Analysis Of Methamphetamine: A Love Story

Methamphetamine was described as euphoric, thrilling, empowering, valuable, addicting, commanding, destructive, and as a true love. This sentence can serve as a very short, and vague, summary of the book “Methamphetamine: A Love Story”. This is the story of 33 methamphetamine addicts, dealers, and manufacturers. Rashi K. Shukla shed light on some of the most intimate details included in the methamphetamine world. She acted as a catalyst to the participants to share their stories of the benefits, dire consequences, and difficulty of rebuilding their lives.

Reading about the effects methamphetamine initially had on the participants’ life was incredibly shocking. Personally, I had always assumed that everything about the drug was awful. After some thought and reading their testimonies I realized that if it were always bad, no one would do it. Each person described methamphetamine as the escape from the worries and problems of their life. I couldn’t believe that such a dangerous drug gave them a euphoric feeling. Many participants, like Steven, “were in love with the effect” (Shukla 44). This point of view shocked me because that’s not something drug awareness programs teach. They teach

about all of the dangers, risks, and consequences associated with drugs, which the participants so quickly shifted to explain.
It didn’t take much time for most to realize the baggage that comes along with using methamphetamine.

I was shocked at how serious the addiction became. Some people were injecting, smoking, or ingesting methamphetamine more than three times a day. The drug became their life. Ian emphasizes this best when he says, “I didn’t lose anything. I traded it” (Shukla 175). He realized that his craving for methamphetamines took precedent over everything else in his life. I couldn’t comprehend this desire. These participants were stealing, trading family heirlooms, and compromising their deepest beliefs for a temporary high. It’s scary to know that there is a drug out there that can destroy who your soul. Despite the severity of these problems, the consequences don’t stop at the personal

level.
Many of the participants have a permanent label attached to their name now. “Endeavoring to manufacture”, “Possession of a controlled substance”, “Second degree arson”, etc. These are just some of the felonies earned by the participants. All understood that these meant incarceration, rehab, and other forms of government punishment, but few understood the effects that these labels would have on the rest of their lives. One of the biggest challenges post-addiction is employment. All but one of the participants had a felony in one-way or another. Employers are privileged to this information and may be hesitant to offer a job. Another challenge is housing and location. Those who try to move away face the issue that some people wont rent their house out because of a label, Manufacturing Methamphetamines, attached their name. These consequences are unintended, difficult, unfair, and fair. I say unfair and fair because it is a grey area. Is it fair to permanently disadvantage those who are legitimately trying to change their lives and stay sober? Is it fair to the community to enable those who are insincere about recovering? The sad truth is we eliminate the risk by assuming all those recovering may some day try again to manufacture, deal, or use methamphetamines.
This book was eye opening for me. It shed light on so many different aspects of the methamphetamine world. I was surprised at how participants said methamphetamine made them feel, I was appalled by the way methamphetamine affected their lives, and I understood, but was saddened by the way recovering addicts were treated after quitting.