No, we are not referring to the gown worn by a nun. Specifically, we are talking about dangerous drug addictions and why they are proliferating so quickly in our inner cities (countrysides, too). Included is some information which should scare you half to death.

Simply described, a habit is a reinforced behavior; reinforced because the behavior makes you feel good. For some reason, it feels good for you to put on your left shoe first when dressing, so, every time you get dressed, it is the left shoe which you put on first. This is a very low-level habit. A high-level habit might be using methamphetamine; high-level because methamphetamine use produces a super-excessive level of good feeling (at least, at first). Crystal meth (ice) triggers the release of from 700 to 1,200 times the normal amount of dopamine in your brain, and dopamine is the “happy juice” which makes you desire to repeat certain behaviors. And crystal meth is readily available on our city streets and in our schools. As a matter of fact, you can pick up any big newspaper and read about a meth lab being busted (or maybe exploding). It seems as if “everybody” is making this stuff. Now, we get to the scary part.

If your A-student starts failing his classes; if he seems distracted; if he seems to be forgetting little important things; if you are going through his closet and find a box of paper matches, a bottle of muriatic acid, and some plastic tubing - you might have a problem. But, it is worse than that ...

Out of curiosity, I Googled “methamphetamine ingredients.” Many pages of Websites were displayed. In #2 position on the first page of Websites, I found totse.com, a Website which promotes the manufacturing of addictive drugs. Here is what totse.com had to say about crystal meth (no attempt to correct spelling, etc.):

“There are only 3 main ingredients to making crystal meth. This are how to get  them...

“1. Psuedoephedrine (E)

“This  is the active ingredient in Sudafed. I would recomend getting the  generic brand. They are about $8.00 for 96 pills. You can get  these at any  Pharmacy. Of course they are over the counter. In  the methhead synthesis he goes  about extracting it in a different  way. The easiest way is to crush the pills  and let them soak in  denatured alcohol for 4 to 8 hours. You can get denatured  alcohol  at any hardware store. It is by the  paint thinner and mineral spirits. Then filter and  take the liquid and slowly  boil it on the stove until it gets  down to the bottom. You will want to finish  the drying with a  hair dryer so you dont burn the psuedo. Now take the powder  and  mix it with distilled water. Let it settle and set it in the freezer  for 1/2  an hour. Now take the semi-frozen liquid and filter again.  Take the psueo water  and slowly boil it again. Take out the hair  dryer and finish drying it. Now its  powdered....and you have pure  psuedo.

“2.Iodine crystals (I2)

“Iodine is watched  by the goverment and they will take your ID and put you on  the  list if you buy it from a chemical supplier. So the safest way to  get it is  to go to a pharmacy and ask for Iodine Tincture. If they ask what  it is for say that it is for your horse. It is used on  horses for a problem with there hooves. The probaly  wont ask though. It is sold  in 1oz. bottles and you can usually  get about a gram of pure iodine crystals  from one bottle. The problem with  this is that you will need to go to many pharmacies  and just buy a few bottles  at each one. That way they dont get suspicious. I made up a synthesis on converting  iodine  tincture. It is  on the main page. {{New Info!!--  You can purchase iodine tincture in gallon and  1/2 gallon sizes at any Quality  Farm & Fleet. But don't buy  to many of them. I would recomend only buying a  gallon at a time. It is about  $12.00 for a gallon. Just take it up to a cashier  that is young and stupid. They  shouldn't ask any questions. This  way is much easier than going around to a  hundred different pharmacies  and buying it in 1oz. bottles. A lot cheaper  too!!}}

“3.Red  Phosphorus (RP)

“RP is made from the strike pad on a match  book. NOT the matches themselves  but the pad it is striked on.  If there is a Spartan store around your area go to  it and buy  some boxes of match books. I recomend the Spartan brand cause it  comes off easy and is cheap. The match books should have a light  brown or  reddish striler on them. Not the stripped or dotted kind.  The smooth light brown  striker is what you want. There is also  a sythesis that i wrote up on how to get  the RP off the match  books on the main page.

“Ok,  next i will list some of the other shit you will need and where  to get  it....

“1.Colemans Fuel----sporting goods store,  K-mart or Walmart

“2.Muriatic Acid (HCl)---any hardware store. also near the  paint thinners.

“3.Acetone---any hardware  store

“4.Methanol---dont recomend it. use denatured alcohol  instead. also near the  paint thinners.

“5.Tubing & PVC connectors---any hardware store

“6.Flask---hobby store,  chem supplier

“7.Red Devil Lye---In a lot of K-mart or Walmart  type stores. Or maybe even in  your local grocerie store. It is by the  drain cleaners in a little white bottles with a red  top. It is a very strong  drain cleaner. Just look in a bunch of  different stores and you will find it.

“8.PH strips---hobby  store or you can make your own with red cabbage.

“9.Vision  Ware Bowl---K-Mart or someplace like that. It has to withstand high  temps. and be able to go from the stove right into ice water.  Look in kitchen  stores also. My buddy had a very hard time finding  one of these cause he lives  in a little town. Just go somewhere  that has a lot of pots and pans and stuff.”

That was simply the crystal meth ingredients (no wonder meth labs explode). Reprinting the whole manufacturing recipe is not appropriate, here. Nor anywhere, for that matter.

Here is the scary point. This information is readily available to your kids on their school and library and home computers. This information is readily available to anyone in your community, even to those whose motives are highly questionable.

So, what are we to do about this? Well, we could keep on doing what we have always done about it. Nothing. What do you think? I suppose you have all the time in the world to think about it. After all, the problem is here to stay, and it is going to keep on growing. Coming soon to a bedroom near you!