All language subtitles for National.Geographic.Drugs.Inc.S01E02.Meth.720p.HDTV.DD5.1.x264-DON_EN

Narrator: America and Asia are
in the grip of an epidemic.

Cop: Coming in!

Narrator: Methamphetamine,
one of the world's most

powerful stimulants, can
be made at home like

modern day Moonshine from
chemicals found in any

pharmacy or
hardware store.

Mike Hall: The way the
meth is right now,

it's like nothing I've
ever seen in my career.

Narrator: It's toxic
and it destroys lives.

Mark Buckner: Burnt
everything I had

everything I own.

Narrator: Addiction
quickly takes hold.

Organized crime steps in.

And law enforcement is
left to face the rising

crime wave.

Cop: Now would be a good
time to identify yourself

Narrator: Producers,
traffickers, dealers,

users, doctors, police,

they're all part of the
$300 billion a year global

industry that is,
Drugs Incorporated.

Methamphetamine addiction
plagues America and much

of the world.

It can be injected,
smoked or snorted,

and one hit gets a user high
for as long as eight hours.

More addictive than
cocaine or alcohol,

meth traps users into
a devastating cycle.

All over the U.S.,
thousands of petty dealers

sell methamphetamine under
the street names 'crank',

'crystal',
'glass', or 'ice'.

A man going by the alias
Juan Lopez began his drug

career selling crack
cocaine for a Hispanic

street gang known as
the Mexican Mafia.

Lopez: The drugs have
changed a lot you know in

the last, ten years.

Meth has taken over.

Narrator: LA.

The mid '90s.

A new product appears on
the streets: Crystalline

methamphetamine.

It's cheaper than crack
cocaine and more potent.

It becomes an instant
hit with drug users.

Lopez: All the crack
users went to smoke meth.

All the people that were
snorting coke went to

snort Meth.

Narrator: While
serving time in jail,

a fellow inmate offers
Lopez the chance to move

up from street
dealer to trafficker.

Lopez: I met a guy
who was from Mexico.

And we got to talking
about dope and he told me

he would be able to hook
me up once we were both

out.

Narrator: Lopez now
has a solid connection.

Once free, he waits to
hear from his contact.

Lopez: He got out And
through him we were able

to go into different
places in Mexico and find

dope.

Find all the deals.

Narrator: Large Mexican
drug trafficking

organizations produce
methamphetamine on an

industrial scale.

Lopez starts to deal with
representatives from a

cartel in Sinaloa,
in northwest Mexico.

Lopez: We would place an
order and send the money

to Mexico and then they
would cook it for us

there.

We paid about $45,000
for 13 pounds.

Narrator: Lopez's contact
produces methamphetamine

by the ton, in a
'super-lab' hidden in the

Mexican countryside.

In the lab, cartel
drug workers convert

methamphetamine's
chemical ingredients,

ephedrine and
pseudo-ephedrine,

into their own
brand of the drug.

It's marketed to the
masses as 'Mexican Ice' or

'Crystal'.

Lopez's 13 pound order has
a street value of over

half a million dollars.

Lopez: Then they would
work it from deep into

Mexico to the
California-Mexico border,

and then we would
cross it ourselves.

Narrator: San Ysidro is
Lopez's crossing of choice.

This point of entry
between Tijuana, Mexico

and San Diego, California
is the busiest

land border crossing
in the world,

and America's front line
in the war on drug s.

Lopez: We had a
car rigged with a hidden

compartment, put the dope
in the hidden compartment

and drive across
the border.

Narrator: After waiting in
traffic for nearly five

nerve-wracking hours,
Lopez finally crosses the

border and makes his
way to a stash house in

California.

Here, Lopez cuts the drug
with empty fillers in

order to stretch his
product further.

Lopez: Once we got
home we'd cut it with,

er, MSM, like
a horse feed.

If we did 8 ounces,
it would be a 50% cut.

As fast as it came in, is
as fast as it went out.

I wouldn't sit on dope
for more than a day.

Your dope is going faster.

Your dope starts
to sell quick,

So you got to pick up,
enough to last you a week.

So you're up
to 5-10 pounds,

and it just slowly
works up from there.

We got to a point to where
we were selling about

50-75 pounds a month.

Narrator: At the height
of his operation,

this former lowly
street dealer owns nine

properties and clears
over $50,000 a week.

Lopez takes great pains
to avoid law enforcement,

but then, in 2005, a
police surveillance

operation catches
him in the act.

To avoid life in prison,
he turns informant for the

US government.

Now, he lives
in grave danger.

The cartels are known to
kill those who betray them.

Lopez: Out here in
the streets if you

have a green light,
you're pretty much dead.

And anybody that knows
that you have green light

has the go-ahead to go
ahead and to kill you.

If that's what they need to do.

Narrator: The Mexican meth
trade relies on hundreds

of traffickers and
dealers like Lopez.

Every year the cartels
produce approximately

220 tons of meth for
the US market alone,

with an estimated revenue
of 8 billion dollars.

Meeting this demand
requires industrial

quantities of the
chemical ingredients.

To obtain these so-called
'precursor' chemicals,

the Mexican cartels turn
to the world's main source

of ephedrine and
pseudo-ephedrine: Asia.

In China and India,
a small number of

pharmaceutical factories
produce thousands of tons

of pseudo-ephedrine
for legitimate use.

Criminal middlemen legally
purchase vast quantities

of these chemicals, and
then sell them to illegal

meth producers.

In Asia, a kilo, or
about 2.2 pounds,

of pseudo-ephedrine costs
$68.But international

criminal organizations,
like the Mexican cartels,

pay up to $10,000
for the same kilo.

The chemicals are sent to
super-labs all over the

world, where
they're cooked into

methamphetamine and
distributed regionally.

The trade supplies up
to 51 million users

worldwide.

In the U.S., imported
Mexican methamphetamine is

rapidly spreading
eastward.

With increased
Mexican immigration,

traffickers and dealers
now hide within

law-abiding Hispanic
communities across

America.

Many roads from the
Mexican border lead to

70% of the 250
tons of meth coming into

the U.S.

originates from
Mexican sources,

like the one used
by Juan Lopez.

But Mexican Ice isn't
the only kind of

methamphetamine available.

Unlike heroin or cocaine,
methamphetamine can also

be made at home, using
a concoction of readily

available household
chemicals.

Barry County, Missouri: a
sparsely populated area of

fields and farmsteads that
stretch for almost 800 miles.

Narcotics Agent Larry Keen
is from the South West

Missouri Drug Taskforce.

Larry: Hey Adam, how many times
have we arrested this guy?

Adam: I've arrested
him 3 times, over.

Narrator: He's on his way to
his
40th methamphetamine bust

of the year.

Adam: I guess we're gonna
go to the door with you and

I'll go to the garage with
the other two agents

Larry: I guess i go to the
door with you guys then

Narrator: The target is a local
man, suspected of manufacturing

the drug and dealing
it to others.

Unlike other drugs,
methamphetamine can be

cooked in home
labs like these.

Larry: Maybe you ought to
go the other way.

Adam: On this road too.

Narrator: Larry supervises
a team of six officers who

surround the house.

They waste no
time busting in.

Larry: Coming in!

Cop: i've got you covered.

Larry: On the
ground, face down!

On the ground, face down!

Cop: Get down!

Larry: Face down.

Narrator: Inside, the
officers find the suspect

and another man cooking
a fresh batch of

methamphetamine.

Larry: So in order to keep
them from destroying any

evidence, we've made
entry and secured him,

and there is a
lab here, so.

Narrator: Methamphetamine
can be produced using

rudimentary equipment
and household chemicals.

Larry: Phew, still
stinks in here.

Narrator: "Cooks" follow
a number of different

recipes.

But the officers have
never seen this kind of

home lab before.

Larry: First one.

It's our first one.

Narrator: They're using
the new 'one pot' method.

A method so simple that
anyone can now make meth.

Larry: Interesting.

Very interesting.

Narrator: A few
essential ingredients,

including ammonium
fertilizer and lithium

from household batteries,
are placed in a simple

soda bottle.

The chemicals react and
produce methamphetamine,

along with poisonous
and explosive fumes.

Larry: This'll be his
gas generator with his

muriatic, muriatic
acid and, er, salt.

Oh, phew, it stinks
in there too.

Narrator: In the trash,
Larry discovers the core

active ingredient: a
cold and flu medication

containing
pseudo-ephedrine that can

be bought over the counter
at any local pharmacy.

Larry: He just
bought these,

he bought these pills
today at 12:45,

so, and it's
what, 2.45 now,

so you know if
you're getting,

if you're getting two and
a half grams every hour

and a half and you're
doing it for five to six

hours a day, you can end
up with a pretty good

chunk of dope.

This is probably about a
gram worth right here.

Give or take.

Narrator: Like many
"home producers"

this cook is an addict
who makes meth for extra

money to fuel his
own drug habit.

Nearly 1500 meth
labs were discovered in

Missouri in 2009, making
it one of the worst-hit

states in the epidemic
of home meth cooki ng.

Larry: I don't know where
this 'one pot' method

started but it's here now.

So if he's doing it,
he said he wasn't even

cooking before this, he
started cooking when he

learned how to do the 'one
pot' method and so if he's

doing it, there's more
people doing it.

Narrator: For Larry
Keen and his taskforce,

busting home meth cooks
and breaking the supply

chain of traffickers like
Juan Lopez is all part of

fighting the larger
war on drugs.

Narrator: Methamphetamine
addiction is a global

epidemic, and nowhere
more than America.

The largest
methamphetamine market in

the western hemisphere.

Dealers sell meth
on the streets,

and a new wave of
self-manufacturing means

it's even easier to
produce at home.

In the state of Missouri,
an estimated 53,000 people

use methamphetamine.

Steve Box was an
addict for ten years.

He first tried meth
at the age of 25 while

experimenting
with cocaine.

Steve: The very first time
was when you would be

using cocaine, and
somebody would have some

meth and it would look
similar to cocaine, and,

and you would like snort
some and you'd know

immediately it wasn't
cocaine that it was crank.

'cause it would it burns
like somebody sticking a

hot poker up your nose.

Narrator: Steve is one of
the only 6% of addicts who

manage to kick the habit.

Now he's dedicated to helping
others fight meth addiction.

He's written two books
about his struggle and

runs a Christian campaign
called Meth=Sorcery.

Steve: When I
got off the meth,

I wrote the book
Meth=Sorcery,

and we send the book to
prisoners that are locked

up in prisons and we've
probably been close to

100,000 books put into
the American county jail

prison system.

Narrator: He receives
hundreds of letters from

meth addicts
seeking his suppor t .

Steve: Just a few
today from Texas,

Texas and Oklahoma.

I've got letters from,
believe it or not,

serial killers in New
York to doctors, lawyers,

preachers.

Just about every
walk of life.

It's not always the guy
that's over in the trailer

park, you know, it's,
er, just, you name it.

I think i've received a
letter from about every

profession there is.

Narrator: Steve once owned
a successful business

manufacturing
gym equipment.

Snorting meth, or
'crank' as he calls it,

helped him keep up with
the flow of orders.

Steve: I noticed with the
crank that I could stay up

you know, 24 hours a day
and I could work for you

know, a week or 2 straight
without stopping.

Narrator: Methamphetamine
makes the user feel

euphoric, alert
and powerful.

Steve soon begins smoking
his meth in a pipe to get

a stronger, faster high.

Eventually he starts
dealing the drug,

and his business
begins to suffer.

Steve: You know, I got
to where I was just,

I was selling meth and I
was no longer building my

weight equipment.

And you know, the shop was
still kind of like open,

but we were, we were just
doing something different.

Narrator: Meth's
extraordinary rush leads

to horrific after-effects,
including severe

depression and an
inability to eat or sleep.

Steve: You feel
like you want,

you wanna just
rip your face off.

And when you do finally
get some real sleep you

twitch, and you jerk.

Narrator: To avoid the
withdrawal symptoms,

Steve smokes even
more of the drug.

Weeks without sleep
eventually leave him with

severe paranoid psychosis.

Steve: And so I might've
spent my day, one day,

would and I did this
tapping my own phone.

Numbers would appear to
me like a phone number,

And I would
cross-reference it in the

names and numbers phone
book and you would,

might end up at a
stranger's house just over

a set of numbers that
appeared out of thin air

and you got their address
out of a phone book and

you're sitting outside
their house with a

shotgun.

Narrator: After
years of abuse,

Steve hits rock bottom.

Steve: Everybody lost
their trust in me.

My wife hated me.

Went from having a
lot to having nothing.

And just wanted out.

Wanted out of that world,
wanted out of the meth world.

And, er, you know,
and found a way out.

Man 1: It's a good day
to be in the house of the

Lord, is it not?

Narrat or: Steve finds
salvation in his local

church community,
where incredibly,

almost half the
congregation has had

problems with
methamphetamine.

Preacher: How many are
here in this room who were

at one time in
bondage to

methamphetamines?

Narrator: Denise Ledbetter
had a long history of drug

abuse before she
discovered meth.

Denise: How I
first encountered

methamphetamine was.

I fell in love with the
wrong guy and he cooked

meth, so I didn't have to
even go looking for it,

it was just right there.

Narrator: Methamphetamine
gives a sense of

overwhelming pleasure.

Denise: You know It's such
a euphoric high, you know,

that you just want more
and more and more and

you'd do anything for it.

Narrator: But Denise soon
finds herself living a

bizarre existence.

Denise: Typical day
would start at midnight,

you just want
another line,

you want another pipe, you want
another shot in your arm.

And then you
can, you know,

go and do something crazy,
like mow the yard again

for the third
time this week,

or clean the house again for
the third time this day.

You know, I used to clean
the bathroom with a

toothbrush, you know, I'd stay
in the bathroom and clean.

Narrator: Large doses of
methamphetamine can also

cause hallucinations.

Like LSD, meth-induced
delusions seem entirely real.

Denise: I'm gonna do a big
blast and go outside to

the woods.

You know, and I saw owls
in the tree with baseball

shoes on and
baseball caps on.

And I was like: oh that's
cute, that's funny!

Preacher: Evil men will
burn in the, pits of hell.

Narrator: In deeply
religious areas,

many believers see meth
as the work of the devil

because of the demonic
visions so many users

experience.

Preacher:
Methamphetamines,

simply put, is sorcery and
witchcraft in its highest

degree.

Everybody has the
same set of symptoms.

They see devils
and demons.

Denise: You know, when you
first see 'em it's like,

ha-ha, you know, what
was that, you know.

What was that?

And you're out in the
woods and you hear things,

and you think, oh,

you know, so it's kind of fun,

you kind of play
around with the devil.

You know, and then it
gets serious, you know,

and then it gets, you don't
want 'em in your life.

Narrator: As the
mind deteriorates,

so does the body.

The most dramatic physical
symptom of meth abuse is

known as 'meth mouth'.

As users grind
their teeth,

the chemicals wear
away the enamel,

and the gums and
salivary glands dry out,

causing the teeth
to rot and decay.

Long-term users become
fearful and violent.

Over 80% of female users
report domestic violence,

including physical
and sexual abuse.

Denise: I was gutter
trash, he told me,

and he would hit me and
push me down and throw

cigarettes on me, and pick
up a can of green beans,

can of whatever he could
find and throw at me.

Throw lighter fluid on me,
and throw a match to me.

And I mean, all those
things sound horrible and

you look, and you look
at me and you think,

why would you
put up with that?

But I did put up with it
because of the drugs.

Preacher: Everybody that
i've ever talked to has

been on meth.

Narrator: Every
year, over 125,000

Americans like Steve and
Denise seek treatment

for meth addiction.

For many, belief in a higher
power is the only way out.

Dangerous to make
and dangerous to take

Methamphetamine is the most
abused hard drug on the planet

Almost one million grams of
meth
are snorted, smoked, or
injected

every day.

And it's spreading
like wildfire

Today, many law enforcement
agencies say it's

the number one drug
threat in America.

Hall: It's
gonna be busy.

Ex-basketball player
Mike Hall is

director of the 10th Judicial
District Drug Task Force

in Athens, Tennessee.

Hall: We need to utilize

a couple of intellegence groups.

Narrator: Standing
6'9" tall,

Hall is a towering figure
in the local fight against

meth.

Mike Hall: The problem is
when they used to make

methamphetamine they had
to have a structure.

They would have
a house or,

a trailer or a hotel room.

Now they can be sitting
in a car just like we're

doing, drive down the road
and make methamphetamine.

Everything is
in this one pot,

and it's just the size
of a two liter bottle.

Narrator: Athens is in an area
of and farmland and lush

forest that causes hay
fever and other allergies.

Mike Hall: We have one of
the highest allergy counts

in the South East.

Pollen.

And so we have a lot of
legitimate people who need

cold medicines,
pseudo pills,

and all that stuff can
also be used to make

methamphetamine.

Narrator: Across town, the
drug taskforce pulls over

a vehicle.

In 2006, Federal anti-meth
laws cracked down on

methamphetamine
production.

Sales of pseudo-ephedrine
are now strictly limited

to 9 grams a
month per person.

Mike Hall: He's already started
breaking packages down.

Narrator: They suspect the
driver is one of a new

breed of criminal:
"smurfers"

a name given to them
by law enforcement.

Mike Hall: I believe it
came from the famous

cartoon in the States, was
The Smurfs and when people

go to Smurf it's all
these little Smurfs,

all these people
bringing back pseudo,

pseudo ephedrine and they
bring it back to Papa

Smurf, the main cook.

Narrator: Smurfers are
usually addicts who visit

numerous pharmacies
buying their quota of

pseudo-ephedrine.

Then they hand them over
to methamphetamine cooks

in exchange for
dope or cash.

Mike Hall: This one
pharmacy we're looking to

today is in the top five
percent in the nation for

pseudo sales which is
amazing because we're not

New York City, we're not
Los Angeles, California.

We're in Athens,
Tennessee.

Er, and they roughly have
about 600 pseudo sales

a week.

Narrator: Hall's taskforce
surrounds a local pharmacy

waiting for smurfers.

The pharmacy estimates
that 80% of all its

pseudo-ephedrine sales go
towards meth production.

Angie: And the cars
normally will park along

that concrete wall because
they think I guess the

video cameras can't
see their vehicle.

And they'll take turns
going inside buying their

pseudo.

Narrator: Inside
the pharmacy,

a packet of
pseudo-ephedrine pills

costs $5, but outside it
changes hands illegally

for up to $50.

The taskforce doesn't
wait long before

smurfing activity begins.

Radio Voice: A girl
opened the door,

put her hand in
another guy's hand.

And now they're leaving.

Narrator: In the
pharmacy parking lot,

a girl is seen receiving
pills from a smurfer.

Narrator: As she
exits the pharmacy,

Mike's team swoops in.

Carrie Beth: I'm sorry.

Narrator: She's the
girlfriend of a suspected

meth cook.

Hall orders the car
and its occupant to be

thoroughly searched.

Mike Hall: Well they
probably, they probably

need to go to rehab.

Okay.

The only way we
might be able to.

Narrator: The suspect
denies possessing any

drugs, but the
police soon find

what they're looking for.

Hidden in pill bottles
is Methamphetamine,

packaged for re-sale.

Mike Hall: Is it meth?

Narrator: The suspect
is just 18 years old.

As a father himself, the
girls age makes Mike Hall

even more determined
to stamp out meth.

Mike Hall: I'm a dad.

It's depressing.

I mean you get 18, 19
year olds out here making

methamphetamine, it's
terrible, it's terrible.

Carrie Beth: It's my
boyfriend's that's what it is.

Narrator: Each gram of
meth is worth at least

$100, making it more
expensive than

heroin or cocaine.

Mike Hall: Er, somebody
asked me if we would win

the war on
methamphetamine,

the war on drugs, I says:
"I might not win it,

but I'm not gonna
lose it on my back."

So here we go.

Cop: Come on, girl,
get in the back seat.

Narrator: The
girl is arrested.

She'll soon enter a
treatment program.

As night falls,
the smurfing activity

escalates.

While patrolling the road
outside the pharmacy,

taskforce agents stop 20
smurfers in just one hour.

Inside the store, an
Undercover officer watches

the activity.

Undercover Cop:
Yeah, yeah, he,

he wants to buy
several boxes.

He said he bought
last night.

Narrator: This man is part
of a gang of smurfers

waiting outside
in a vehicle.

He buys the pills.

But before the smurfers
can make their getaway,

the taskforce
springs into action.

Cop: Put your hands up.

Put your hands on
top of the car.

Narrator: Smurfers are the
taskforce's best lead to

the meth cooks.

The threat of jail is
enough for these men to

reveal the address of
their drug source.

Mike Hall goes across
town to investigate.

Cop: Police Department.

State Police.

Narrator: On
any drug bust,

Mike's main
concern is gunfire.

Mike Hall: If you're ready
it would be a good time

for you to
identify yourself.

I'd hate for you
to get shot

Narrator: But on
a meth lab bust,

he must also contend with
the risk of chemical

hazards.

Mike Hall: spoons
with residue on.

Narrator: Fumes produced
by manufacturing meth are

extremely toxic
and volatile.

Here, they discover only
a meth pipe and some drug

paraphernalia.

The taskforce
examines the premises,

but they're too late.

The cook has apparently
fled into the night.

Cop: I mean he's pretty
much broke through that

field right there,
round the yard,

hit the road and then cut
up this driveway right

here.

Narrator: But evidence of
drug activity remains.

A horse-trailer
outside contains numerous

bloody syringes.

Cop: Oh, it's
full of blood!

Oh my God!

Narrator: Like
most meth cooks,

this person is obviously
addicted to the drug.

Cop: Both needles
full of blood!

Narrator: Any meth-cooking
materials in the trailer

may be heavily
contaminated with waste

chemicals produced during
the cooking process.

These chemicals are
dangerous to humans as

well as the surrounding
environment.

Chemical residues can
poison wild animals or

even pollute
the water table.

The agents suit up in
biohazard gear to protect

them from chemical
burns or infection.

Mike Hall's worst
fears are confirmed:

the horse-trailer is
filled with contaminated

meth trash.

Mike Hall: They're
so paranoid,

they're afraid to
throw anything out,

they're afraid to throw
anything to where they

feel like law enforcement
or somebody could find it

and catch them.

You see a lot of staph
infection, MRSA,

different types of
diseases you know that you

get when you're
just dirty.

Every one of these
plastic bottles and glass

jars represents a cook.

Every time you see one
of those plastic bottles

laying there that
means they cooked.

Evidently they like to use
needles here which is a

tremendous hazard for us
especially if they carry

AIDS/HIV, tuberculosis,
you know whatever.

Narrator: From
the pharmacy,

through manufacture,
to injection,

the meth drug supply chain
is ravaging once peaceful

rural communities
across America.

And narcotics officers are
left literally picking up

the pieces.

Narrator: The volatile
substances used to

manufacture meth can cause
an explosion powerful

enough to kill.

The Vanderbilt Hospital in
Nashville has one of the

nation's premiere
burns units.

Patients are flown
here from all over the

southeastern U.S.

At any time, victims of
exploding methamphetamine

labs make up about a
quarter of the unit's

patients.

Mark Buckner has been in
intensive care for 53 days.

He suffered burns on over
60% of his body when his

meth lab exploded.

Buckner: All it took
was one drop of sweat.

That sweat hit the, hit
the bottle and it blowed

up in my hands.

I was in my RV.

I've never seen nothing
burn that quick.

It blowed me
out of the door.

It burned everything I
had, everything I owned.

Narrator: Mark's mother
holds down his tracheotomy

tube, a surgically
inserted airway in his

throat, to help him speak.

Buckner's mother: I come
every day, don't I?

Narrator: Mark was once
under constant pressure to

supply other
addicts with meth.

Buckner: I don't know, 50-75
people over here.

Car loads all day long,in
and out in and out.

I'd go 2 or 3 weeks
without sleeping.

Narrator: When he was
flown in by heliCopter,

Mark was near death.

His injuries caused renal
and respiratory failure.

Dr. Jeffrey Guy is
Mark's surgeon and the

Burns Unit Director.

Doctor Guy: When a flash
burns comes you know,

it's thousands of degrees.

And he's burned on
roughly 60% of his body.

This is absolutely a
life threatening injury.

And as you can
see in his case,

there's certainly a
life changing injury.

We literally have to kind
of shave this burnt skin

off, this is dead skin,
and then we do a series of

skin graphs where we
literally shave the

healthy skin from his
lower legs and we

basically transplant
to the burns.

Narrator: But Mark's case
is just one of many.

Doctor Guy: We typically
have about 20 patients on

the service that have
some sort of meth related

event, where they're using
meth, or cooking meth.

We get about
one, you know,

true meth lab explosion
about once every couple of

weeks, you know, maybe
every three or four weeks,

that ends somebody in the
intensive care unit or on

life support.

Narrator: Mark
survived the tragedy,

but his life is
forever changed.

Buckner: I'll never be
able to go out in the

sun like I used to or nothing.

It's changed everything
that's true.

Narrator: Methamphetamine
cooks are often unwilling

to admit the cause
of their injuries.

Dr. Guy looks for
the telltale signs

of meth use.

Doctor Guy: Meth mouth is
certainly the most obvious.

Er, meth mouth is rotting
of the teeth and it's

pretty dramatic.

Er, you'll see people
who are just er,

just totally emaciated.

The other thing is that
their bodies are just so

revved up, particularly if
they're still coming off

the meth and since their
body has seen so many

drugs that our medications
won't touch them.

Narrator: Mark Buckner is
one of the 48% of meth

users who have no health
insurance and place a

great strain on the
hospital resources.

Doctor Guy: You know, when
all is said and done,

this will probably
cost a million dollars.

Um, and it's the right
thing to do to take care

of somebody like that.

But that's a million dollars
of uncompensated care.

This one hospital last year did

approximately 300 million
dollars in charity care.

This one hospital in
Central Tennessee.

Um, and so you have to
question how long can one

hospital provide 300
million dollars of

uncompensated care.

There has to be
an end to that.

Narrator: Overall
healthcare costs for

Methamphetamine
users in the U.S.

alone are estimated at
almost $864 million

dollars per year.

Buckner:Hell,
it's not worth it.

I've done it, not because
I wanted to get high,

I done it for the
money, that's it.

And no amount of money
is worth this much pain.

Narrator: Mark will need
more skin grafts and it's

unlikely he'll ever regain
full use of his hands.

Serious meth burn victims
need ongoing care for

years.

Sometimes decades.

Narrator: Methamphetamine
is among the most

addictive substances
in the world.

Despite the horrors of
exploding meth labs,

many burn patients still
return to meth abuse.

Leading
Neuro-pharmacologist,

Dr. Edythe London, has
spent her entire career

trying to figure out why
users are so addicted to

this drug.

Doctor London:
Neuro-pharmacologists are

interested in
understanding how drugs

work, and particularly how
medications might work and

interact with
brain function.

Narrator: Maggie Lavalle
is a member of

Dr. London's meth study.

Maggie: Well a typical
week if I'm a full and

flourished meth addict,
I can go anywhere from,

I can smoke anywhere from
$200 worth of meth to $400

worth of meth.

Out of my mind.

Doctor London: Go and
close your eyes for me for

a second.

Narrator: The volunteers
undergo a series of PET

scans that produce images
that allow Dr London to

look inside the brain
and analyse the drug's

effects.

Methamphetamine causes the
brain to release chemical

messengers called
'neurotransmitters' that

make us think, feel and
behave in a particular

way.

Dr London: One of the
neurotransmitters that's

primarily affected by
methamphetamine is

dopamine.

Now we think of dopamine
as the pleasure

transmitter.

Narrator: Many narcotics
stimulate a flow of

dopamine to the brain.

But methamphetamine floods
the brain up to 1200% more

than normal.

Dr. London: There is a huge
release of dopamine and

that produces a feeling
of intense euphoria.

It also produces
feelings of competence.

Narrator: But the areas
receiving these chemical

messages, the
dopamine receptors,

are damaged by toxins
in the methamphetamine.

Over long term use, the
receptors begin to fail.

Meth addicts may have up
to 16% fewer dopamine

receptors than
a normal brain.

Doctor London: We've
recently shown that the

level of dopamine activity
in the brain is highly

correlated with
impulsivity.

The fewer dopamine
receptors the more

impulsive a person is.

So dopamine in the
methamphetamine abuser is

very much linked
to self-control.

Narrator: This lack of
self-control not only adds

to the severity
of the addiction,

but also leads to other
violent or compulsive

behavior.

Maggie Lavalle found
herself unable to control

an impulse to steal.

Maggie Lavalle: I
embezzled $32,000.

I closed down a gas
station that I worked at.

Whatever I needed I had
it 'cause I took the money.

Narrator: Dr. London has
discovered that the brain

damage can often, but not
always, repair itself.

While the search for a
medical cure continues,

the only real option
available to addicts is

behavioral therapy,
like drug counseling.

Maggie Lavalle's
story isn't unusual.

In some Californian
cities,

nearly a third of all
persons arrested test

positive for
methamphetamine.

At the Santa Barbara
County Jail,

Chuck McClain is
determined to combat the

problem.

Chuck: We started
12 years ago.

The chief of the jail at
that time decided that,

you know, we need to get
something going here

because, you know, they
run a 75% recidivism rate.

Narrator: McClain has 150
inmates in behavioural

therapy for drug abuse.

65% of them
are meth users.

They receive a combination
of reading materials,

group therapy sessions and
one-on-one counselling.

Like many inmates
at Santa Barbara,

Dave Wagman is a
repeat offender.

Dave: The way I use is,
they're called runs or

binges I would inject
myself up to 5 or 6 times

a day if the stuff
was reasonably good.

Probably the last five
years I cannot stop doing

it until I get arrested.

Narrator: For many,
Chuck's program works.

34% of the inmates are
caught re-offending far

lower than the
jail's 75% average.

Still it means over a
third of his participants

will return to jail.

Chuck will see some of
these faces again and

again.

Chuck: You have children?

Olga: Seven.

Chuck: You have
seven kids?

Olga: Yes.

Chuck: How old are you?

Olga: I'm 34.

Chuck: 34.

Narrator: Keeping a
prisoner in Santa Barbara

Jail costs $26,000 a year.

It's a heavy burden
for the taxpayers.

Nationally, the cost of
methamphetamine-related

crime is estimated at
around $4 billion.

Chuck: When they're
out there using,

they're not working,
they're not contributing

to society.

They're taking
away from society.

It takes a lot of
money to house 'em,

it takes a lot of money
for the police force to

arrest them and so
on and so forth.

And that's a huge cost.

And that's what
this is all about,

is reducing the cost to
the community at large of

addiction.

Narrator: Santa Barbara is
the only county facility

in California to offer a
full-fledged treatment

program.

Until scientists like
Edythe London find a cure

for methamphetamine
addiction,

America's jails and
treatment programs will

continue to house
the drug's victims.

Narrator: Methamphetamine
directly impacts the

brain's pleasure center,
and there's one pleasure

that's heightened more
intensely than any other:

sex.

The health impact on some
communities is extreme.

San Francisco is
a mecca for gay,

lesbian and bisexual
people from around the

world.

In a community that has
suffered the terrible

effects of HIV and AIDS,
methamphetamine has taken

a strong hold, with dire
consequences for those

fighting the HIV virus.

Since the mid '90s,
'Crystal' meth has become

the drug of choice in
the gay club scene.

Aaron Schirmer took many
drugs, including heroin,

before he discovered meth.

He was part of San
Francisco's gay crystal

meth scene for 8 years.

Schirmer: Crystal Meth
is very accessible.

You can walk down the
street and find crystal

meth, you know, in most
of the gay communities.

On the weekends it's
really easy to find in

clubs.

You know, I used to go
into bars and stand in the

rest room and be
offered a line.

Narrator: Crystal meth gives
users a rush of energy.

The cascade of
dopamine entering the

brain and central nervous
system also intensifies

feelings of
sexual arousal.

Schirmer: Like an
amazing euphoric rush.

Like you know, like I'm
experiencing primal life,

you know, urges that I've
always wanted to feel.

Narrator: Aaron, a
photographer and club DJ,

has been HIV positive
since he was 15.

For him, unsafe sex is
usually fraught with the

danger of
infecting someone.

But when he's injecting,
or "slamming"

methamphetamine, sex
suddenly becomes

uninhibited and
guilt-free.

Schirmer: It's like this
kind of sex that you would

have pre HIV you know,
it's like where you could

just take all of
your clothes off,

be totally naked and
be raw with someone.

Losing all of your
inhibitions like that

feels really amazing,

Narrator: Many HIV positive
men in the city end up

having unprotected
sex with one other.

Schirmer: You know,
there's a population of

people who shoot
crystal meth,

or who use crystal
meth who are all HIV.

And so that sex pool, that
pool of people you know,

can all have sex with each
other and not worry about

transmission
to one another,

which is in some ways
has been like kind of a

beautiful part of it, of,
of the crystal meth scene.

Narrator: Crystal Meth
soon becomes more than

just a club drug.

Homosexual Meth users turn
to internet dating sites

to hook up, and the search
term 'Party and Play' or

'PnP' becomes code
for drug-fuelled sex.

Seiver: If you
put PnP people,

instantly know that you're
interested in doing

crystal meth
and having sex.

You know, it's kind of
like the fast food version

of, of sex and
drugs is, you know,

and you get online and
you can have someone,

at your door within
minutes with drugs and

ready to have
sex with you.

Narrator: For those
high on drugs,

practicing safe sex is
often forgotten in the

haze.

Seiver: You can get high
on crystal meth and party

all night long.

And Partying all night
long can mean having sex

with lots of guys
all night long,

even days on end, because
the drug keeps you high

for that long, and
unfortunately what often

happens is that using any
kind of protection goes

out the window.

Narrator: When HIV
negative men join in,

the crystal meth craze
becomes even more deadly.

Schirmer: You have the
people who are newly

coming into the crystal
meth scene who lose all

their inhibitions and
are HIV negative who are

really vulnerable, and
especially when you have

like, you know, HIV areas
and non HIV areas all

shooting up and all losing
their inhibitions at once.

Narrator: Of the 28,000
cases of AIDS diagnosed in

San Francisco
through 2008,

three quarters were among
men who have sex with

other men.

Within this community,
crystal meth is now a

major driver for
new HIV infection.

Seiver: Gay men who use
methamphetamine are three

to four times more likely
to have HIV than the gay

men who don't.

It's really a significant
part of why HIV infections

continue to occur.

Narrator:
Despite the risk,

the pleasures that come
with crystal make it

extremely hard to give up.

Schirmer: It was the most
psychologically addictive

drug I've ever
taken in my life,

and to this day getting
off crystal meth,

I think is a lot harder
than getting off heroin.

Narrator: The overall cost
of methamphetamine to the

United States is estimated
at $23 billion a year,

but the human cost of the
ruined relationships,

careers, and
health of addicts,

is impossible to quantify.

Even so, $35 billion worth
of profits from producing

and distributing meth
continue to pour into

Drugs Incorporated.