MAPP-SD, a project of Prairie View Prevention Services, Inc., is a comprehensive Methamphetamine awareness and prevention project. 
MAPP-SD is dedicated to:
u   Increase awareness of Meth and the problems associated with its use, manufacture and distribution;
u Provide, at no cost, professional Meth awareness and prevention education to groups and organizations on a community, regional and statewide level;
u Be a no-cost, ongoing resource for South Dakota citizens to deal with issues rising from the manufacture, use and distribution of Meth.

What is Meth?

     That is the question that has been circulating amongst many coffee shops, school hallways, parent meetings, and other social groups as people in the Northern Hills wonder about this newly found threat to the area. Many who ask this question remember the days when teen alcohol and marijuana consumption was the primary (and only) concern among parents, teachers and community members. While these two items are still a focus and concern, Methamphetamine, with its toxic chemical make-up and dangerous effects, is being recognized as an even greater threat to the community.
        Robert Nickisch, a Meth educator from Action for the Betterment of our Community in Sturgis said Meth is an entirely synthetic drug that comes in powder, crystal or pill form. It is usually either a white, pink or yellowish color, and in its crystal form it can look like small rocks or ice. It can be either snorted, smoked, injected or drank.
          The drug was originally discovered by Japanese scientists in 1919. It was later used in World War II when German officials gave the drug to their soldiers in order to step up their ability to function for long periods of time. In fact, Nickisch said, one of the main ways to make Meth is referred to as the "Nazi" Method.
        Methamphetamine made its way to the United States in the 1930s, and continued to spread as doctors prescribed different versions of the drug for weight loss through the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1950s the drug began being distributed on the street, and was primarily recognized as a club drug. Particularly popular amongst motorcycle groups such as the Hell's Angels, Meth was almost exclusively used and sold among very small, tight-knit organizations, which used it for entertainment purposes.
        However, according to Nickisch that exclusivity ended in the early 1980s, when the Mexican drug cartel discovered that Methamphetamine can be made with relatively cheap materials, and sold for a large profit. During this time, Nickisch said Mexican drug lords decided to target the Midwest market with the drug so as to not interfere with existing drug trafficking organizations on the east and west coasts.
"They came up here and they gave it away," Nickisch said. "And every time you give Meth away to (10 people) you get approximately nine addicts. That's how Meth began to move up into the Midwest."
With the demand for Methamphetamine growing in the Midwest markets, Nickisch said in the late 1980s a chemistry student at the University of California-Los Angeles discovered that the only difference between Methamphetamine and amphetamine was one molecule of oxygen. After playing with several ways to remove that molecule, Nickisch said the student was finally able to come up with seven effective recipes for making Meth. After his discovery, Nickisch said he posted all seven of his "recipes" on the Internet and this became the origination of Meth manufacturing in the United States.
        "(Today) there are many different recipes," Nickisch said. "Some are poisonous, some are deadly, some are just bad and some are really good. Most recipes were published by a guy named Uncle Festus. He is currently in federal prison for Meth but he actually publishes on the Internet and publishes hard-bound books for research purposes only. (They are) all you ever wanted to know about drugs. It's out there in public domain and he is a billionaire by now. That is truly how it started."
        Since there are so many different recipes for Meth, Nickisch said it is primarily a network drug. Because the risk of getting a bad batch is so high, he said Meth users and manufacturers tend to congregate in tight circles.  "If you get good Meth you always go back to the same supplier because some other person with Meth may have contaminants," Nickisch said.
The networking system, Nickisch continued, is one of the reasons Methamphetamine has become such a problem in the Northern Hills area. In addition to the Interstate 90 corridor that is often used for drug trafficking from main suppliers in Denver, Nickisch said many Meth networks are made and kept current during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Nickisch said during this time people from around the country who are involved with the drug bring ingredients, customers, and distributors to meet during the Rally. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, two of the main ingredients for Meth manufacturing which, due to recent legislation designed to cut down on Meth production, have limited sales, are some of the main sought after items at the Rally, since many people can bring the chemicals in to produce massive quantities of the otherwise limited over-the-counter drug.
        "An enabler is a good word for what the Rally is because that is certainly true," Nickisch said. "They bring supplies, they bring contacts, they bring recipes and ways to get supplies. They get to know each other."
        However, Nickisch said drug activity at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has been significantly less in recent years than in the past, due to increased law enforcement. But for people who want to find Meth or Meth users, Nickisch said the Rally, with its massive amounts of people from all over the world, is the natural meeting place.

                  Part One of the Series: Meth – Everyone’s Problem
                  Part Two of the Series: What is Meth?
                  Part Three of the Series: Long Story Short - An Addict's Tale
                  Part Four of the series: Meth: A drug like no other

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