landyacht318
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Posts: 247
Registered: 7-28-2007
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The door hit me on the way back out
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?
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Yakfishing
Junior Nomad
Posts: 72
Registered: 3-2-2007
Location: N. Hollywood, CA
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Mood: Onshore wishing I was offshore
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Meth Sucks
Where were you camping?
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Mango
Senior Nomad
Posts: 685
Registered: 4-11-2006
Location: Alta California &/or Mexicali
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Mood: Bajatastic
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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.
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9006
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
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Mood: Inquisitive
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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?
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lizard lips
Super Nomad
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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.
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Mango
Senior Nomad
Posts: 685
Registered: 4-11-2006
Location: Alta California &/or Mexicali
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Mood: Bajatastic
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| 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.
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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.
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
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Mood: undecided
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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.
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landyacht318
Nomad
Posts: 247
Registered: 7-28-2007
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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.
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lizard lips
Super Nomad
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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.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64595
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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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...
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Mango
Senior Nomad
Posts: 685
Registered: 4-11-2006
Location: Alta California &/or Mexicali
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Mood: Bajatastic
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| 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.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64595
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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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!
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lizard lips
Super Nomad
Posts: 1468
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: EARTH
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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]
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jeans
Super Nomad
Posts: 1059
Registered: 9-16-2002
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Mood: Encantada
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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.
Mom always told me to be different - Now she says...Not THAT different
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livencabo
Junior Nomad
Posts: 43
Registered: 11-18-2007
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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.
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