Cooking Meth in Hell's Kitchen

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Crystal_Meth.jpg

In a 2002 New York Times Article entitled “Meth Building Its Hell's Kitchen in Rural America” reporter Timothy Egan describes the devastating effects of the growing meth epidemic in rural America. The reader is enlightened to the crisis through the experiences of Sheriff Rick Bart of Snohomish County in the State of Washington. The article describes the effects of this dangerous drug upon this rural area both to the individuals who use it, as well as the criminal justice system there. Mr. Egan chronicles the history of the drug's onset and educates the reader as to the reasons it has seemed to gravitate towards similar geographical areas. Sheriff Bart supplied startling statistical evidences which lent credibility to the points being made by the author. One such example is as follows, “I'd say it's getting to the point where 80 percent of all our calls are somehow related to meth.” Another statistic which enforces the idea that meth effects many persons other than the user is relayed by social worker Cammy Hart-Anderson, “Almost two-thirds of referrals to social workers in Snohomish County for domestic violence or abandoned or neglected children are related to meth...” The author also discusses the ease by which the drug is manufactured as well as the danger of the toxic ingredients involved.

This article directly relates to “Winter's Bone” as the characters in the novel were effected by the drugs use and distribution adversely just as the examples described by Sheriff Bart. One user described performing “home dentistry” while under the effects of this powerful chemical. Another drives around aimlessly while chewing her fingernails to nubs attempting to fill a shopping list of dangerous ingredients used in it's manufacture. Just as the fictitious account of child abandonment in the story, the article uses true evidences brought forth from social workers on the front lines. This article would be an excellent source for use in essay #3 as it has the credibility of both law enforcement as well as social workers who are directly impacted each and every day by this scourge.

If you would like to read the article in it's entirety: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/06/us/meth-building-its-hell-s-kitchen-in-rural-america.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm

works cited

 
Egan, Timothy. "Meth Building Its Hell's Kitchen in Rural America." The New York Times. The New York Times, 06 Feb. 2002. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/06/us/meth-building-its-hell-s-kitchen-in-rural-america.html?pagewanted=2>.