SWJ El Centro Book Review – The Devil’s Drug: The Global Emergence of Crystal Meth
Teun Voeten, The Devil’s Drug: The Global Emergence of Crystal Meth. Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield, 2025. [ISBN: 978-1-5381-9861-2, Hardcover, 296 pages]
Crystal Meth has a complex history, and its trade and usage are vast across the world. It is difficult to understand the complex network around this illicit drug without first understanding its origins, its evolution from legal to illegal drug, its trends in production and trafficking, and its usage across different cultures and countries. Voeten provides us with a unique ethnographic understanding of methamphetamines through a well-written journey that utilizes both research and his personal experiences and interviews to uncover the complexities of meth. Teun Voeten is an award-winning war photographer and author. He studied cultural anthropology and philosophy at Leiden University and received his PhD degree writing on Mexican drug violence in September 2018 from Leiden University.
The Structure of the Inquiry
This book contains an introduction, nineteen chapters, conclusions and expectations, notes, references, and an index. The chapters develop different snapshots across the world through which the author analyses methamphetamine usage and trade. The book is unique in its organization as it mixes chapters that study meth in a more academic sense looking at its history, patterns as well as social constructs while using the author’s journeys and interviews in other chapters that immerse the reader into different parts of the world that form a personal and unique understanding of those that are involved with the production, trafficking or usage of meth.
The first chapter (The Bizarre History of Meth: From State-Approved Energizer to the Underground) provides background and context critical to understanding meth. Voeten describes the biological components of meth, describing its precursor from a plant called Ephedra sinica to the isolation of its active ingredient by a Japanese chemist that called it ephedrine. He traces its usage in medicine as well as its usage by the Nazis, that found in it a way to energize its population and then soldiers while providing them with self-confidence. After the second world war, the use of meth decreased but found a resurgence in the United States with housewives that used it to fight fatigue and as a weight-loss drug. Meth also became popular in Japan to reconstruct but also to escape reality and the disillusionment of losing the war. Thanks to a government campaign as well as improved conditions, Japan managed to eradicate its usage and trafficking. In the 70s, the drug reappeared in Czechoslovakia, and then in the 80s in the US, where it created a crisis in the Midwest due to its widespread usage and production. Nowadays, the legalization of Marijuana in several states in the US has made Mexican drug cartels shift into meth production, making them the top producer of the drug for the US market. The Netherlands has also become a vital production hub, as has the golden triangle in Asia, as meth has become the preferred drug among the urban underclass worldwide.
The second chapter (Tijuana: A Failed City in the Grip of Crystal Meth) provides a personal look at addicts in Tijuana. Voeten’s unique role as a photojournalist provides this chapter with stories of those who describe their addiction, as well as how they live and the way it transforms their body. The author also provides interviews with a former military officer as well as journalists, scholars, and police from the area to provide a better picture of the scale of the problem as well as connecting how the meth trade is responsible for a lot of the violence in Tijuana. Voeten describes how violence emerges at different levels of the trade, from the battle over Tijuana by the major cartels in Mexico to that originated at the retail level, from competition over directly selling the drug to, finally, the generalized violence generated from the state of impunity and lawlessness. The author describes the complexity of Mexico’s security situation and its evolution while concluding that in his last visit in late 2023 and March of 2024, meth and fentanyl use is even higher than before, as well as the accompanying violence.
The third chapter (Trends in Worldwide Production and Trafficking) analyses the worldwide expansion of the production, seizures, and consumption of meth. Voeten describes the complexity of capturing a precise number on the production of meth as it can be produced anywhere without the need for plantations like other drugs. There has been a worldwide effort to ban specific precursors such as BMK. However, the moment one way of making meth closes, another opens as new processes are constantly being invented. The two largest production centers worldwide are in Mexico and the Golden Triangle in Asia, the inaccessible border areas of Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. The reality is that because of its ease of production and the growing number of consumers, production has emerged in every corner of the world as the meth business is highly adaptive, dynamic, and flexible.
The fourth chapter (Michoacán: The Perfect Cartel Clusterfuck) explores the state of Michoacán in Mexico, which is currently being fought over by several criminal organizations that have emerged from the war on drugs. The state is ideal for meth production as it can import ephedrine from China through its coast. As the major player who controlled the state known as La Familia collapsed, new groups, including Self-defense militias, took up the profitable trade. The state is also ripe for organized crime because of its high value as a commercial hub that produces various agricultural products, from avocados to berries, allowing criminals to extort and diversify their portfolios. Its high value has also affected the electoral process as several candidates have been assassinated and ballot boxes disappeared. Through various interviews, Voeten can show the ease with which these organized crime members can blend into the general population and how they impose extortion to maintain their profits. The interviews also show the growing problem of meth addiction within the state that has grown as a result of the ease and widespread production in the state where anyone can build a meth lab. The violence has only increased as one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico, the CJNG (Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación), is entering the state, and other criminal groups band to fight them.
The fifth chapter (The Netherlands as a Functional Narco-State) describes how Holland has become the primary drug hub as well as the biggest meth-producing country in Europe. The author explains how organized crime has expanded with impunity and infiltrated the legal economy. Voeten describes the history of the drug industry in Holland, beginning with the Provo movement that encouraged the growing of Marijuana on their balconies, which eventually led the government to decriminalize cannabis use. Then Holland expanded its production to other drugs such as MDMA and the trafficking of cocaine and, in this way, became an essential part of the economy. The author makes an interesting comparison with Mexico to show the growing problem in Holland as infiltration of local governments, corruption, and violence is increasingly growing, albeit not at the same levels as Mexico.
The sixth chapter (Sinaloa: Welcome to Narco Central) introduces the State of Sinaloa in Mexico, home to another major cartel in Mexico best known for one of its previous leaders, El Chapo. The author describes the history of how Chinese migrants were driven out by the government, which allowed their poppy fields to be taken over by Mexicans, helping build one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world. Voeten describes the dual nature of Sinaloa, which can appear peaceful in one moment and then show its true colors, as was the case when the government attempted to arrest one of the sons of El Chapo. He also shows how the drug trade has become intertwined with the culture and economy in the state as it embraces narco tourism. Voeten embarks on a journey to see an actual meth lab, where he uncovers the small amount of money made by the cooks of meth. He concludes the chapter by updating the reader on the situation in Sinaloa, where the arrest of “El Mayo” Zambada has created infighting between El Chapo’s faction and El Mayo’s faction that has erupted violence in the state.
The seventh chapter (Users: Trends and Patterns in Consumption) describes the diversity in patterns and trends on the consumption side of meth in the Low Countries, Holland and Belgium. Voeten goes beyond the stereotypical image of a toothless addict to show the variety of usage across this region. Through interviews with addicts and dealers, Voeten describes a variety of users as well as the context behind the usage of meth that spanned from helping do difficult jobs to people that use it for sexual arousal. He also uncovers the ease of getting one’s hand on meth as it is readily available on a variety of websites and explains its relatively small number of active users in this region due to its effects on the body; however, its usage seems to be slowly spreading in the region.
The eighth chapter (Chemsex in Amsterdam: Lust Unlimited) describes a particular group of users that uses meth for sex, otherwise known as chemsex, that is particularly popular in the gay community. Voeten uses interviews that show the variety of reasons for its use and the consequences. Apart from the bodily consequences and suicide after the use of the drug, the users describe how it makes their empathy disappear, and they become sexual egoists. It also makes withdrawing much more complicated as it becomes strongly linked to sexual desire requiring many to become abstinent for a year just to be able to break the bond between sex and meth usage.
The ninth chapter (The Pharmacological Dimension of Crystal Meth) details the pharmacological and neurological effects of meth. Voeten describes how meth affects the central nervous system associated with the rewards system while inhibiting the breakdown of neurotransmitters. New research has found that the excessive activation of microglia triggered by meth can cause irreversible brain damage. The increased release of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that causes happiness, sexual arousal, pleasure, self-confidence, euphoria, and ecstasy, is very powerful in meth compared to other popular drugs. This euphoria is then accompanied by intense crashes that include depression and suicidal tendencies. In the long term, your body creates fewer dopamine receptors as a way of adapting, which can result in no longer finding natural pleasure in things that used to give the user pleasure. There are a myriad of other mental health problems spanning from ADHD to schizophrenic and paranoid periods. The author concludes by stating that meth is the most dangerous drug in the world due to its catastrophic psychological and physiological short- and long-term effects.
The tenth chapter (Prague: Meth as Rebellion) delves into the fascinating history of meth in the Czech Republic. Through interviews with workers at the Ministry of Health, addiction experts, addicts, and the very first meth cooks, Voeten describes how a country behind the Iron Curtain that had no availability to western-produced drugs turned Meth use into an act of rebellion. With a lack of available drugs, an old Nazi recipe to make meth was found and was spread in small circles for no profit, unlike today’s predatory capitalist drug industry. Meth seems to have been tolerated under communism as a form of repressive tolerance and has become part of the counterculture in the country. There are still addiction problems, but even though meth is more popular than in other countries, there seems to be less violence associated with its trafficking. However, through personal stories gained from interviews, the dark effects of meth reemerge like déjà vu showing the tragic consequences of its use.
The eleventh chapter (Chemistry 101: Making Meth and How Many Roads Lead to Rome) focuses on the flexibility of meth production. The author describes the two main methods to produce meth, the first based on ephedrine or pseudoephedrine and the second using the precursor BMK (Benzyl methyl ketone). Within these two methods, there are a variety of different ways to produce meth, which makes it difficult for authorities to ban precursors. For every ban, there is a new way for producers to get around it by using pre-precursors or even pre-pre-cursors. This chapter also includes photographs taken by the author that are an essential reminder that the people involved in either the consumption or production of meth are people with stories that deserve to be acknowledged and not simply numbers in reports.
The twelfth chapter (Afghanistan: Opium and Organic Meth) focuses on Afghanistan and is illustrated by the several trips Voeten has taken to the region in his role as a photojournalist. He first describes the history of the opium trade and its association with resistance movements. Eventually, Afghanistan would become the top producer of opium in the world, responsible for up to 85 percent of global production. Meth was not popular in the country until its neighbor Iran began to crack down on production, which shifted the production into Afghanistan. Now the meth industry is rapidly expanding as it supplies a variety of countries spanning from Iran to Australia. The chapter concludes by uncovering the brutal treatment of addicts by the Taliban and some interviews with addicts that continue to build the mosaic of different meth users.
The thirteenth chapter (Demonizing Crystal Meth: Breaking Bad, Faces of Meth, and Social Constructs) focuses on the demonization and usage of stereotypes about meth and its users. Voeten ties how representations of meth in mass media affect its perception in society and inform the response of the government. The author explores several problematic representations of meth consumers, such as their zombification as well as popularization in the hit tv series Breaking Bad. Voeten discusses those that see the fight on drugs as an instrument to impose social order while reminding the reader of the horrid effects of meth addiction.
The fourteenth chapter (Skid Row, Downtown Los Angeles: From Winos to Crackheads to Tweakers) provides a vivid account of the epicenter of the homeless crisis in LA. Voeten describes how meth has overtaken crack as the drug of choice for the absolute underclass, as its high can last much longer. Through a variety of interviews, Voeten can shine a light on the reasons why meth is abused by up to 80 percent of residents of Skid Row. The reader finds out the low price of the drug as well as the ease of users reselling it to maintain their addiction. Finally, the author discusses the current government response wisely, noting its challenges by noting how drug addiction and mental disorders, exacerbated by years of homelessness, don’t disappear once you have a roof above your head.
The fifteenth chapter (The Golden Triangle: Crystal Meth Free Trade Zone) focuses on the area in Asia known for the production and distribution of several drugs, including meth. The area benefits from its proximity to China, where it can obtain chemicals used for the production of synthetic drugs. It is also a central hub for legal trade that facilitates the distribution of illicit drugs under cover of globalized trade. All these factors, combined with a market of two billion users in Southeast Asia, have driven production and quality while lowering the costs of meth. Voeten provides the reader with the history of the region, showing how it was used for the opium trade and later became inaccessible and lawless as it became controlled by warlords and guerilla movements. Meth in Asia has been popularized in pill form known as yaba, which is generally mixed with caffeine. Voeten describes how the lower classes use this pill while the higher classes consume the crystal form of meth due to its high cost. The author then recounts the fascinating cast of warlords and capos that run this region and how they succeeded by embracing globalization and allying with different criminal organizations worldwide.
The sixteenth chapter (Shaking and Baking in Cadillac and the Strange Case of Uncle Fester) looks into Michigan, which has become America’s Meth Capital. Through interviews with a judge and district attorney from the area, Voeten can explain how Cadillac has become a hub for meth distribution and consumption as a result of its intersection with several major highways. Voeten can interview several prisoners who have dealt with and used meth showing the challenges it presents on families and how prison, for many, represents the only way to get forcibly sober in this region. Most interestingly in this chapter is the interview with Steve Preisler, known as Uncle Fester, who was a pioneer of meth production and wrote the Secrets of Methamphetamine Manufacture, which is a guidebook to cooking meth. Preisler is a meth addict but is fascinated by the cooking process itself as well as many other topics, including meth mites, and runs a publishing company that delves into several topics that border the illicit.
The seventeenth chapter (Brabant: From Smuggling Butter to Brewing Moonshine, from Weed and Ecstasy to Meth) revisits the Netherlands and Belgium and, in particular, the region where the author is from. He traces how meth production is starting to take over the production of other drugs like MDMA. He makes an interesting connection between the Rif Mountains, Sinaloa, and Brabant due to their geographical similarities, which provide ideal hideouts and are close to international borders. Voeten notes how criminal structures are passed down from generation to generation and how other social factors also play a role, as does a rebellious streak.
The eighteenth chapter (Is Fentanyl the New Crystal Meth: The Tentative Low of the Opioid Crisis) discusses whether fentanyl is overtaking meth consumption focusing on Philadelphia. Through several interviews with users, the reader sees a pattern of drug users that seem to all inevitably lead to the use of fentanyl due to its strength, low price, and addictive nature. The author discusses the staggering statistics behind the opioid epidemic in the USA, which costs over 100,000 lives a year. He also points to how OxyContin was peddled by Purdue Pharma, which profited from the addiction of large amounts of consumers of their drug. Voeten also shows how China is a major supplier of both chemicals used for the production of fentanyl and the drug itself, which is easy to produce and is taking over the drug market in the US.
The nineteenth chapter (Are the Mexican Cartels Coming to the Netherlands?) focuses on the spectacular case of a riverboat in Holland that was used to produce meth with Mexican cooks. Due to Holland’s relatively low prison sentences in prisons that are, by any standard, much nicer than those in Mexico, small-time cooks see an opportunity to produce meth in Holland. As Voeten describes, the drug world is a cosmopolitan affair, and there are several reasons why more Mexicans are being found in the region participating in the production and trafficking of meth. Reasons span from Dutch crime groups enlisting them to create a market for meth to a professional exchange between synthetic drug experts. However, the most viable explanation is that Mexican cooks are temporary workers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Voeten manages to create a complex global picture of meth. He creates an ethnographic understanding of the drug, its production, its trafficking, and its users. He reminds the reader of the personal and humanist side of the trade and drug use as he also exposes its varied history and evolution. Through various interviews and photos spanning geography and time, Voeten produces a unique book intertwined with his photojournalist profession and his skilled ability to connect with others and write chapters that make the reader feel like a companion throughout his travels. The Devil’s Drug is particularly interesting to those studying organized crime, drug addiction, and journalism.
It is a one-of-a-kind exploration that grips the reader throughout while unraveling a complex subject riddled with misconceptions and stereotypes. Voeten is a masterful researcher that can provide historical context whilst seamlessly detailing the complex chemistry behind meth, its production, and its consequences to the human body. The global rise of meth needs to be taken seriously, and this book presents a strong analysis of its implications and challenges. The socioeconomic relationship with the usage of this drug presents hard questions that society will have to respond to and that can no longer be ignored.
