Road Trip Side Note

While on this road trip, my son (Matt) and I noticed something we hadn't really noticed before. In the small towns along the way, from Missouri to Washington, there had been a change. The nature of the change had to do with the effects of methamphetamine production. In every small town, (especially in Wyoming and Montana), we saw burned-out or vacant mobile homes and houses. They all had the same features: a couple of vehicles with weeds growing up through them (with nothing apparently wrong with them); a yard that had a post and a chain for the requisite Pit Bull or other scary dog to be tied to; and a basically raw and uncared-for look to the property and surroundings.

Eating at restaurants in small towns on our trip, you could tell who of the customers and/or workers were on meth. Worse yet, seeing drivers on meth was scary. Spokane and northern Idaho seemed to have more than their fair share of these distracted and f*cking crazy drivers.

Too bad the current Drug Czar, (Walters), is so into a war on pot. I think he's missing the forest for the "buds" with his focus on pot. Also, police departments hate to bust a meth house. There is nothing but high costs involved when they do so. There's the cost of the SWAT team and the cost of a HAZMAT cleanup, and there are no ASSETS to seize. Pot-people usually have assets and cash to seize, and there is no cleanup. Most of them can be arrested without SWAT being involved, also.

Small town America is dying anyway, but meth is hurrying the process. And guess what...it's already in the cities and suburbs. We gotta fight this shit!