Meth users and crime in Minnesota
According to the latest surveys, the number 1 drug problem for many counties across the country is methamphetamine users. This synthetic drug that is easily manufactured has quickly spread from the West Coast and has moved into Minnesota. Law enforcement officials throughout Minnesota blame methamphetamine use as one of the causes behind the rise in urban and suburban crime, including homicides in several of the state’s metro counties.
Meth use was once thought to be mostly a rural problem. However, the use of meth is steadily spreading into suburban and urban reaches of the Twin Cities. Rising numbers of teenagers are meth users and statitics show an increase in crimes and other violence.
The Star Tribune has reported the following meth case statistics:
• Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom says meth cases have risen from a handful in 2001 to 446 charges of meth sale or possession last year, one-quarter of all felonies charged.
• According to Assistant County Attorney Nancy Norman of Anoka County estimates more than half of all child-protection cases there involve meth abuse.
• County Attorney Susan Gaertner in Ramsey County says meth prosecutions soared from 24 cases in 1999 to 301 last year.
National statitics show that 70 percent of robberies or burglaries have increased because of meth use and with domestic violence increasing by 62 percent this “epidemic†is affecting urban, suburban and rural communities nationwide. What is needed is more public awareness education to help people make better decisions along with aggressive drug enforcement.
i think that it is great that this drug is being outrighted as the pure evil it is. now, if only the legal system & all the ppl involved in it would start approaching it in a different, better way. the public is fully aware of the fact that it is a problem. stop beating that point to death. it’s almost null & void at this time. we need to start focusing on how it becomes the problem, who is spreading it as the problem, who is using it & creating more of the problem. and then we need to start looking at ways to help stop it. as a former meth user, i just shake my head at majority of the articles i read about it. they all say the same thing over & over again. and obviously it’s not helping b/c the problem is still rising. maybe it’s time to start talking to ppl who have used meth & get an idea from them on what it’s really like. only a user can really tell you how it is. not some guy in a uniform that’s getting paid to repeat all that’s been said too many times.
Comment by cynthia — December 7, 2005 @ 4:40 pm
Here’s a really good idea, I work with addicts but I also know people who are addicts that want treatment, but can’t afford the $3,000 dollar bill to get that treatment. so how about making it easier for people to get into treatment without having such a tremendous bill. Making more facilities to treat addicts, and lowering the cost may help because we all know that most addicts do not have money in the first place so how are they suppose to get help? But let’s also not forget that meth users are not the only criminals out there. There are other criminals, such as pedophiles that are walking the street because everyone is so into keeping meth users off the streets. You can’t help people that don’t want to be helped, and the success rate of people who are court ordered to do treatment, well 99% of them go back to using and these are the ones who are getting their treatment paid for.
Comment by heather — December 18, 2005 @ 8:08 am