{"id":19430,"date":"2025-06-14T16:50:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-14T15:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=19430"},"modified":"2025-06-14T16:50:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-14T15:50:20","slug":"meth-makes-comeback-in-minnesota-in-more-dangerous-and-record-ways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2025\/06\/meth-makes-comeback-in-minnesota-in-more-dangerous-and-record-ways\/","title":{"rendered":"Meth makes comeback in Minnesota in more dangerous and record ways"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by Sarah Nelson, T<\/span>he Minnesota Star Tribune<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n
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Brian Warden, the Harm Reduction Director at Anything Helps, talks with a client in Minneapolis on Wednesday. Anything Helps is an organization that does a lot of work with harm reduction and street outreach for people struggling with substance abuse. They provide people with a number of services, including showers, laundry, safe sharps removal, medical supplies for injuries and food.<\/span>\u00a9\u00a0Elizabeth Flores\/Star Tribune\/TNS<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A subtle shift was happening among clients at the north Minneapolis community drop-in center.<\/span><\/p>\n

For years, people seeking substance abuse services at Anything Helps reported using just one drug of choice. Recently, staff noticed more and more users had expanded their appetite, preferring a combination of drugs at once versus \u201cpicking a lane.\u201d The\u00a0polysubstance abuse\u00a0among their regulars soon evolved almost exclusively to one pairing of drugs in the majority of their clients: fentanyl and methamphetamine.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s pretty new,\u201d according to Brian Warden, the nonprofit\u2019s harm reduction director. \u201cThat\u2019s something we traditionally see in cities like Denver, San Francisco or Seattle. That\u2019s not something we\u2019ve really seen here.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

To Warden, the change in the clientele\u2019s drug use pattern could stem from a number of reasons, including a correlation with a\u00a0rise in homelessness\u00a0in Minneapolis. But undoubtedly, he said, the phenomenon can be explained in part by the recent surge of methamphetamine in Minnesota.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the deadly fentanyl crisis demanded the state\u2019s attention post-pandemic, another was building with methamphetamine. The stimulant, long supreme in the underbelly of Minnesota\u2019s drug scene, is flooding the state \u2014 with a more dangerous dosage than meth of the past.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe numbers are just a ridiculous amount of meth … it just hasn\u2019t gotten enough publicity,\u201d said Rafael Mattei, acting special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration\u2019s division over Minnesota.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The meth surge in Minnesota came just as the street fentanyl crisis showed signs of easing.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

U.S. opioid overdose deaths plummeted 41% in 2024, according to the\u00a0Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and fatal overdoses of all kinds fell 27%. In Minnesota,\u00a0preliminary data\u00a0from the Minnesota Department of Health showed an 8% drop in overall overdose deaths from 2022 to 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

But meth \u201chas never gone away,\u201d Mattei said.<\/span><\/p>\n

No longer homemade in makeshift labs, meth is being churned out of Mexican super labs by cartels that cashed in on the lack of supply and cheaper production costs. And its price has plummeted, becoming a more lucrative option for dealers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ken Sass, state-wide drug and gang coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, recalled a pound of meth costing $3,000 to $5,000 around 15 years ago, during his tenure as a federal drug agent. Now, he estimates, the price has fallen below $1,000.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The drug makes its way to Minnesota most often by snaking up the Interstate 35 corridor\u00a0to be sold in droves or continue into neighboring states.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Last year, federal officials announced they had busted \u201cone of the largest and most prolific drug organizations\u201d in Minnesota\u2019s history following the\u00a0arrest of a Twin Cities man\u00a0accused of helping push a historic amount of meth and other substances from Mexico.<\/span><\/p>\n

Federal prosecutors allege Clinton Ward made ties with two of Mexico\u2019s most notorious drug cartels and funneled the substance across the border via shipping containers, private vehicles and semitrailers before breaking the drug down into smaller quantities, then delivering it to Minnesota. The U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office charged Ward under the rare \u201ckingpin\u201d statute, along with 14 others in the conspiracy case that led to the seizure of 1,600 pounds of methamphetamine, 4 kilograms of cocaine, 2 kilograms of fentanyl and 30,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills.<\/span><\/p>\n

Federal officials described the bust as a success for having disrupted a major pipeline of illegal drugs in Minnesota.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet methamphetamine is continuing to pour into Minnesota with no sign of slowing down, data from the DEA indicates.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, the amount of methamphetamine seized by federal agents in Minnesota increased 142%, totaling 2,080 pounds, compared with the roughly 860 pounds of meth seized in 2023. The numbers do not include drugs seized by state, local or tribal law enforcement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Federal drug agents are on track to outpace the amount of meth seized last year. They\u2019ve seen a 25% increase in the amount of meth seized from January to April 2025, compared with the same time last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

More readily available meth, Sass said, \u201cleads to more addiction and probably a broadening market as well.\u201d And although meth may not be as lethal as fentanyl, the drug today poses its own dangers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The meth from Mexican super labs holds higher potency, resulting in a more dangerous and addictive concoction than the meth sold in the 1990s and early 2000s. After federal legislation in 2005 cracked down on the commercial sale of products containing precursor chemicals to make meth, such as pseudoephedrine in the decongestant Sudafed, cartels pursued the chemicals overseas and became bulk buyers. The product is then cut with other hazardous materials to bring maximum profit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Users deep in the throes of meth addiction can stay awake for days, leading to paranoia and hallucinations. A hallmark sign of meth addiction is wounds on a user\u2019s skin caused by incessant scratching. People who experience withdrawals may resort to theft, robbery or other crimes to obtain money for another hit. The elevated potency can only worsen symptoms, which carry ripple effects into communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTheir health, their mental health, their relationships, medical conditions that arise from addiction and all the personal problems that would come from [addiction] … they relay that to the relationships with their family,\u201d Sass said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In some cases, law enforcement and treatment providers are seeing fentanyl added to methamphetamine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though the risk of dying from a meth overdose is much lower than that of fentanyl, which has a deadly dose that can\u00a0fit on the tip of a pencil, the drug takes its toll \u201clittle by little.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no accident here,\u201d Warden said, saying of the adulteration of fentanyl with meth, \u201cI\u2019ve never seen anything like that before.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mattei likened the difference between the meth on the streets today compared with meth of the past as that of whiskey versus beer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey were making beer first,\u201d Mattei said. \u201cNow the meth that\u2019s out there is kind of like higher-proof alcohol. So you need less to feel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/health\/medical\/meth-makes-comeback-in-minnesota-in-more-dangerous-and-record-ways\/ar-AA1GgJ6j<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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by Sarah Nelson, The Minnesota Star Tribune Brian Warden, the Harm Reduction Director at Anything Helps, talks with a client in Minneapolis on Wednesday. Anything Helps is an organization that does a lot of work with harm reduction and street outreach for people struggling with substance abuse. They provide people with a number of services, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,43,119,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-drug-use-various-effects","category-methamphetamine-ghb-hallucinogens-oxycodone","category-prevalence","category-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19430\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}