Meth Man

Surfing as Rehab

2009-09-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

The first time Darryl Virostko surfed waves as tall as three-story buildings at Mavericks, the legendary surf spot some 50 miles north of here, he was high on acid.

It was not the only drug Mr. Virostko, 37, would take during his surfing career. Even as he was earning a reputation as one of the most fearless surfers in the world -- wining the Mavericks competition, the Super Bowl of big-wave surfing, three consecutive times -- he was also becoming an alcoholic and methamphetamine addict, dependencies that propelled him to success at surfing but eventually crushed him.

"With meth, you're moving a million miles a minute," said Mr. Virostko, whose nickname is Flea. "You're psyched to catch any wave you can."

By 2005, during a peak in methamphetamine use in Santa Cruz County, more than half of the drug-related arrests by the sheriff's office involved methamphetamines. In a survey of 500 counties across the country completed in 2005, 87 percent reported increases in methamphetamine-related arrests in the previous three years. California counties reported a 100 percent increase.

"Meth was gigantic," said Josh Pomer, 36, a surf filmmaker from Santa Cruz who has known Mr. Virostko since elementary school. "Everybody had sores all over their faces."

Mr. Virostko has been sober for a year, and this month he started a program called FleaHab in collaboration with a local drug rehabilitation center. He will teach surfing and other sports to patients undergoing supervised alcohol and drug rehabilitation.

Read the rest from source...New York Times

Nationwide Public Health Alert

2009-09-23T12:25:00.001-07:00

Life-Threatening Risk Posed by Cocaine Laced with Veterinary Anti-Parasite Drug

SAMHSA is alerting medical professionals, substance abuse treatment centers, and other public health authorities about the risk that substantial levels of cocaine may be adulterated with levamisole—a veterinary anti-parasitic drug.

There have been approximately 20 confirmed or probable cases of agranulocytosis (a serious, sometimes fatal blood disorder), including two deaths, associated with cocaine adulterated with levamisole. The number of reported cases is expected to increase as information about cocaine adulterated with levamisole is disseminated.

Read more

Meth Treatment Centers

2009-09-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of meth treatment centers from Meth Kills:

Albuquerque Meth Lab Bust

2009-09-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

Police discovered what they said was a meth lab in an Albuquerque apartment as they investigated a hit-and-run crash. Officers had arrived at the apartment on the 400 block of Utah Street, near Copper Avenue, in northeast Albuquerque.

Police had traced a truck involved in the hit-and-run to the address. As they spoke with the person inside, officers discovered the suspected meth lab.
They immediately called narcotics detectives. After obtaining a search warrant, officers said they found more narcotics, meth and the lab.

Police said the person had admitted to making the drug. He was taken into custody. Nuisance abatement teams posted the apartment as substandard and clean-up teams disposed of the chemicals.

Meth Cook Burned

2009-09-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

MOBILE, Ala. -- A suspected meth cook suffered burns to 50 percent of his body this morning after the lab in his west Mobile apartment exploded, authorities said.

Thomas Edwards, 27, was preparing a batch of methamphetamine in the kitchen when the chemicals exploded, blowing out the windows of the apartment and collapsing the ceiling, according to Mobile police and Fire-Rescue officials.

Edwards was listed in critical condition at the University of South Alabama Medical Center this morning, according to police.

The explosion occurred in the Pine Trace Apartment complex off of Airport Boulevard

Douglas' Son Moved Pounds of Meth

2009-08-29T00:13:00.000-07:00

The DEA claims Michael Douglas’ son Cameron is a big time crystal meth dealer — one who moved “pounds” of the drug since 2006.

According to his federal complaint filed in New York, DEA agents claim they ran a 3-year investigation, proving the 30-year-old actor sold “multiple pounds” of crystal meth to several people — many of whom are now cooperating in the prosecution of Douglas.

All three witnesses mentioned in the document have pled guilty to narcotics violations. They are cooperating in the hopes of receiving a reduced sentence.

Douglas has been charged with one count of possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of crystal meth and one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of “Ice” — which is the purest form of meth.

The DEA further alleges that Cameron deposited and withdrew tens of thousands of dollars in cash from the drug deals.

According to the indictment, Douglas was set up in New York after agents ran a sting operation— in which they caught Douglas accepting $15,000 in cash in exchange for a promise to deliver a half pound of crystal meth.

Douglas later followed up with the drug buyer and had the following conversation, using drug code:

Buyer: “The bath salts are fabulous! Thank you so much.”
Douglas: “Yeah, I thought you would like them my friend … I was so excited for you to take a bath and see for yourself.”

The docs say the sting hauled in somewhere around 215.2 grams of “ice.”

If convicted on all counts, Douglas faces 10 years to life in prison.
source…TMZ

Baby burned when meth lab explodes

2009-08-28T00:10:00.000-07:00

It wasn’t a grease fire that leapt out of control and burned a toddler late Sunday; it was an exploding meth lab, sheriff’s investigators said late Monday. The man Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies held responsible, 33-year-old John Franklin Osborn, was wanted on drug and child abuse charges.

The child, a 1-year-old girl whose playpen melted in the flames, was airlifted to a special burn unit in Augusta, Ga., where authorities said she was suffering from second- and third-degree burns on nearly half her body.

Osborn, a tall, balding man wanted on several outstanding warrants in Georgia, was gone when sheriff’s deputies arrived at the fire Sunday night. Witnesses said he was there when it started, and that he tried to extinguish flames that spread to the sofa and carpet at the home on Mylisa Road in Southport.

But he “insisted that no one call 911 and that he did not want law enforcement involved,” BCSO spokeswoman Ruth Corley said Monday.

Tessa Wagy, the little girl’s mother, told investigators the fire started in a pan on the stove, then spread as she tried to carry the pan out the front door. Grease splashed on the playpen and sofa on her way out, she said.

Wagy rolled the girl on the floor to put out the flames, then took her outside, investigators said. Then she went back inside to bring out an infant.

Investigators said Monday they found evidence at the scene — including chemicals listed in a recipe for meth — to suggest Wagy was covering for Osborn. Corley said she wasn’t sure if Osborne was the father of the children.

The sheriff’s office issued a warrant for Osborne’s arrest on charges of child abuse, possession of listed chemicals and manufacture of methamphetamine with a child under the age of 16 suffering great bodily harm. If convicted on the last charge, Osborn would face a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years.

Investigators said Osborne is 6 feet, 4 inches and 205 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. Investigators believed he also suffered burns in the fire.

Meanwhile, Corley said more charges and arrests were expected in the case.

source...http://www.newsherald.com/news/meth-76877-baby-photos.html