In the late twentieth and early twenty-first century United States, the production and misuse of methamphetamine was a growing and urgent public health, criminal justice, and child welfare problem affecting whole families and communities. Methamphetamine, also known as crank, crystal, glass, ice, speed, hillbilly crack, and yaaba, among other names, is a form of amphetamine with strong central nervous system effects. It gained popularity as a less expensive, more easily available and longer-lasting stimulant than cocaine. It is highly addictive, and regular use is associated with a variety of serious health and mental heath problems. Methamphetamine use also contributes to a rising rate of violent crime (Federal Bureau of Investigation). Initially limited to the western states and Hawaii, by the late twentieth century, methamphetamine misuse and production had spread throughout the United States, particularly into rural areas. At the time of our study, a combination of factors fueled the rapid growth of methamphetamine misuse and production in the rural Midwest. Rural poverty contributed to the despair that led some to escape through substance misuse and provided financial incentives for methamphetamine production, Read more [...]

In posts of this site, we begin with an introductory discussion of the history and epidemiology of methamphetamine. Despite intense publicity in the popular press in the 1990s and early 2000s, methamphetamine was not a new drug, nor were problems with its misuse. Methamphetamine was synthesized more than 100 years ago by a German chemist and was once used to treat a variety of medical conditions including narcolepsy, attention deficit disorder, and obesity. The drug, however, proved to be highly addictive, and epidemics of methamphetamine misuse arose in diverse cultural contexts from urban Japan to the rural Midwest. The social impact of various methamphetamine epidemics were related to the quality of the drug, its means of distribution, population of users, methods of administration, and legal sanctions, all of which have varied widely across time and place. For example, surplus stockpiles of methamphetamine used to keep pilots and factory workers alert were released as over-the-counter medications to the Japanese public following World War II and led to widespread stimulant misuse. In rural Illinois, as summarized earlier, easy instructions for producing highly potent crystal methamphetamine at home were available Read more [...]

Post Methamphetamine-Involved Families reveals that many children placed in foster care whose parent misuse methamphetamine experience high levels of trauma symptoms and behavior problems. Post Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Rural Children in Foster Families describes Life Story Intervention, a mental health intervention we designed specifically for rural children from methamphetamine-involved families. We discuss the conceptual and empirical bases of Life Story Intervention, as well as implementation issues from a sociocultural perspective that tailors services to individual children within the context of their homes and communities. Many families involved with methamphetamine live in rural, predominantly white areas. Much of the research examining the impact of parental illicit drug misuse on children, however, has focused on urban settings, often low-income Hispanic or African-American communities. Rural communities have particular cultural strengths and vulnerabilities, and members have particular socialization beliefs and practices, that must be considered when developing and implementing mental health interventions for children living in those areas. Furthermore, mental health interventions may need to Read more [...]

Methamphetamine misuse has been a persistent problem worldwide, demonstrating an interaction frequently observed in addiction medicine between the biology and cultural context of addiction. Examination of the cultural and historical contexts of methamphetamine misuse reveals some common themes related to the biology of addiction, with variations in associated medical and social problems due to changes in the quality of the drug, methods of administration and distribution, population of users, and legal sanctions. The study of cultural similarities and variations in methamphetamine misuse can enhance our understanding of the vulnerabilities of certain groups and individuals, and has implications for societal responses likely to be effective. By considering the biology of addiction in relation to the broader historical and cultural context, this chapter examines the question of why methamphetamine misuse has been a persistent and widespread problem. Worldwide, amphetamine-related drugs are the most commonly misused illicit drugs after cannabis. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that over 35 million people misuse amphetamine-related drugs (WHO), and amphetamine-related stimulants are the most widely used Read more [...]

Methamphetamine is one of many stimulants (e.g., amphetamine, cocaine, caffeine, nicotine) with a wide variety of molecular structures and chemical mechanisms. What the various stimulants have in common are effects that mimic those of the sympathetic nervous system, both peripheral and central nervous system components, to produce arousing effects similar to epinephrine. The peripheral nervous system effects include vasoconstriction, increased muscle tone, increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, and anesthesia. In medical settings, stimulant medications can be used to control bleeding, rescue patients from shock, numb a sore throat, relieve asthma, or clear a stuffy nose. Incorrect use of the same stimulant medications, however, can kill patients by causing fatal elevations of temperature, irregular heart rhythms, stroke, or heart attacks. Central nervous system effects include increased alertness and energy, and decreased appetite. Stimulants are especially helpful in specific disorders such as narcolepsy, attention deficit disorders, HIV, and aspects of depression. Incorrect use of stimulants, however, is associated with seizures, psychosis, anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Chronic use can also aggravate Read more [...]

The persistent and widespread problem of methamphetamine misuse is shaped not only by the biology of addiction, but by historical and cultural contexts. Methamphetamine is a methylated derivative of amphetamine, which was first synthesized in 1887, by a German chemist. It was first synthesized from ephedrine in 1893, by a Japanese chemist. In 1919, methamphetamine was synthesized in Japan via reduction of ephedrine using red phosphorous and iodine. The first medical use for methamphetamine was marketed by Smith-Kline-French in 1928 as Benzedrine, used in inhalers sold over-the-counter for treating asthma. (Benzedrine led to the street name of “bennies.”). Amphetamines were subsequently found to be effective in treating narcolepsy, nasal congestion, weight gain, and attention deficit disorder, and for providing extended periods of wakefulness (Bender & Cottington, 1942). In the 1930s and 1940s, amphetamines were prescribed for schizophrenia, morphine addiction, and low blood pressure. During World War II, the armies of Japan, Germany, and the United States all provided amphetamines to military personnel to fight fatigue and enhance performance. Amphetamines also were used in Japan to improve the productivity of civilian Read more [...]

The interaction among the biology of addiction, market economics, and other aspects of cultural context also has been observed repeatedly in the United States. In the years after World War II, over-the-counter drugs containing methamphetamine were widely available in the United States. Amphetamine tablets were available without prescription until 1951, and amphetamine-containing inhalers were available over the counter until 1959- During the 1950s, persons in various walks of life including college students, long-haul truck drivers, individuals trying to lose weight, and athletes trying to enhance their performance used methamphetamine in legal tablet form for nonmedical purposes. Amphetamines were extremely popular with the general public as dieting and “pep” pills. Benzedrine was available without a prescription and was regarded as harmless. Famous musicians, film stars, and writers believed that their talents would be enhanced with amphetamine use. WH. Auden, James Agee, Graham Greene, Philip K. Dick, John-Paul Sarte, and Jack Kerouac all used stimulants to improve their stamina and literary output. As the use of the drugs expanded, so did the number of people who became addicted. The relaxed cultural attitude Read more [...]

In approaching the problem of parental methamphetamine misuse, we chose a mixed-methods research strategy. This choice reflects our underlying interest in understanding human development as an outgrowth of cultural life, and in using such knowledge to inform the design and evaluation of interventions with vulnerable children. Our research strategy integrates developmental, ethnographic, and clinical methods. The intent of such methodological pluralism is to strengthen each approach, to better understand development in its sociocultural context. Developmental methods include the systematic description of children’s participation in various activities and changes over time. Ethnographic methods include the description and interpretation of social behavior and its meanings from participants’ perspectives through analysis of the broader context of beliefs and practices. Clinical methods include the use of in-depth interviews and culturally appropriate assessments of mental health. The intertwining of developmental, ethnographic, and clinical methods allows identification of the regularities inherent in everyday life within particular communities, an interpretation of what such regularities may mean to the participants themselves, Read more [...]

Post Methamphetamine-Involved Families of this site provides an in-depth description of the problem of parental methamphetamine misuse in the cultural context of rural Illinois and a description of affected children’s psychological functioning. We attempt to understand, in depth, the socialization beliefs and practices of adults, as well as children’s experiences and psychological functioning. We seek to characterize, as opposed to simplify, the complexities of socialization beliefs and practices to obtain a more complete, accurate understanding of community members’ points of view. This task is challenging, given the heterogeneity of rural Illinois, including potential within-group variation in the socialization beliefs and practices of children’s families of origin and foster families. Some biological parents who lead more conventional lives may resemble their children’s foster parents. Others, especially those who have been raised in families affected by generations of substance misuse, may hold divergent socialization beliefs and practices. Research Site The site of the study was the seven-county areas served by a rural field office of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). This area is Read more [...]

Phase three of our research program will be foreshadowed in Post Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Rural Children in Foster Families of the site, in a presentation of the pilot-tested intervention. We describe the conceptual and empirical bases of Life Story Intervention, as well as implementation issues. We also present case-based descriptions of various child responses to the intervention over a 12- to 18-month period. Additional evaluation of the intervention using an experimental design and a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to describe children’s functioning over a period of 12 — 18 months will be forthcoming in future publications. Key Characteristics of the Research Program The design and methods employed in this research program combine several features worth highlighting that are designed to maximize the cultural validity and trustworthiness of the findings. Case-based Research Strategy. The focus of this research is on understanding parental methamphetamine misuse and their children’s psychological functioning within the cultural context of rural Illinois. In the short run, our case-based research strategy suggested strategies for intervention within this rural area. In the long Read more [...]