"At least 40 to 50%" of North Koreans addicted to meth

[Kitteh]

Extremely interesting report. It's been common knowledge for a while that the DPRK government produced and sold meth to make money since the mid-2000s (when most of the opium fields in the country dried up). Apparently people who learned to produce meth in state-run factories started up underground and at-home production, which became endemic and has led to massive addiction problems. Obviously the government won't release statistics, but it's become enough of a public health problem they've been trying to crack down on it in recent years (unsuccessfully).

Really fascinating. While the report doesn't note this, it struck me that some of the symptoms of long-term meth use are anxiety, irritability, anger issues and paranoia. Seems like that could be very relevant, hmm?

[DC Al Fine]

Not sure if Onion or another day in DPRK

[Kitteh]

Not sure if Onion or another day in DPRK

Seems entirely legit, as far as we can tell anything about North Korea.

[patrick1]

Looks like brilliant comrade has been hitting up Breaking Bad on Netflix and channeling his inner Heisenberg....  This is really sad and at the same time completely understandable. People living in such dreadful conditions will look for any escape.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Truly the greatest nation in the world.

[Zioneer]

Imperialist propaganda! Best Korea is not addicted to meth! They are ingesting it as easily as filthy American pigs ingest candy, so strong are the people's constitutions! The People's Republic of Korea is too moral and wise under their glorious leader for such sickening Western concepts as "democracy" and "public health"!

Seriously though, that is incredibly depressing, but not surprising.

[AkSaber]

The war on drugs has a new front!

[Middle-aged Europe]

You know, one day this regime is going to come down and then we'll be truly terrified of the things about North Korea we never learned up to that point.

[opebo]

Why would their opium fields have 'dried up'?

[HansOslo]

I read this book “Methland», about the use of the drug in the deindustrialized Midwest. A lot of the people who used it did it to be able to work long shifts (they had to work a lot, because the hourly wages were so low). That may be the case for North Korea as well. If you have to toil long hours in the field without proper nourishment then meth will of course look like a good deal. 

[DC Al Fine]

I read this book “Methland», about the use of the drug in the deindustrialized Midwest. A lot of the people who used it did it to be able to work long shifts (they had to work a lot, because the hourly wages were so low). That may be the case for North Korea as well. If you have to toil long hours in the field without proper nourishment then meth will of course look like a good deal. 

Damn, whatever happened to Red Bull?

[HansOslo]

I read this book “Methland», about the use of the drug in the deindustrialized Midwest. A lot of the people who used it did it to be able to work long shifts (they had to work a lot, because the hourly wages were so low). That may be the case for North Korea as well. If you have to toil long hours in the field without proper nourishment then meth will of course look like a good deal. 

Damn, whatever happened to Red Bull?

I'm not sure, because I would assume they also sell it in rural Iowa and Illinois. It might be a bit trickier to get in North Koreah though.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I read this book “Methland», about the use of the drug in the deindustrialized Midwest. A lot of the people who used it did it to be able to work long shifts (they had to work a lot, because the hourly wages were so low). That may be the case for North Korea as well. If you have to toil long hours in the field without proper nourishment then meth will of course look like a good deal. 

Damn, whatever happened to Red Bull?

Meth's probably cheaper.

[HansOslo]

At least in North Korea.

[Kitteh]

I read this book “Methland», about the use of the drug in the deindustrialized Midwest. A lot of the people who used it did it to be able to work long shifts (they had to work a lot, because the hourly wages were so low). That may be the case for North Korea as well. If you have to toil long hours in the field without proper nourishment then meth will of course look like a good deal. 

The article has the story of a guy who took it so he could evade border guards and escape across the Chinese border.

[opebo]

I read this book “Methland», about the use of the drug in the deindustrialized Midwest. A lot of the people who used it did it to be able to work long shifts (they had to work a lot, because the hourly wages were so low). That may be the case for North Korea as well. If you have to toil long hours in the field without proper nourishment then meth will of course look like a good deal. 

Good point - America is as bad as North Korea for the working class.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I read this book “Methland», about the use of the drug in the deindustrialized Midwest. A lot of the people who used it did it to be able to work long shifts (they had to work a lot, because the hourly wages were so low). That may be the case for North Korea as well. If you have to toil long hours in the field without proper nourishment then meth will of course look like a good deal. 

Good point - America is as bad as North Korea for the working class.

So America IS the paradise of the proletariat!

[DC Al Fine]

I read this book “Methland», about the use of the drug in the deindustrialized Midwest. A lot of the people who used it did it to be able to work long shifts (they had to work a lot, because the hourly wages were so low). That may be the case for North Korea as well. If you have to toil long hours in the field without proper nourishment then meth will of course look like a good deal. 

Damn, whatever happened to Red Bull?

Meth's probably cheaper.

Seriously? How much does meth cost?

[Kitteh]

I read this book “Methland», about the use of the drug in the deindustrialized Midwest. A lot of the people who used it did it to be able to work long shifts (they had to work a lot, because the hourly wages were so low). That may be the case for North Korea as well. If you have to toil long hours in the field without proper nourishment then meth will of course look like a good deal.  

Damn, whatever happened to Red Bull?

Meth's probably cheaper.

Seriously? How much does meth cost?

A quick check on silk road seems to indicate about $80-105 usd/gram. obvs idk the quality of the meth being sold there. Seems to be extremely difficult to tell what an "average" dose is, and since it forms tolerance extremely quickly the doses will vary a lot person to person. Anything from >50 mg to over a gram seem to be taken. The fact that most people don't exactly measure out their doses carefully and precisely makes it even harder to tell.

Internet prices are very different from street prices, tho, which are extremely different from place to place too (btw N Korea and the US, obvs, but just between states or regions or cities too).

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I read this book “Methland», about the use of the drug in the deindustrialized Midwest. A lot of the people who used it did it to be able to work long shifts (they had to work a lot, because the hourly wages were so low). That may be the case for North Korea as well. If you have to toil long hours in the field without proper nourishment then meth will of course look like a good deal. 

Damn, whatever happened to Red Bull?

Meth's probably cheaper.

Seriously? How much does meth cost?

Not all that much, and to get a buzz from Red Bull, you'd need to consume more than one can of that piece of marketing hype.  If you're using meth not to get high but as a stimulant, the dosage seems to be around 10mg so as the price Kitteh is quoting, about $1/dose which is cheaper than a can of Red Bull. And that's in the US.  In North Korea, meth is probably cheaper and Red Bull is more expensive.

Now clearly, because of tolerance issues, meth dosing is not likely stay at 10mg, even if you're only taking it as a stim rather than as a buzz.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

I read this book “Methland», about the use of the drug in the deindustrialized Midwest. A lot of the people who used it did it to be able to work long shifts (they had to work a lot, because the hourly wages were so low). That may be the case for North Korea as well. If you have to toil long hours in the field without proper nourishment then meth will of course look like a good deal. 

Damn, whatever happened to Red Bull?

Good lord, Al.  I know you live in right wing la-la land, but do you honestly think something as tame as Red Bull can get your average endentured toiler through the hellish routine for more than a couple weeks?

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

I read this book “Methland», about the use of the drug in the deindustrialized Midwest. A lot of the people who used it did it to be able to work long shifts (they had to work a lot, because the hourly wages were so low). That may be the case for North Korea as well. If you have to toil long hours in the field without proper nourishment then meth will of course look like a good deal. 

Damn, whatever happened to Red Bull?

Good lord, Al.  I know you live in right wing la-la land, but do you honestly think something as tame as Red Bull can get your average endentured toiler through the hellish routine for more than a couple weeks?

[Ban my account ffs!]

I read this book “Methland», about the use of the drug in the deindustrialized Midwest. A lot of the people who used it did it to be able to work long shifts (they had to work a lot, because the hourly wages were so low). That may be the case for North Korea as well. If you have to toil long hours in the field without proper nourishment then meth will of course look like a good deal. 

Damn, whatever happened to Red Bull?

Good lord, Al.  I know you live in right wing la-la land, but do you honestly think something as tame as Red Bull can get your average endentured toiler through the hellish routine for more than a couple weeks?

Well Red Bull is an Austrian company.  Meth was also first popularized by an Austrian.    Give it time.

[HansOslo]

Indeed. They apparently gave it to German soldiers on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. I think that was before they really knew about the more horrific side effects of the drug.

[dead0man]

Indeed. They apparently gave it to German soldiers on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. I think that was before they really knew about the more horrific side effects of the drug.

Not just Germans, everybody was "up" during WWII.  cite

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The USAF (and probably other militaries) have switched to the safer Dexedrine.