Toxicologist Warns Of Drivers On Speed Methamphetamine Responsible For More And More Traffic Deaths

Sat., Dec. 6, 1997

Associated Press

Speed - the drug - is proving deadly on the roads, the director of the state toxicology laboratory says.

Drivers high on methamphetamine, also known as speed or crank, are causing accidents and fatalities on roadways, Barry Logan told a state meeting on impaired drivers that was organized by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

“They are not just killing themselves, they are causing other fatalities,” Logan said Wednesday.

The popularity of meth has risen and fallen over the years since World War II, when it was used by some soldiers, Logan said.

“It’s a significant factor in many fatal traffic and DUI arrests statewide,” he said. “More accidents of these types are inevitable as the popularity of methamphetamine increases.”

Since the early 1990s, meth has become popular again, said Logan, who also teaches at the University of Washington’s Department of Laboratory Medicine.

Since 1993 there have been eight identified traffic deaths involving methamphetamine in Pierce County, six in King County and three in Snohomish County, Logan said.

There also have been deaths and arrests for methamphetamine drivers in Spokane, Thurston, Clark and Grays Harbor counties, he said.

“It’s not just an urban problem, it’s coming to a county near you soon,” Logan told law-enforcement officers and traffic safety educators.

Meth is a powerful stimulant that can be “cooked” in a standard home kitchen with chemicals that are relatively easy to buy.

The toxicologist recommended more education for law-enforcement officers to recognize meth-impaired drivers and to make sure that counselors and drug treatment professionals know the risks of impaired driving so they can warn their clients.

xxxx METH FATALITIES In a study to be published next month, Logan studied the deaths of 146 people statewide who had methamphetamine in their systems. One of every three died of an overdose, one of four died by homicide and one of seven died from a traffic crash, he said.

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