When I took the most I ever had, I was

awake for a whole week.

>> I gave myself an injection and as soon

as I pulled the syringe, my body was

already thrilled.

>> Sorry.

[Music]

Yeah, everything's fine.

>> Everything's all right.

>> I was 14 when math came into the

picture.

>> I just know that she started at 13, so

really really early.

Crystal meth is one of the world's most

dangerous drugs. It's cheap to produce,

extremely addictive, and has serious

health consequences.

Few other drugs have such a reputation

for ruining lives.

Historically, math use in Europe has

been relatively low compared to the US

and Asia. European math used to be

concentrated in Shezekia where usage is

still highest in Europe. But in recent

years, consumption across Europe has

risen. Some areas such as Eastern

Germany are particularly affected. Five

of Europe's 15 highest math use cities

are located there.

here in particular and who is profiting

from all of this. We traveled to Eastern

Germany and spoke with experts and

former users. These conversations were

originally conducted in German. For this

video, we have provided dubbing and

subtitles. At the same time, we try to

understand where this drug comes from,

what other areas of Europe are

experiencing an increase, and what

insidious global structures are behind

the crystal meth trade.

[Music]

It's a cold New Year's Eve in a town in

Saxony. Dominic comes from a stable

family. At this point, he's 14 years

old. He's out celebrating with friends.

They decide to buy weed from an

acquaintance for €80, but the dealer

doesn't have any left. Instead, he

offers them a choice. They can keep

their €80 or use it to try something

else.

[Music]

>> Crystal meth.

>> We tried the crystal without thinking

about it. I thought it was funny and

just took it for fun.

>> It won't be the last time. We did it

again the next weekend and then

regularly every other weekend and then

daily. We started out snorting it, but

it it really burns your nose. And at

first that was still manageable, but

after a while it got so painful that we

had to find other ways to get our fix.

So, uh we smoked it, we drank it,

parachuted it. Parachuting a drug

involves wrapping it in thin paper and

swallowing it. Over time, the drug's

effects get weaker and weaker. Dominic

is developing a tolerance.

>> After a while, uh, the effect wasn't the

same. My body was too used to it. The

only thing left was injecting it to get

the most out of the drug. It's almost

the way to get the most bang for your

buck.

>> Intravenous use involves dissolving the

methan water and injecting it with a

needle straight into the veins. At this

point, Dominic is 15 years old. I gave

myself an injection and as soon as I

pulled up the syringe, my body was

already thrilled. As soon as I felt it

coarse through my veins, my mind went,

you know, you you jump up, you're wide

awake, you're immediately on the go,

you're totally you're outgoing, you're

chatty. This feeling was just you you

just feel great and active and like you

could move mountains.

Dominic tells us this first injection

was the best high of his life. Thanks to

the drug, I didn't feel alone. And with

these people, I never felt excluded. I

was never alone.

[Music]

It's 1938. The pharmaceutical company

Tla introduces the drug peine to the

German market. Available without a

prescription, it contains a novel

substance, methampetamin, the active

ingredient of crystal meth. Pevitine is

marketed as a stimulant, a wakeup pill.

It quickly becomes a bestseller in

Germany.

[Music]

>> A candy company even launches chocolates

that contain pevitin. They're set to

help with so-called housewife

depression. Three to nine chocolates a

day are set to do the trick. Nine

chocolates contain about the same amount

of methamphetamine as is needed for an

average methi.

It's not long until the Nazis start

using pevitine. By the 1939 invasion of

Poland, they'd already used it millions

of times. It's a miracle drug for the

Blitz Creek. Fear, hunger, fatigue, all

fade away on meth. Soldiers are more

aggressive in combat. But soon, the drug

side effects become impossible to

ignore.

In 1941, pevitine becomes prescription

only. Still, it remains widely

accessible. After the Second World War,

doctors in both East and West Germany

continue to prescribe it as a stimulant

and pickme up. Athletes use it for

performance enhancement.

In the 1970s, the UN classifies

methamphetamine as a schedule 2 drug,

which outlaws its unauthorized

production and sale. Its usage declines

throughout Europe. In Germany, pevitine

remains on the market until 1988, when

medical use of meth becomes illegal.

Nowadays, the street name for illegally

cooked meth is often still pevitin.

Soon, a black market emerges. Small meth

labs start producing crystal meth

themselves, mostly in the US and Eastern

Europe. And by the 1990s, illegally

cooked meth finds its way from Eastern

Europe to the rest of the continent.

[Music]

Every addiction has an origin story.

Ashley's starts at age 20. I was having

some financial difficulties at the time

and I have a daughter. I had her father

take care of her until I could sort out

my money problems, but I haven't gotten

her back since. That was a turning point

for me when I said to myself, I need to

get on a different track.

>> Ashley also wishes to remain anonymous,

so we've changed her name. She first

comes into contact with me through her

sister.

>> My sister's been using it basically her

whole life, and at one point she took me

along with her. She started at about 13,

so really really early. At first, it it

wasn't that much. I'd say I did a line

every couple of days, maybe every other

day.

And it works. Well, sort of. Math

distracts her, takes her mind off

things.

>> For one thing, it keeps you wide awake.

One time I was taking it and I didn't

sleep for a whole week. And it still

made me feel even more energetic. It was

mostly that I just didn't feel anything

anymore. I didn't care about anything.

And after a point, it was really often.

I was definitely using at least a gram a

day. By then, I honestly didn't care

anymore.

Math begins to take up more and more

space in Dominic's life. Everyone only

cared about the drug. That's how it

went. You're focused. You're inventive.

It's just, it's insane. Staying up night

after night doing this and that, and it

just keeps going on and on and on. I

spent everything I had on it. Poured all

my money into using sometimes several

hundred in a day.

In my case, I had a good relationship

with my dealer. I only paid €25 a gram,

which just made me use even more.

>> As Dominic's Matthew use increases, he

needs new ways to get his fix. At first,

I just bought it from a dealer or

somebody went to get it for me. By the

time I was 16, that didn't work anymore.

I was using way more than I could

afford. Started driving to the Czech

Republic to pick up there.

[Music]

The exact production cost of a gram of

meth is hard to pin down. But in Czecha,

the hub of Europe's meth production, you

can get it for as little as 10 to 20.

Czech authorities report that around 6

and 12 tons of crystal meth are produced

in the country each year. In 2022 alone,

police shut down more than 200 illegal

meth labs. The country does not only

lead in production. It also has some of

the highest consumption rates in Europe.

Producing meth requires both the right

equipment and expertise in chemistry. In

Shezia, a country with a strong

pharmaceutical industry, you can easily

find both. Every math cook also needs

ephedrin, the base ingredient used to

make me math amphetamine. In Czecha,

ephedrin is tightly regulated because of

the meth trade. But just across the

border in Poland, ephedrin based

medications such as cold medicine can be

bought in bulk over the counter. That's

where many Czech math cooks source their

supply. Meth cooked in Shezekia easily

makes its way into Germany. Smuggling it

across the border is a lucrative

business, whether through big dealers or

in countless small shipments.

there. I was taken along by older guys.

We called them old junkies who were

basically just there to do the driving.

And of course, there's the check

dealers. You just go to any pickup spot

and they'll be there. But I also drove

right into the country and picked it up

directly from the lab. We swallowed it,

packed it into little parachutes, and

smuggled it over the border in our

bodies. According to Czech police, in

2014, about 1/3 of Czech meth ended up

in Germany. Recent analyses show that

methamphetamine residues in the

wastewater of East German cities are

especially high.

We asked Ashley and Dominic, how long

does it take to get meth where they

live?

>> I'd say maybe half an hour. I wouldn't

say longer than that. I'd say it doesn't

even take 5 minutes. In Keitowl,

Dresden, Leapig, the scene is well

established there. You you can just tell

you know exactly where to go. According

to Sax and government officials,

Matthews and the state isn't increasing,

but it's plateaued at a very high level.

To understand how underground markets

work, many moving parts have to come

together. The bigger story emerges

through collaboration among research

institutions, governments, journalists,

and above all, the voices of those

directly affected. We're grateful to the

brave individuals who have shared their

stories with us and for the sponsors who

make our investigations possible. This

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[Music]

It's 2014. By now, Dominic is a legal

adult. He's been using math regularly

for several years. No job, no

university. He's no longer following

conventional life paths. He's firmly in

the grip of addiction. and it costs him

several thousand per month. That level

of consumption needs to be financed

somehow

in my circle for sure through petty

crime, individual offenses, group

efforts. I got myself into a lot of

trouble with the law.

>> The more math he uses, the more crimes

he commits.

>> I I started out shoplifting and let's

just say I ended up in much bigger

trouble. It just got worse and worse.

>> So bad he wound up in prison.

[Music]

[Laughter]

>> This is Dr. Stefan Mule. He's a

professor of clinical psychology and

addiction researcher and works with meth

users.

He explains to us why methamphetamine is

so addictive.

Methamphetamine floods the brain with

dopamine, the chemical that regulates

lust, motivation, and your brain's

reward system. It's often nicknamed the

feelgood hormone. On average, an orgasm

triggers an 80% increase in dopamine

release.

In other words, a single hit of meth can

release 17 times more of the pleasure

hormone than an orgasm.

The first time someone tries meth is

enough to lay the foundation for

addiction. How quickly that risk turns

into full-blown addiction depends on how

the drug is consumed. In simple terms,

the faster meth reaches the brain, the

higher the risk of addiction. Swallowing

it takes about 20 minutes for the

effects to kick in. Smoking it takes

only 5 to 7 seconds. The same goes for

injection.

Once the high wears off, what follows is

a brutal crash.

See,

>> Dominic and Ashley each find their own

way to endure withdrawal symptoms.

>> I slept for a week, only waking up a few

times to drink something. What I

remember is constantly breaking into

sweats and having heart and circulation

problems from not hydrating enough.

>> I can only say from my own experience

that you just get very tired or you

sleep a lot. During that time, I was

also severely underweight. Sometimes I

didn't eat at all, only when I'd come

down a bit. for

withdrawal can feel so miserable that it

seems only one thing can help. Getting

high again, a vicious cycle.

[Music]

Regular long-term use of methamphetamine

can lead to serious health problems

including depression, heart attacks, and

epilepsy. by

the body deteriorates. Poor skin, severe

weight loss, bad teeth. Over time, meth

damages organs and causes brain damage.

Here's

[Music]

a map of all the meth labs that were

shut down in Europe between 2018 and

2020. It's clear here that shea is a

major stronghold in Europe. In Germany,

Bavaria and the east are most affected.

But further west, you can see that the

Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, and Sweden

are also established meth hotspots.

Large amounts of crystal meth in the EU

now come from the Netherlands or Mexico.

It's believed that Mexican drug cartels

drive a lot of this traffic, using their

expertise to cook meth in Dutch and

Belgian labs, while precursor chemicals

are smuggled into Europe from China. By

now, the drug is firmly entrenched

throughout Europe, and it shows no signs

of disappearing anytime soon.

Traffickers exploit international trade

routes, airplanes, cargo ships, trucks.

If one route gets shut down, another

opens up. Occasionally, authorities

report successes against drug

traffickers, but the larger battle is

widely considered unwinable.

Between 2010 and 2020, the quantity of

confiscated methamphetamine increased

nearly sixfold in the EU. One researcher

in the European Union Drugs Agency warns

that currently there are indications of

increased methamphetamine use all

throughout Europe. Wastewater analysis

confirms an increase of consumption in

many European countries.

[Music]

[Applause]

Fast forward to 2023. Ashley's been

using Crystal Math for 2 years now.

She's been homeless at times and has

given up custody of her daughter. She's

lost contact with family and former

friends. Today, she's using meth again,

but this time something's different. She

feels unwell and realizes she can't

properly talk.

After using, I wasn't in control of

myself. I struggled to speak. I knew

what I wanted to say, but I couldn't get

the words out. Instead, I just sat there

staring into nothing.

>> She calls an ambulance. Shortly after,

she's admitted into psychiatric

hospital.

>> That in and of itself was a reason to

quit, but then I found out I was

pregnant, and that was the real reason.

[Music]

Sorry.

[Music]

People struggling with addiction have

various ways to find support. Often the

first points of contact are community

outreach volunteers or social workers.

They help users with everyday struggles

like finding a place to live. But just

as importantly, they support young

people in taking the difficult steps out

of addiction. By 2021, Dominic reached a

breaking point. I noticed suicidal

behavior in myself, deliberately giving

myself overdoses. Other problems added

to it as well. Physically, I could feel

it. either I kept going with the drugs

and I would probably die soon or I

changed something and I I wanted to

change. He decides to start addiction

therapy.

[Music]

Beating a crystal meth addiction usually

means facing a long and difficult

journey.

[Music]

The first step is withdrawal. It takes

about 4 to 6 weeks for the body to

overcome a physical dependence.

Afterwards, therapy can begin. We travel

to a rehab center close to the Czech

border to understand how it all works.

This is Uva Vika. He runs the clinic.

Springfield.

Addiction therapy in Veha's clinic takes

place in three successive phases. An

orientation phase, an intensive phase,

and a reintegration phase. After

physical detox, the therapy focuses on

building awareness of the patterns that

led someone to use the drug. Patients

work on strategies to cope with

difficult emotions and triggers. At the

same time, they are prepared for life

after rehab. It's not only about getting

clean, but also about staying clean. For

starters, this means leaving your old

life behind.

It's also about developing a whole new

perspective on life.

>> And patients have to prepare for

difficult faces ahead.

Addiction memory can be treacherous. The

danger of relapse lurks everywhere, even

in places where you would least expect

it.

[Music]

It's 2014. Dominic's been in prison for

over a year and a half. You might think

he's long gone through detox. Think

again.

>> In fact, there are both officers and

inmates who smuggle it in, either

through visits or through the officers

themselves, depending on what the

officer earns from it.

In my prison, it was basically the norm.

You could almost say that there were

more drugs inside the prison than

outside. In prisons across Europe, it's

clear inmates are routinely getting

high. Drugs are regularly found and

seized by authorities and show up in

urine tests. Supplying a closed off

prison population with drugs may present

dealers with added logistical

challenges, but the demand is high.

Drugs sold in prisons sometimes fetch

four times the profits than those sold

on the outside.

Beyond visitors and prison officers,

Dominic also tells us about others you

might not normally associate with

crystal meth.

Another common way to get drugs is

through the prison's priest. He brings

in a lot of substances.

>> We were also not able to independently

verify these claims. We reached out to

Saxony justice authorities but received

no response. Dominic also tells us that

even outside prison, some police

officers will turn a blind eye to

crystal meth. I never once got reported

for meth possession. They never filed

charges. When I'd be sitting with my

dealers, sometimes cops would come in to

pick up their own stuff, and we'd know

about raids ahead of time. We'd get the

heads up a day or so before a raid, so

we had time to stash stuff away. We were

also not able to independently verify

these claims. Prison guards, priests,

even police officers. Dominic's

accounts, if true, show just how deeply

methamphetamine has penetrated all

layers of society.

[Music]

Methampetamin has a certain reputation.

>> But the more experts we spoke with, the

more complexity we found. Meth is used

not only by marginalized communities

impacted by poverty, but Europeans from

all walks of life.

[Music]

According to Dr. Muik, some use math for

neuro enhancement. They find that math

can boost performance at university or

on the job.

They have to do a lot of repetitive

tasks like sitting for hours on a

tractor plowing the fields.

[Music]

For

me,

then there's the classic party context

where meth is used like ecstasy or

cocaine. There's also a pretty sealed

off scene called chemex. These are

groups where people meet in closed

circles for sex parties.

The strongly sexualizing effect of meth

comes with a whole host of other

problems, particularly for female users.

It's not uncommon for female methusers

to keep using while pregnant. This can

lead to prenatal damage and neonatal

impairments. The fetus can be severely

harmed and born with limitations or

sometimes serious disabilities.

Of the 35,000 children born in Saxony in

2015, 160 to 180 were diagnosed with

damage caused by the drug. And these are

just the reported cases. The undiagnosed

number may be even higher.

[Music]

When Ashley finds out she's pregnant,

it's a huge wakeup call. It changes

everything

for me. That was really the turning

point. When I found out I was pregnant,

I didn't want to keep going. I knew I

would be harming my child. And that was

the moment I said, "It's it's now or

never."

>> Yeah, I am. My boyfriend supported me.

He said I could go to therapy and I

would have done it but ultimately I

overcame my addiction without the

pregnancy gave me so much strength I

could handle all of it and take care of

my daughter that was easy for me in the

end. Ashley managed to quit meth without

addiction therapy. She gave birth to a

healthy baby who she tells us is

developing well.

[Music]

Both Dominic and Ashley have left me

math behind and are leading lives free

from the drug.

[Music]

Never again. Never ever again.

>> Their stories show that the journey to

recovery is absolutely worthwhile.

I believe anyone can quit. But of

course, you have to find the will to do

it within yourself.

for

anyone struggling with methamphetamine

addiction can seek support from friends

and family, from community outreach

workers, or through local addiction

counseling services. Links to online

resources can be found in the

description.

When I look back to the time I was

using, my world was so gray. Since I

stopped using my world is full of color

again. I enjoy life again. I can enjoy

the small things like when an old lady

smiles at me. You can appreciate these

things way more if you don't use

[Music]