BajaNomad

The door hit me on the way back out

landyacht318 - 2-7-2008 at 10:59 AM

I just got back from 10 weeks in Northern Baja, south of Ensenada. It had been almost a year since I was there. In my usual safe camping spots people were having stuff stolen, and some aquaintances and friends had become meth addicts.
I spent more time alone than usual and when I left, I got rear ended hard enough in Maneadero to have to countersteer not to spin out. Neither I or the drunken culprit stopped. In TJ I had a shock mount break off in a pothole, and was forced to find the unmarked Otay Mesa crossing.

I was truly in love with Baja and it's people, and I know It's still beautiful, and there are still many great hearted kind people, but for me, this time the Vibe was different, bad.
To see people I considered good friends to succumb to a meth addiction was heart breaking. To see how prevalent this drug has become down there and how few realise the life destroying effects of it has me scared for those in Baja, and those who travel there unaware of the changes to certain people and places affected by the Meth craze.

I had already decided to not return to these usual places of mine, and my experiences when leaving were like "Don't let the door slam you in the a$$ on the way out."

For the first time in a decade I'm not longing for my return to Baja. I'm definitly not returning to my usual haunts.
Anybody else have terrible tales of the proliferation of crystal Meth in Baja?

Meth Sucks

Yakfishing - 2-7-2008 at 11:51 AM

Where were you camping?

Mango - 2-7-2008 at 12:01 PM

Unfortunately, meth use has been on the rise in Mexico for a while. I believe that this is due to the success here in the USA of clamping down on meth production. The ingredients used to make meth are no longer readily available north of the border. Hence, production of meth has moved south to Mexico. I have not been down to the mainland in a few years; but, I think meth use and production is mainly concentrated in the northern states near the border.

I am saddened to hear about your old friends and your rough time. I wish you luck and hope your next trip south treats you better. Maybe consider flying to somewhere new farther south on the mainland to experience something different and meet new people.

Hook - 2-7-2008 at 12:06 PM

I have no personal experience with meth heads down there but I do hear stories from persons who have relatives in Baja and they say the problem is very pervasive and has been a major problem for several years. It can be especially prevalent in outlying areas where jobs and income are hard to come by. Becoming involved in the meth culture can provide a source of income.

As in the US, the amount of crime linked to drugs, directly or indirectly, has to be significant. A quasi-empirical analysis of the relationship between drug use and crime by the White House is here

Sorry for your bad experience...........but thanks for sharing it with us. Were you along the Pacific coast in northern Baja mostly?

lizard lips - 2-7-2008 at 12:30 PM

Im so sorry for your recent experience. My son is 14 and we have lived in Ensenada for quite a long time and I have also seen a rise in illegal drug use with the locals. Some of my son's friends have told me of going to party's where several middle school kids have been using. In his school they have periodic drug testing. I do not know what is being done with the kids who are caught but education is the best bet right now.

I travel to mainland Mexico very often and have been informed that illegal drugs are everywhere not only in the border states.

Mango - 2-7-2008 at 01:20 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by lizard lips

I travel to mainland Mexico very often and have been informed that illegal drugs are everywhere not only in the border states.


Agreed. But; meth in particular seems to be concentrated in the north in my opinion and experience. Mostly it is being made in giant drug labs for shipment to the US.

Cypress - 2-7-2008 at 01:22 PM

If your friends are turning onto meth, that's sad. :( Some make it and some don't, but I'd put some distance between me and them.:yes:

landyacht318 - 2-7-2008 at 01:24 PM

As I still have drug free friends there, who have already been badly affected by the significant downturn in the amount of campers, I will not name any specific locales.

I would like to go back, farther south, but I also want to see what happens in the near future as I got the impression pressures were building far beyond my limited experiences this trip.

lizard lips - 2-7-2008 at 05:28 PM

Mango,

Im currently in Durango and just had work in Estado de Mexico and Guanajuato. I talked with my contacts at the PGR here in Durango and they advised me that they had just busted a meth lab here over the weekend. Meth is rampant in Guanajuato right now and has been for the last few years according to reliable sources and cocaine has always been a problem in every major city so it just not the border cities being affected.

David K - 2-7-2008 at 05:45 PM

Meth is in any and all towns in Mexico... Years ago, I was stunned to hear that beautiful Bahia de los Angeles had its share of meth problems. It is all over, so you need to go away from any of that...

Mango - 2-7-2008 at 06:30 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by lizard lips
Mango,

Im currently in Durango and just had work in Estado de Mexico and Guanajuato. I talked with my contacts at the PGR here in Durango and they advised me that they had just busted a meth lab here over the weekend. Meth is rampant in Guanajuato right now and has been for the last few years according to reliable sources and cocaine has always been a problem in every major city so it just not the border cities being affected.


Interesting. It's been a year or two since I'd been to the mainland; but, I had not really noticed the twitchy rotten toothed zombies there like I occasionally see in Baja. I know cocaine and other drug use has been a problem on the mainland (some areas more than others) for years.

BTW - I love Guanajuato and would love to go back to Durango again someday. DF is too nuts for me; but, still a nice place to visit. Thanks for the info and I hope your work/trip goes well.

David K - 2-7-2008 at 06:56 PM

For the non-Spanish speakers, our term 'Meth' (crystal meth) is called 'CRYSTAL' (krees-TAHL) in Baja... Most towns have rehab clinics... some are even on the AAA map!

lizard lips - 2-8-2008 at 06:41 AM

Thanks Mango,

I was lucky enough to stay once again in San Miguel de Allende last week and had work in a small village called San Diego de la Union which is a really nice place! Im with you about DF. I like to go there only for a few days at a time. It's just to hard to get around.

Coming home today after this 10 day trip then Im going back south again soon for a few more weeks.

You are right about the major labs being close to the border. Alot of the product is being sent south as well. It's a shame.

[Edited on 01/10/2007 by lizard lips]

jeans - 2-8-2008 at 05:50 PM

About 5 years ago a meth lab explosion blew out the windows on the south side of my parents' house below Calafia.

A woman who occassionally works for my mom...housekeeper and caretaker when needed, says it is hard for her relatives to "just say No" to jobs that offer huge salaries for work that is vague in nature. She has turned down job offers from families she suspected of being "in the trade"...oh but the temptation for easy money is always there. (I'm not talking about selling drugs...just of being employees) It has been a while since I asked about her...I hope her extended family can stay on the right side of the law.

livencabo - 3-1-2008 at 09:50 AM

Three years ago the store owner in Santa Anita, that little pueblo on the way to the airport, pointed out the meth dealer. I had found a hollowed out light bulb in my yard. A neighbor who had been dealing hanged himself from a tree on the cliff bordering the San Jose river.
I don't ever pretend to know what all of the stories add up to or if any are true or not. Everyone will decide for themselves. My plane leaves Monday.