In his new book, Methland, Nick Reding explores the meaning of meth in small-town America and the devastating effect it has on local morale and economies. One advantage of living in a small town is the familiarity with one’s community, all of which is ruined when meth takes over. Reding specifically focuses on Oelwein, Iowa, and reports on the history of meth in the United States from 1990 to 2006.
Starting with a Japanese chemist who first synthesized dextromethamphetamine in 1898, meth was recognized for its grim euphoria that comes in five parts: the rush, high, shoulder, tweak, and withdrawal. By 1933, mass production of meth was widely prescribed as a weight loss solution for housewives and as a stimulant for soldiers. Hitler is even believed to have been addicted to the drug.
Today, meth is referred to as the “most American drug” because it helps people work long hours without any of the side effects that industrious Americans dread: sloth and fatigue. This is why Reding calls it the only example of a widespread illegal narcotic that is vocational, instead of recreational.
It is highly addictive, leaving a fixed change in the brain’s chemistry, and it was not until the 1980s that the dangerous side effects were finally realized. But the scariest part about meth is that it can be made in a kitchen sink, using materials that are used to fight the common cold.
Lori Arnold, Tom Arnold’s sister, discovered this in the early 1990s when she introduced the drug to the Midwest from California by seizing control of the entire value chain, from manufacture to distribution and retail. Lori has been in and out of prison since then, but left behind what Reding refers to as a “sociocultural cancer” that spread between classes, families and communities.
Reding, in evaluating the damage, closely profiles major characters in the Oelwein meth circuit: an addict, trafficker, doctor, district attorney, and mayor. He lives with his subjects for several months at a time, throughout the duration of three years, and takes note all their stories without the use of a video camera or tape recorder, exchanging letters with inmates and cooking dinner with addicts’ families.
Some of the collected accounts are gruesome (sheets of skin melting off an addict’s body after a meth lab explosion) and most of them are heart wrenching, but the biggest achievement in his reporting is that they are all strikingly real.
From his time in Oelwein, Reding traces the connection between meth, the pharmaceutical industry, and the government. He also brings insight to the connection of small towns to major cities. It is not longer a question of whether meth is a larger problem in rural towns than in cities, the major difference being that Los Angeles can cover the related costs of those problems more easily than Oelwein. But he ends on a high note, showing how Oelwein and other towns have managed to control the crisis through careful supervision and city revitalization.
Ultimately, reading Methland feels like a meth trip; It’s fast paced, keeps you up at night, and leaves you wanting more.
CATEGORIES: Culture, Education, Global Health
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This sounds fantastic, and I can’t believe that Tom Arnold’s sister was such a meth pioneer. Great last line - sounds like this book can really strike a chord, especially for someone (like me) who hasn’t really been exposed to this issue much.
Sounds like a great read, and I think I’d prefer this book to A&E’s “Intervention.” Scary how this drug has infiltrated Main Street America, and as you aptly say, is vocational rather than recreational.
Sounds like a great read. Would you consider this beach reading? I am curious to learn more about the connections between meth, Pharma and the government. Meth is super scary.
Sounds like an interesting read, but I’m weary of these writers who go down to small American towns, and exploit their stories. I’ll give it a chance though.
i am afraid i might become addicted to this book.
Toby, this is really frightening stuff. Now I want to go back to my hometown and scour the streets to make sure this isn’t happening where I grew up and a place I still consider home.
One time I had to show my ID to buy Dayquil and pajama bottoms in WalMart in Chehalis. Just sharing.
See also: Breaking Bad on AMC for one of the most fascinating portrayals (if not the most realistic) of meth production and sale in everyday America. Damn, that show is good.
Those faces of meth were an extremely effective deterrent for me ever even considering trying it out. I like all my teeth, thankyouverymuch. Also, the opening scene of The Salton Sea gives a brief history of meth, and the characters in that movie are not who I aspire to be. Anyway, this book sounds quite good. A new perspective on how meth affects small towns is great, especially when everything seems to be focused on the gay community and urban users. And maybe if I understood the whole depressing reality of meth a little better, I wouldn’t get so pissed off when I have to show my id to buy Sudafed.
I cannot wait to read this. I’d no idea meth was ever suggested in a positive light to the public. Ugh.
In Hawaii, they call it ice. At one point, before it swept the mainland, my home town became the #1 meth use per capita in the country. This was after a huge government eradication program made it impossible to grow weed- it was called “operation green harvest”. There were some big bucks spent on it and I had helicopters flying over my house daily. I lived by a cattle ranch- the perfect place to hide your weed garden. Anyway, you went from having a whole bunch of mellow Hawaiians smoking pot, to a crazy meth addicted population who would forget to do stuff like feed their kids. High schoolers who just wanted to locate a simple bowl to get high would run into trouble, but stuff like coke and meth was easy to come by. From what I hear. That shit ain’t right.
sounds like a great read
i’ll give this book a try. at the very least, it will help me come to understand jodie sweetin a little bit better.
I moved to Oelwein 9 years ago at the peak of that whole mess. I am very proud that Oelwein has risen above all the drugs and is no longer that way. I can’t wait to get this book because I believe it will outline many of the things I witnessed and experienced (I never did any drugs or sexual things).