Editor’s note: The following is from an interview with an Allen Countian who has been deeply involved with drugs, primarily methamphetamine. The person agreed to an interview on provision of anonymity.
“I think if people knew the consequences (of using methamphetamine), they would pay more attention. And that looks like what’s happening with the younger generation. I think they’re better educated about drugs.”
“It’s easy to get clean. The hard part is staying clean when you’re out with your friends. It’s like an alcoholic, if you get away from alcohol you can’t go out to bars with your old buddies.”
Meth has been a fact of life in Allen County since the late 1980s. Production came on the local scene when anhydrous ammonia was a prime ingredient. Then, farmers feared their fertilizer tanks would be tapped.
Today’s meth basically comes from pseudeophedrine found in allergy and cold medicine.
A quarter or half gram of meth usually was “enough for me and my buddies. We’d go to the races and it would last all weekend.”
An advantage of the better quality meth is that “highs are better and coming down (recovery) isn’t as bad.”
HOW EASY is it to purchase meth locally?
“Very easy. I could take you to 30 or 40 places in Allen County and make a buy today.”
The manufactured drug is obtained in cities, usually in quantities of an ounce (28 grams) for $800 to $2,000, depending on quality and current market.
Once in this area, the ounce is split into eight balls (2 1/2 grams) or smaller amounts for resale, with a profit margin built in. “You’ll pay $100 to $120 a gram here.”
With a few friends, “you can use up an eight ball pretty quickly.”
The person had no idea how many users there were in the Iola area, but guessed those use meth, often or occasionally, might surprise.
The drug is used in several ways, by snorting, smoking, eating, injecting, “pretty much any way you can get it into your body. And it’s ready to go when you buy it.”
While “it’s a plague and everywhere,” the younger generation hasn’t embraced meth nearly as much as those who became involved years ago and now are in their 30s and 40s.
“I think the younger kids have seen what it can do,” including rotting the enamal off of teeth, severe weight loss, irregular heart beat and liver, kidney and lung damage.
