Meth Users

[gh1950]

I am pretty sure he is still using something, but to my knowledge meth is not really available in the small town we live in.

Meth is available within a mile of any white folks in Georgia. You can take that to the bank.

That is not a racial statement. One of the mysteries of illegal drug use is how segregated users of certain drugs are.

It's ironic that the Mexicans are cooking meth by the gallon but they aren't particularly big users of it.

But meth is everywhere in Georgia.

As for the light sentences, the simple fact is that there is no where to put them. These days it's unusual for a manslaughter convict to do more than 5 years hard time.

All the pols want to be tough on crime, but they don't want to spend money addressing the problem, when there are more roads to be repaved.

 

[CAMSDADDY]

I have a friend who almost died while doing meth. I had spoken to him several times about rehab but each time it was simply to avoid punishment. One day he found himself in the hospital on his death bed. The doctor told him he had two choices. My friend walked out of the hospital a few days later and called me and asked me to help him and pray for him and he has worked NA and prayer and has been drug free 22 months. I work with him everyday and dude is nothing short of a miracle.
Your friend running to Lumpkin may be running from prosecution but he aint running from meth.

 

[Poppa Mike]

Really doesn't matter how many chances they are given. Until they WANT to get off this crap no one can help them.

 

[KingTuna]

Yeah, just to clarify, he did go to jail but bonded out as soon as they did all the paperwork. I think he said it was a $500 bond if I remember correctly. I know all too well about corrections not being funded enough. Corrections has one of the highest turnover rates, and for good reason. Most of us have to work double shifts several times a week due to being short of staff. I am lucky enough now that I am a supervisor and have a Monday thru Friday job for the most part.

I keep saying if we would do like other countries and just hang known rapists, child molesters, and people convicted of straight murder( like in the case of the lady in the convenience store for drug money) we wouldn't be in near the predicament we are.

As far as him and the meth, we'll see how it goes. I do think he's running from the charges. I'll be interested to see what happens come his court date.

It's unrelated to the guy I'm talking about, but I have been seeing very strange posts on Facebook from a girl I went to high school with and knew pretty well. I saw her ex husband's new wife yesterday at work, and asked about the girl, and found out she is strung out on meth, living in cheap hotels, and is now a prostitute. She used to be fairly shy back then, I wouldn't have seen this happening to her.

 

[BNB]

They should just start selling it in Walmart in 5 gallon buckets an let Darwin take its course

 

[bensskateshop]

I keep saying if we would do like other countries and just hang known rapists, child molesters, and people convicted of straight murder( like in the case of the lady in the convenience store for drug money) we wouldn't be in near the predicament we are.

This can't be said enough! If our "criminal justice"system had any teeth in it, our Country would be in a hell of a lot better shape.

Why should anybody on death row be alive for more than 6 months?

K KingTuna I truly hope your friend has come to the point that he wants to change but like it's been said, he has to want it first. (speaking from experience, I lived in Clearwater, FL during the 80's). I have known 2 people that have managed to stop using meth. Both had to hit their individual bottom. For one, even OD'ing and coming to laying next to her dead boyfriend wasn't low enough.

 

[105thSoftail]

QUOTE: "Here's my question, why does it seem like the laws for meth use and possession are not that strict? Basically, the only way you go straight to jail and stay there is if you were caught cooking it, or had children in the home where it is at. It seems most arrested for meth get probation and a fine, can enroll in a rehab program, etc and get off pretty easy."

ANSWER: Meth or cocaine or whatever other hardcore street drug-- if a functional member of society, a taxpayer who has a job, gets busted for it for PERSONAL USE, not "with intent to distribute" or anything like that, probation and rehab is the norm.

Somebody who's been through the criminal justice system a bunch of times can go to prison for simple possession, but it's not common either. But that's not the normal kind of defendant prosecutors see. Most drug defendants are also burglars and thieves who steal to support their habit, and have at least a bunch of arrests (if not all convictions) to show their willingness to commit other crimes to get, or while influenced by, drugs. THOSE people are a lot more likely to get prison time.

Are people who get busted for meth getting significantly lighter sentences than people busted for similar quantities of heroin, cocaine, ecstacy, etc? I don't know, but it would be an interesting topic to research.

Truth right there, my younger brother has been to prison twice because he robbed a hotel and later a convenient store to support his drug habit. The years before that of him getting caught with possession ALWAYS resulted in rehab and probation

 

[rockyfatcat]

First of all, I will say I'm a supporter of legalizing marijuana. I understand we can debate that in itself all day, but I'd really like to talk about meth use. I have never done any drugs, and I don't consider marijuana a drug.

I recently found out a good friend of mine was hooked on meth, and got arrested for it. I knew that when we were younger, 18 or 19, that he got hooked on coke, but he went to rehab and had no issues after that I knew of. Well, it turns out he was never better after rehab, he just got better about hiding it. He went from coke to meth several years ago, started snorting the meth. I can definitely tell a difference in his personality, and mannerisms. I work in a correctional setting so I'm use to drug users and their quirks. It just blows my mind how he can justify using meth to himself. His justification was that he has two kids, and the meth allows him to do two days work in one day. It wound up costing him his wife, and his two children. He was busted up in Dahlonega(I think i spelled that right) about two to three weeks ago with two eight balls of meth. That's 1/4 of an ounce for those of you not fluent in drug lingo.

Heres my question, why does it seem like the laws for meth use and possession are not that strict? Basically, the only way you go straight to jail and stay there is if you were caught cooking it, or had children in the home where it is at. It seems most arrested for meth get probation and a fine, can enroll in a rehab program, etc and get off pretty easy. I do understand the need for rehab programs, and I can understand some what of a lesser sentence the first time being caught if a rehab program is completed.

I guess I'm just curious about opinions of others, and if you have had any personal experience knowing anyone going through this process. Any LEO's, please chime in on this, I know you have seen tons of these cases. This person is not allowed at my home or around my children. I still believe he will use, even though he is down here where I live at and not around alot of meth. I fear he will resort to smoking crack to support his geeked up addictions.

You don't believe marijuana is a drug and should be legalized. Seriously identify a crack, meth, heroin, or cocaine addict that didn't use marijuana first.

I read something that suggested that the way to eliminate the problem was to remove the profit from drugs. Simply. If you want to do drugs, stop off at any police office and fill out a form. Your drivers license will be replaced with a new identification to reflect your new status as a drug user.
The new abuser id will allow them to pick up a quantity of their drug of choice at any pharmacy for free. Those who have self identified are capable of receiving rehabilitation treatment when they are ready.
Possession of any quantity of these drugs is subject to severe punishment including death.
Simply the massive amounts of money involved in the drug trade will evaporate. The government could provide the supply out of inventory of confiscated material.
Some people have a addictive tendency as part of their physiology. For example their is something about the indians and Eskimos that cannot handle alcohol.
I had a friend who explains it like this. " I would go to a bar to have 1 beer and have plans for the rest of the day. Once I had 1 beer it was like I flipped a switch and had to keep drinking". He would end up being there all night. His solution was to stop drinking completely.
Some folks claim similarly to have a family addictive trait.
Some countries have escalated their punishment of drugs for trafficking drugs to death. But if your not going to do that for the abuser, there will still be demand for the product which will only drive the price up. So the potential for profits escalate.

So the real question is what are we as a society willing to do to address the problem? When do we enact the legislation. When do we tell our LEO's don't even bring in the drug traffickers. Just drop off the corpses at the morgue

 

[Joshua223]

Yeah, just to clarify, he did go to jail but bonded out as soon as they did all the paperwork. I think he said it was a $500 bond if I remember correctly. I know all too well about corrections not being funded enough. Corrections has one of the highest turnover rates, and for good reason. Most of us have to work double shifts several times a week due to being short of staff. I am lucky enough now that I am a supervisor and have a Monday thru Friday job for the most part.

If you are working in a "direct supervision" correctional facility I can understand why your short staffed.

 

[KingTuna]

Yep, we are direct supervision. Rockyfatcat, I don't know that agree with you on some of that. As far as Marijuana goes, the same could be said about manu other things. I bet all drug addicts have drank alcohol, let's ban it. I bet all people involved in gun violence played video games or watched violent movies, let's ban that. Drunk drivers drove a car, let's ban those and no more fatalities from impaired drivers. At some point, it's the person's responsibility to take control of their lives. I agree with putting drug addicts in a work camp for their prison time, get some use out of them. The county I live in always has charges on somebody for something, and it seems they never use community service to improve on the county, like picking up trash. Their are a lot of addicts who are a lost cause, but the way the justice system is set up does not help them, it's quite the opposite.