The thing about Breaking Bad that has bothered me is that meth use has been seen in a positive light. At least in the first season or two. I couldn’t watch the rest. Meth is a drug that is so addicting that it has a terrible recidivism rate (93%), and I have a very dear friend whose son’s life has been turned upside down because of it. We don’t know how much longer we’ll have him on this side of the grave. It’s very hard to watch the destruction so close. He was once a wonderful kind young man. His family is torn apart and devastated. I really feel that BB had something to do with his trying it in the first place.
I disagree wholeheartedly that meth is portrayed positively in BB. COOKING meth is sometimes a metaphor for personal excellence, and a source of pride for Walter White. But things don’t end well for Walt, and it’s largely because he had so much of himself invested in his “work” that losing it meant something worse than death: mediocrity.
The meth heads in BB were destroyed creatures, zombies, slaves to their addiction. A few managed to salvage their lives and even redeem themselves, but the treatment of meth addiction in the series is brutal and harsh.