NCJ Number
122847
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 37 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1989) Pages: 55-57
Date Published
1989
Length
3 pages
Annotation
A new and deadly form of crystal methamphetamine -- called "ice," "crystals," or "batu" -- is surfacing in Hawaii and spreading to the rest of the U.S.
Abstract
Unlike other forms of methamphetamine, ice is 98 to 100 percent pure; the Drug Enforcement Agency is still trying to analyze the crystallization process used by drug labs in Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. Although ice use is already epidemic in Hawaii, it has also reached California, Texas, Arizona, and Florida. Because ice is smoked in glass pipes and the smoke absorbed quickly through the lungs, the effects on the user can be unpredictable. Burning ice is odorless. Drug users are switching to ice because it is cheaper than cocaine and offers a longer high than crack -- up to 14 hours. Ice is more addictive than heroin and the depression it causes can last for several days after ingestion. Prolonged use will damage the lungs, liver, and kidneys, while psychological effects include psychosis, insomnia, anxiety, depression, fatigue, toxic psychosis, and delusions. Withdrawal symptoms include, inter alia, acute depression and fatigue, irritability, restlessness, tremors, delirium, panic, irregular heartbeats, convulsions, coma, and even death. Police officers can spot ice users by their blown pupils, rapid heart and respiratory rates, and hoarse voice as well as their paranoia, lack of sleep, and weight loss. Currently distributed in Hawaii by splinter groups of a Filipino gang, ice will probably gain prominence among mainland drug users as well.