Meth Storm

In this documentary, there's a turtle in a tank. The water was filthy and they require a lot more care than this poor guy was getting. Someone needs to get that turtle out of that nasty environment. It's not right to film it and walk away.

"Meth Storm" focuses on the meth epidemic in the rural United States. Basically, these people have no prospects: there are no jobs, and so they'll continue to live in absolute squalor and do meth.

Notice how, when the crack epidemic affected African-Americans, they got called addicts, but now that the opioid epidemic has hit white people, it gets treated as an epidemic?

I've been sober for 33 years, and so the crack/meth/opiate epidemics have grown outside my radar. This film is shocking, utterly shocking. If this is happening throughout the heartland, how do we even have a population? You hear about it and read about how large an issue it is, but this film really brings it home. We are in serious trouble. These people are addicted to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sugar - they spend all day every day putting various types of poisons in their bodies. It's all they do - and you wonder why our national life expectancy is going down. Diabetes, overdose, heart disease, cancers due to tobacco use - and then add suicide to that. Wow what a gripping film.

METH STORM was very well-received in its world premiere at Austin'S SXSW Film Festival. This is a powerful film about what addiction to this awful drug can do a family and a community - in this case, Faulkner County, Arkansas. The film makers spent a long time in the community and got to know some of the individuals well which allowed them to get remarkable and up close footage including film of people shooting up on meth. (This takes up well-beyond the romanticized and action-packed version of Meth seen on Breaking Bad.) While much of the blame for their bad choices can be placed on the individuals, it can also be blamed on the failures of government to provide these families jobs, educational opportunity, health care, and any sort of accessible drug treatment. The society has failed these families whose only real opportunity is the black market drug trade. The only governmental response is in law enforcement, but that seems to be utter and complete failure as well. The close-up view of the crisis is overwhelming. The mother tries to get her kids to quit drugs while failing to confront her own long-term addiction. The squalid conditions in which they live are heart-breaking. The ruined lives and the young kids that seem to have little more to look forward to are simply devastating to observe. The DEA agent attempts to arrest small-time dealers in hopes of breaking the drug ring and catching the Mexican source without seeming to realize that they are chasing shadows. They don't seem to realize that they can never win by prosecuting the demand side of the equation. This powerful film certainly raises more questions that it answers (much like the Michael Douglas film Traffic a generation ago). It has been picked up by HBO Films which should provide it with a well-deserved wider audience.

Meth Storm

The film is a documentary on crystal meth addicts and dealers in Arkansas, during a period of time that the DEA was actively pursuing a way of halting production, or halting import, of the dangerous drug. It was called Operation Ice Storm named for the street slang for crystal meth.

It is heartbreaking to see the depths that these people will go just to make ends meet. The people they show being arrested, or using, are all in poverty, and they use the proceeds of their illegal sales to get by.

Addicts also beget addicts as some of the adult children of addicts also tried it and are now addicts. These adult children also have young children, and I worry for their safety. The documentary does not hold back in showing these real life situations. Some people have their faces blurred, but the majority do not.

This documentary is not for everyone. I can completely understand if this is a subject that one does not want to know about, but it exists. If you, or a loved one, is struggling with addiction, there is help, but it may not be enough.