Meth, we all know it, we all don’t love it, and we all know it’s illegal. But the dirty truth of the matter is that methamphetamine isn’t illegal enough. Methamphetamine is a schedule II drug. And as some of you may know, that isn’t the highest scheduling an illegal drug can get. But why does that matter? You might be saying that it’s still illegal, so what’s the big deal if it’s not the highest classification it can be. Well, the truth comes over the counter. 

Much like every other business in America, there is corruption. And one small amount of this corruption is the deadly and highly addictive Desoxyn. As defined by the Drug Enforcement Administration Center, meth “has a high potential for abuse. Abuse of this drug and others like it may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.” 

“Crystal methamphetamine use is associated with numerous serious physical problems. The drug can cause rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, and damage to the small blood vessels in the brain—which can lead to stroke. Chronic use of the drug can result in inflammation of the heart lining. Overdoses can cause hyperthermia (elevated body temperature), convulsions, and death.”

Now you could say that that’s just methamphetamine and it has nothing to do with Desoxyn, the prescription drug that helps with ADHD and obesity. Well, that’s wrong because Desoxyn is literally meth. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, it’s the same substance, the same chemical properties, and the same effects. According to WebMD. “Methamphetamine (Trade Name: Desoxyn®; Street Names: Meth, Speed, Crystal, Glass, Ice, Crank, Yaba).” 

This means that big pharma can sell meth over the counter, which leads to people getting addicted, getting more addicted, and eventually spending more and more money on the stuff, and then dying. 

The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that the number of deaths caused by  methamphetamine rose from 597 in 2016 to 10,553 in 2017. In the state of Colorado the number of deaths is 318 (as according to The Denver Channel) 

The first step to solving a problem as large as the opioid epidemic is to get the younger generation to know more about it. And when this generation grows up, they can vote to change the status of drugs such as meth and Desoxyn in the United States. Currently, in Colorado, meth is classified as a schedule one drug, which means it can still be sold over the counter as Desoxyn.