I've had a family member addicted to this shit for some time now. The guy in the following story is my age. Maybe some addicts will see this. Maybe at least one of them will stop this nasty shit:

A former trucker from Missouri whose documentary chronicled an agonizing descent as methamphetamine ravaged his body has died, optimistic to the end that his story would keep others from the highly addictive stimulant.

“He was extremely satisfied, wanting to do more in getting the word out and showing kids what meth harm does. We didn’t get to that point,” his father, Jack Bridges, said shortly after the 35-year-old died Monday at a hospital in Cape Girardeau (Rush Limbaugh's hometown!!!!).

“He didn’t want anyone to go through what he did,” his father said.

Shawn Bridges drew global attention last year for “No More Sunsets,” a 29-minute film shot by a former southern Illinois television videographer at Bridges’ request.

By his family’s account, Bridges already had died at least twice, his heart so damaged by years of using meth — a concoction that can include toxic chemicals such as battery acid, drain cleaner and fertilizer — that it stopped and had to be shocked back into beating.

The documentary shows Bridges mostly bedridden, his constant companions a catheter and feeding tube.

“I’d say he’s got a 34-year-old body on the outside with a 70-to 80-year-old man on the inside,” his father told The Associated Press last May.

Roughly 28,000 people sought treatment for meth addiction across the country in 1993, accounting for nearly 2 percent of admissions for drug-abuse care, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Just a decade later, the meth-related admissions numbered nearly 136,000 — more than 7 percent of the national total for drug-abuse treatment.

Family members have said Bridges had been haunted by the dreary day in 1976 when his younger brother Jason, barely a year old, died in a car wreck. Shawn was 4 and nowhere near the accident but still blamed himself, wanting to trade places with his dead sibling, his father said.

A lenient upbringing set Bridges on the road to becoming “a little monster,” his father said. “By 16, the kid was a high school dropout and partier.”

At 26, Bridges had a heart attack that his father blamed on meth’s ability to damage a chronic user’s heart and other internal organs. Bridges learned he had congestive heart failure. Twice, he tried to kill himself, according to family members.

During his final months in a hospital bed, Shawn’s words slurred to guttural sounds when he tried to talk. At times, he spit up blood, and his weight fell dangerously when he couldn’t keep food down. His father said Monday that Bridges developed a urinary tract infection shortly before he died.

“I don’t think people will forget what got him to this point,” said Chip Rossetti, who filmed the documentary. “But what he did with his condition is really the amazing thing.”

Rossetti said 500 to 600 copies of the documentary have been sold, some going as far as Australia. Bridges was also profiled on German television. Rossetti said Monday he plans a sequel, chronicling Bridge’s final year and testimonials by people touched by his awareness effort.

“We wanted to keep him with us a lot longer, but we appreciate God’s good grace,” Jack Bridges said after his son’s death. “We’ll still be trying to drive home the point that these drugs are poison, and that people using them are heading the same place Shawn has gone.”


From: Man chronicles his death by meth use - Addictions - MSNBC.com

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither breaks my leg, nor picks my pocket."

Thomas Jefferson

meth is a terrible soul rotting drug.

Meth kills more Americans than terrorists do. Where's the outrage?

The outrage is there but too many see nothing wrong with drugs and want them legalized!

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

I see plenty wrong with drugs and think they should be legalized. It isn't an issue of encouraging people to use drugs, but rather an issue of admitting that drug prohibition has simultaneously wasted money and brought you drugs like.... meth.

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

Perhaps the distinction is that terrorism kills people randomly and outside of their control, whereas the victims of meth use make a conscious decision to ruin their lives.

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

Good points, Doc. Legalize drugs, remove profit motive, stop the creation of insane drugs like meth, reduce crime rates----seems like a win/win proposition.

Too bad some people are too blind to note the history of our own experience with the 18th & 21st amendments. . .

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither breaks my leg, nor picks my pocket."

Thomas Jefferson

I just saw this guys story on CNN but they only mentioned it and showed some scenes from the documentary.

I dont know what the deal is with the drug. Ive never tried it. Has anyone on here? I know it keeps you up and makes you feel good but so do millions of other things.

For myself, Ive never known anyone on it or addicted. But, the small amount of footage ive seen convinces me I do not want to know someone on meth. The 35 year old lman looked like a 60 year old. The irony is, when he was dead and lying in his coffin, he looked his age. His body was off the meth but he was dead. His family got to see him as they knew him.

I guess meth reduces you to a state of zombified surrender.

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My mother-in-law loves the meth. She lost her career about two years ago. At the end of this month, she's finally losing her house. She's got a flop-joint down in "little Mexico" (westside of Kansas City), where she's holing up with her illegal Guatemalan boyfriend/drug-dealer. Formerly a successful career woman, she's now been arrested multiple times over the past few years, has turned to prostitution to get drug money, and has even propositioned her own son-in-law (me) for "favors" in exchange for drugs (somehow, I resisted the advances of a 50-something meth-head).

My poor wife has had to disown her only parent (her dad skipped town when she was still a baby), and my four children want to know why they can't go to grandma's house.

To say that meth is the scourge of the earth is an understatment. Beer, I'm very glad for you that you don't know anyone addicted to this ridiculous substance.

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither breaks my leg, nor picks my pocket."

Thomas Jefferson

I surely don't have the answers but I'm not for legalization. If I had a guarantee that drug users would confine themselves to their homes after using, then I'd say go for it but we know that they won't. Look at how many people are killed every year by drunk drivers and alcohol's legal! There's people on Rx drugs that kill others by taking these legal drugs and driving, though I'm sure the number is lower than alcohol-related deaths.
I'd be willing to bet that there are many like me that don't do drugs partly because they're illegal. Making them legal would open the doors to people like us and then how many more addicts would you have???? While I don't like a nanny-type government, I also don't like the idea of more drug addicts running the streets.

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

That's so tragic! I feel for your wife but she's definitely doing the best thing for your children.

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

I was the maintenance supervisor at an apartment complex for a couple of years and we had one resident who was a meth-head. She was quite a lovely woman who gradually became gaunt, and pale. She developed a paranoia about bugs and believed that her apartment was infested with tiny biting insects. She scratched at her skin till she bled and blamed the bugs for it. She claimed to keep her apartment spotless and to wash all her clothes and bed clothes every couple of days, but the place was a mess with piles of clothes and belongings. Over and over again I had to go to her place to talk to her about the infestation, I used sticky-traps to show her that there were no bugs and magnifying lenses to let her see that the bits of lint were not insects, but she wouldn't believe it. At the end she was aging rapidly and her complexion was deteriorating, while the paranoia only escalated.

I quit the job and moved on so I don't know what ever became of her. It was very sad thing to watch.

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The apocalypse is coming... we're gonna need more ammo.

Last summer, I was in my hometown for the annual fair. I ran into a friend from high school & had a grand time. My wife & I went over to her house afterwards & sat around all night with her husband drinking beer & reminiscing (well, she & I reminisced while our spouses wondered when they could go to bed). We started talking about people we dated in high school, and in short order I asked about my girlfriend from my sophomore year.

In high school, she was a very smart girl, a track star, very popular, beautiful, and a lot of fun. Her dad owned the only pharmacy in town, and she came from a very successful family. Even in high school, she had a penchant for nicking narcotics from her dad's pharmacy, but it was always juvenile stuff, nothing dramatic.

She was a year younger than me, and I went off to college & didn't think about her much anymore. I came home at Christmas & ran into her with a guy I would classify as a "loser." She looked like shit, as if she hadn't slept in days. Very haggard & tired looking. She said she had dropped out of school & started living with this guy. She was also pregnant. And doing nearly every drug that fell in front of her.

This was 17 years ago now. Last summer, when I was at my friend's house, my friend informed me that this old girlfriend lived right up the street. Her two daughters were now staying with her mom & dad, & the "loser" (who became her husband) was long gone. She was a meth addict who also picked at her skin constantly & had sores over her complete body. She slept with anyone & everyone who would share a bed with her, and she was under indictment for various charges. She intended to "ride it as hard as possible" until her conviction & sentencing.

I was at my friend's house again on St. Paddy's Day, when I learned that this old girlfriend was now in prison.

I could go on with stories of perhaps a dozen other friends, all of whom have met similar fates due to drugs. One is in prison for murder & first-degree assault on a law-enforcement officer (when they raided his meth lab, he decided it'd be a good idea to exchange fire with the cops). One died from an overdose two Thanksgiving's back. Three brothers who were the biggest jocks in high school treat prison as if it has a revolving door.

All because of meth.

Pathetic.

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither breaks my leg, nor picks my pocket."

Thomas Jefferson