In No Speed Limit: The Highs and Lows of Meth, author Frank Owen takes on the media frenzy that has accompanied the recent uptick in crystal methamphetamine usage in America. Along the way, he demonstrates to us that the road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions, and there's nothing new under the sun.
Beginning with a prologue in which he describes his own meth use in the 1980s, Owen describes the effects of the drug in detail: the difference in the "high" from more traditional recreational drugs. As the author puts it, the drug turns the user into a machine: more alert, more capable, inexhaustible, sexually potent, emotionally stronger. His own experience with the drug then segues into its origins in the early 1900s as a substance that when at first isolated was thought to be of little use. He then covers its rise to near ubiquity throughout the first half of the 20th Century as a prescription medication thought by the medical establishment to be a cure-all, a performance enhancer given to soldiers on both sides of World War II, and finally, as a substance that was recognized to be harmful and ultimately banned by federal law.
During this discussion, he chronicles the rise of several cultural phenomena such as Uncle Fester, the author of how-to-cook-meth books who in reality is a chemist living in Green Bay, WI with whom he visits and interviews extensively. He tells the story of the Hell's Angels biker gang who gave the drug it's nickname "crank" through their practice of smuggling the drug in the hollow crankshafts of their motorcycles and were among the first to synthesize the drug after it was banned. He also details the effect the drug has on the least fortunate of America's children, trapped in homes where the parents place a higher premium on meth manufacture than on clean diapers and food.
A very telling part of the book is his treatment of the rise of so-called "Nazi meth" in America, and it's wildfire-like spread across the midwest where meth labs popped up by the thousands, leading the DEA to take countermeasures designed to cut off the manufacture of the drug by limiting the source materials. Owen's conclusion? The feds' good intentions had the unforeseen consequence of essentially exporting U.S. meth production to Mexican drug lords who were unencumbered by our laws against procurement of large amounts of pseudoephedrine! As he puts it, "just as Prohibition consolidated the hold of organized crime over the alcohol industry, so precursor laws helped the Mexican cartels increase their market share by stifling domestic competition."
This book is at once a compelling, entertaining read as well as a nearly hype-free detailing of what meth is, what it does, and how American society has responded to it. The author appears to be imbued with a level of honesty and clarity on the topic that can only come from his unique perspective as a trained journalist, former meth user, and British expatriate. If you're looking for a reasoned perspective on crystal meth, along with a highly unusual and clear view on American drug culture in general, I highly recommend this book.
****
No Speed Limit -- The Highs and Lows of Meth ISBN 0-312-35616-1; St. Martin's Press, 2007. Hardcover, 244 pages including bibliography. $24.95
