On March 30, 2021, HSI and PCSO undercover detectives arranged to pick up the drugs from inside Meers’ personally owned truck near her place of employment in Atlanta. When they retrieved the narcotics from Meers’ truck, they found luggage with 16 vacuum sealed bags containing approximately 35 pounds of methamphetamine. On March 19, 2021, Stanton, still from within the federal prison, arranged for another 35 pounds of methamphetamine to be delivered by Meers to PCSO undercover detectives. The primary drug trafficking broker, said officials, operated from a federal prison in Georgia. Several law enforcement officers were involved in Operation Dirty Water, including those within the Haines City Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol, and other federal and Georgia agencies.
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Florida has 131 public airports–13 international–and over 700private airports, airstrips, heliports, and seaplane bases. Drugs, particularly cocaine, heroin, and MDMA, often aretransported to Florida by couriers or intermingled with legitimate cargo oncommercial flights from drug source and transshipment countries or from otherstates. Operation Jetway data indicate that in 2001 law enforcement officials inFlorida seized almost 616.4 kilograms of illicit drugs from packages andcouriers arriving on commercial airplanes, primarily from states such asCalifornia and Texas.
- The design and symbolism of flags can reflect a place’s history, culture, and values, and can also have a significant impact on national identity and international relations.
- They said he was arranging the sale and delivery of meth while incarcerated in the U.S.
- MSMusually is added to methamphetamine during the final stages of production.Methamphetamine cut with MSM often appears to be uncut because after thechemicals are combined and the mixture cools, the MSM recrystallizes, resemblingpure methamphetamine.
USCS officials in Florida seized almost 3,000 kilograms ofdrugs from commercial and private aircraft and over 165 kilograms from packagesin 2001. (Some of these seizures also were reported as part of Operation Jetwaystatistics.) In addition, county and local law enforcement agencies seizesignificant quantities of illicit drugs but do not report seizure totals as partof Operation Jetway or to USCS. Methamphetamine also is transported into Florida by couriers oncommercial aircraft and via package delivery services. Couriers often concealmethamphetamine taped to their body or hide the drug in clothing. Federal,state, and local law enforcement officials report that Mexican criminal groupsoften hire male Mexican couriers, but Caucasian females are used at anincreasing rate because they are believed to attract less attention from lawenforcement officials.
The meninitially were pulled over for a traffic violation; they were traveling wellbelow the 75 mile- per-hour speed limit, causing a line of cars andtractor-trailers to back up behind them. During the tweaking stage, the abuser often has not slept indays and, consequently, is extremely irritable. The “tweaker” alsocraves more methamphetamine, which results in frustration and contributes toanxiety and restlessness. In this stage the methamphetamine abuser may becomeviolent without provocation.
