If Crack Is Whack Then Meth Is Death: Drugs In The Workplace
Despite the ad campaigns in the western states of the U.S. for people to stop the insanely destructive use of methamphetamine, it's still all the rage for some. And while you'd think some people would be able to keep their meth addiction under wraps during office hours, it's just not happening.
According to the U.S. workplace drug-screening tests, meth is the most common drug found in the system's of employees. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated found that between January and December 2010, of the 4.5 million urine samples collected, nine states "showed dramatically higher positive prevalence rates for methamphetamine than the national average." Number one on the list? Hawaii, with a 410% greater than the already high national average. Why anyone living in the Hawaii would need to resort to meth to get through the day, or life for that matter, is shocking. Beautiful beaches or meth? You choose meth?
The ability to use meth in the workplace and still be able to perform is regarded as "functional" meth use and despite the tough economy it still seems to be a top priority for its abusers, and is actually on the rise. Experts believe that the increased use of the drug can be equated to the "down economy" and people needing a quick fix to stimulate themselves when being forced to work double shifts or multiple jobs.
Next in line after Hawaii, the following states round out the top five who also have a greater than national average: Arkansas with 280%, Oklahoma with 240%, Nevada with 180% and California with 140%.
The trend can be equated to "cross-border" drug cartels who have sniffed out the U.S.'s desire for the wonky substance and have set up "superlabs" so as to create greater and easier access to it.
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At the same time, new methods for making small amounts of methamphetamine have proliferated in the U.S., creating unprecedented mobility in the domestic "meth lab." Attempts to control the availability of over-the-counter medications used in methamphetamine production persist, but do not appear to date to have completely curbed the illicit manufacturing.
One would think that no matter how many hours you need to work, meth would not be an option for stimulation. The faces of meth use alone should be enough to scare people into mass amount of espresso instead of snorting or injecting something that literally eats away at your flesh. No one likes a meth face, not even fellow meth faces.
You can reach this post's author, Amanda Chatel, on twitter.
