Methamphetamine and Native Americans
Encyclopedia
Methamphetamine
has become a major concern among the Native Americans within the last decade. Tribal leaders and reservation police departments consider the epidemic the largest threat to public safety and attribute higher rates of domestic violence, assaults, burglaries, and child abuse and neglect on reservations to the drug.
; however, due to the nature of the substance, it is created independently in labs on tribal lands and surrounding areas, as well. As in the case of the Wind River Indian Reservation
, Mexican drug cartels specifically targeted reservations due to their isolation and complicated drug laws. Tribes have the right to outlaw substances on their lands as a part of their inherent rights as domestic dependent nations. For example, Montana legally allows the sale of alcohol as does the rest of the United States, but the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations in the state prohibit it. The jurisdictional issues between native and federal law created created loopholes and opportunities for the cartels to begin business.
, the crimes can be divided into three categories: personal crime, such as threats and intimidation; property crime, such as arson, theft, burglary, and vandalism; and violent crime, such as homicide, rape, and aggravated assault.
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
has become a major concern among the Native Americans within the last decade. Tribal leaders and reservation police departments consider the epidemic the largest threat to public safety and attribute higher rates of domestic violence, assaults, burglaries, and child abuse and neglect on reservations to the drug.
Background
Methamphetamine's westward spread from California included most of Indian CountryIndian Country
Indian country is a term used to describe the many self-governing Native American communities throughout the United States. This usage is reflected in many places, both legal and colloquial...
; however, due to the nature of the substance, it is created independently in labs on tribal lands and surrounding areas, as well. As in the case of the Wind River Indian Reservation
Wind River Indian Reservation
Wind River Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation shared by the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes of Native Americans in the central western portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming...
, Mexican drug cartels specifically targeted reservations due to their isolation and complicated drug laws. Tribes have the right to outlaw substances on their lands as a part of their inherent rights as domestic dependent nations. For example, Montana legally allows the sale of alcohol as does the rest of the United States, but the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations in the state prohibit it. The jurisdictional issues between native and federal law created created loopholes and opportunities for the cartels to begin business.
Crime
Reports of crime have escalated since methamphetamine's introduction. FBI offices located in Indian Country estimate that 40 to 50% of the cases the violent crime cases they investigate involve the drug. The increase cannot be solely attributed to Native American users. Traffickers, criminal groups, and gang members commit crimes against other groups and Native Americans in order to continue their drug distribution. According to the United States Department of JusticeUnited States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
, the crimes can be divided into three categories: personal crime, such as threats and intimidation; property crime, such as arson, theft, burglary, and vandalism; and violent crime, such as homicide, rape, and aggravated assault.