The Safe Library - Service, Safety, & Security with Dr. Steve Albrecht

By Dr. Steve Albrecht

You’ve heard of “New Math?” How about “New Meth”?

Word on the street is that there is a new menace, a more powerful (and even cheaper version) of meth, that is chemically different than the previous meth. It's cheaper and more prevalent than cocaine, and it is the drug of choice of many people living on the streets in squalor, because it makes them feel energized (as opposed to depressed), hyper-aware, hyper-vigilant, and in control of their current situation because all of their neurons are on fire.

This newer version of powdered methamphetamine is either smoked or snorted and can make users unpredictable, confrontational, and all-too-often violent. All library staffers need to recognize the warning signs of what Emergency Room physicians call "meth psychosis." This is a set of irrational and intense behaviors that many chronic meth users will display.

The information about this new type of meth comes from my drug abuse training colleague, Keith Graves, a retired narcotics detective and patrol sergeant from a Northern California police department. Keith holds a unique training certification; he's known as a DRE or a Drug Recognition Expert. He was the Drug Investigator of the Year for the California Narcotics Officers Association (where I'm also a member), so he knows his stuff.

Here are some quotes from a recent blog Keith wrote on his website (www.gravesassociates.com) about the disturbing differences between new meth and old meth.

"You can't even call this methamphetamine anymore. The methamphetamine of today is made differently than it was just a few short years ago. With this change in manufacturing, there was a huge change in the way users reacted to this new meth and now methamphetamine is a major factor in police [contacts]. Simply put, methamphetamine is causing psychosis that is leading to paranoid behavior that leads to deadly interactions with law enforcement. Police [contacts] and methamphetamine go hand in hand. Methamphetamine addicts are often paranoid, suffering from meth psychosis, and can become extremely violent. This makes them a danger to both themselves and to the police officers who are trying to help them. Many times, when police officers are called to a scene where someone is high on methamphetamine, they are met with violence."

Let's begin with a description of what is out on the streets today, by hearing more from Keith:

"Methamphetamine is a powerful and highly addictive stimulant that can be smoked, snorted, or injected. Methamphetamine is now considered a serious public health threat due to its increased popularity and severe reactions to users. The drug is made in illegal labs in Mexico and then transported across the Mexico/US border. Methamphetamine is very potent and can be very addictive. In years past, methamphetamine was made with pseudoephedrine. To stop the manufacture of methamphetamine in the United States, the federal government clamped down on pseudoephedrine by restricting its sale. In a few short years, meth labs all but ceased to exist in the United States.

"However, Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (Cartels) started to make methamphetamine using phenyl-2-propanone ("P2P"). This is an old-school method of making meth taken from the 1980s. Unfortunately for meth users, this "new" P2P manufacturing method was causing severe psychosis in meth users. When people are high on methamphetamine, they can be very aggressive and violent. They may also act impulsively and make poor decisions, which can lead to dangerous situations. This psychosis is often called meth psychosis. 

"This a mental health condition that can occur when someone uses methamphetamine. It is a type of psychosis, which is a mental health condition in which people have distorted thoughts and perceptions. People with methamphetamine psychosis may experience hallucinations, which are seeing things that are not real. They may also have a heightened sense of awareness and feel like they are in a state of constant danger. When people are high on methamphetamine, they can be very aggressive and violent. They may also act impulsively and make poor decisions, which can lead to dangerous situations."

Here are Keith's suggestions as to how to safely talk to suspected meth users in your library:

"When you encounter someone that is experiencing meth psychosis, keep a social distance from them. Basically, a 7-to-10- foot radius. You should also not deal with a person experiencing meth psychosis by yourself." [Albrecht: As I have said on many of my training programs, change the "ratio of confrontation," by getting help from a co-worker, boss, or security officer - if your library is staffed with them. I hope it's obvious to all library employees, by this point, that if you think you need to call the police to get them to better deal with a meth user who is out of control, then call the police.]

"Talk to the person in a calm and soft voice. A meth user hears sounds at a fast pace and a high pitch. A side effect of a meth high is a constant buzzing sound in the background. Keep them talking. Silence can mean that the suspect's paranoid thoughts have taken over and anyone in the area can become part of the suspect's paranoid delusions.” [Albrecht: As I always say in my library trainings with any patron who is not in emotional self-control, stop saying, "Calm down!" to people who cannot calm themselves.]

”Move in a deliberate manner. This will lessen the chances that the person will misinterpret your actions. Keep your hands in sight. Because of the paranoia, your hands should be visible to the person. If your hands are not visible, the person might feel threatened and become violent."

Taken to an extreme, meth users can give themselves permanent brain injuries (and damage their eyes to where their pupils no longer open and close normally). They can develop schizophrenic tendencies, which can make them hard to manage and treat, even in a hospital setting. Meth is a bad-news drug and always has been. This new stuff is even worse.

My thanks to Keith Graves for his knowledge and safety suggestions.

Training Sidebar:

One way to help you more accurately identify meth users in your library is to remember that every day is "MOTHERS" Day.

• Mouth - Users can show a white, slimy coating around their lips and on their tongues. The drug causes their mucus membranes to work harder.
• Odor - Users can give off a chemical smell, mixed with dried sweat. Regular bathing and careful hygiene are not high on their to-do list. Imagine how you would smell if you stayed up for three nights, sweating, running around your neighborhood, and getting involved with other people, usually in an aggressive, intrusive, and impolite way, all while wearing your same clothes.
• Twitching - Users shift from foot to foot, touch things around them, and cannot stand still for even a short moment. They may constantly pick at or adjust their hair or clothing, twitch their hands, head, and shoulders, and generally act like someone who cannot control their movements (because they can't control their movements).
• Head - Users will have their heads on a constant swivel, mostly because since their nerves and senses are heightened abnormally, they are quite sensitive to background noises, loud inside sounds, and even distant outside sounds. It's not unusual to see meth users started by the sound of a passenger jet flying by.
• Eyes - Normal pupils, in regular room light, typically have a diameter of 3 mm to 6.5 mm. People whose pupils are dilated by stimulant drugs, like cocaine and meth, will have eyes that look like dinner plates (10 or 11 mm). The difference is not subtle. (Google the phrase "meth eyes" for many examples of "blown out" pupils.)
• Rapid Pulse - While we aren't taking the pulse rates of any of our patrons (even if they ask), we can know that the pulse rate of a meth user is often 100 to 140 beats per minute, far above the normal 60 to 90 bpm range most of us have.
• Speech (Rapid) - Users will use rapid, disconnected, erratic speech, often with themes of paranoia, hypervigilance, and their sense that someone (the police, the government) is "out to get them" and they need to fight back or flee. (Think of the phrase "word salad" when you're in contact with suspected meth users.)