NIJ Journal No. 254 July 2006
Methamphetamine Abuse: Challenges for Law Enforcement
and Communities
by Dana E. Hunt
About the Authors
Dana E. Hunt is a Principal Scientist at Abt Associates
Inc. Sarah Kuck, a Senior Analyst at Abt Associates Inc.,
contributed to this article.
Fifty-eight percent of county law enforcement agencies
surveyed by the National Association of Counties in 2005
listed methamphetamine as the number one drug problem
in their area. States as diverse as Arkansas, Indiana,
Vermont, and Wyoming reported increases of more than 90
percent in methamphetamine arrests in the prior year.
Cheap, easy to manufacture, and long lasting, methamphetamine
has become more popular than cocaine in some U.S. cities.
And the problem is no longer confined to discrete regions
of the country.
Why is methamphetamine abuse such a growing problem,
and what should police and communities do to combat this
threat? The final report of a study funded by the National
Institute of Justice provides findings that State and
local law enforcement and public safety officials need
to know to answer these questions.1
Statistics Belie the Extent of the Problem
Methamphetamine is a completely synthetic drug. Refinements
to inexpensive manufacturing methods in the 1980’s
and 1990’s led to abuse in epidemic proportions
in areas of the West and Midwest. By the millennium, the
drug had taken hold in the South and Midwest. While methamphetamine
use has been consistently high in States such as California,
Hawaii, Idaho, and Nevada,2
self-reported use among adults nationwide has risen from
just under 2 percent in 1994 to around 5 percent in 2004.3
Treatment admissions data reflect that the national rate
of treatment for methamphetamine abuse rose from 1 percent
in 1992 to more than 6 percent in 2003.4
But national data are misleading. While these figures
reflect increases at low levels on a national scale, regional
data gathered from clients entering drug treatment provide
a far more serious picture of the problem and chronicle
both its remarkable increase and its geographic movement.5
In 1992, no State reported that 10 percent or more of
all of its treatment admissions were for methamphetamine.
By 2003, however, 35 percent of States reported more than
10 percent of all admissions were for methamphetamine,
and 8 States reported an admissions figure of more than
20 percent.6 While the
highest rates were found in Hawaii (45 percent), Idaho
(42 percent), and California (31 percent), Midwestern
States such as Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, and
North Dakota also saw large increases. Southern States
such as Arkansas increased their numbers tenfold or more.7
Regional differences in data on emergency room (ER) visits
for methamphetamine-related problems are similarly dramatic.8
While rates in some cities with high numbers of ER visits
for problems related to methamphetamine use have remained
unchanged or even declined somewhat, rates in other areas
have experienced enormous upswings since 1995. These include
Minneapolis (up 243 percent), New Orleans (up 194 percent),
St. Louis (up 97 percent), and Atlanta (up 67 percent).9
These local trends were mirrored in NIJ’s Arrestee
Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) system data. In 11 ADAM sites
studied in 2003, 25 percent of arrestees tested positive
for methamphetamine in their systems; by contrast, only
1 ADAM site had a proportion that high in 1996.10
A Specialized Approach
Everything about methamphetaminefrom its composition
to its manufacturing and distribution systems and the
physical effect it has on its usersis unique. And
these distinctions require that law enforcement officers
adopt specialized approaches to criminal investigations
and arrests.
Unlike imported drugs such as heroin or cocaine, methamphetamine
is easy to produce domestically. It is synthesized from
precursor chemicals using relatively easy production methods
that are commonly available on the Internet or in underground
publications; anyone with high school chemistry experience
can “cook” methamphetamine. Many of the base
chemicals are household or farm products that are not
feasible to regulate. However, other elements (ephedrine
and pseudoephedrine products, and anhydrous ammonia) have
come under serious scrutiny, and Federal and State legislation
now monitors their sale and limits their availability.11
Unfortunately, as restrictions effectively close “Mom-and-Pop”
operationsalso known as small toxic labs or STLsthe
demand for methamphetamine remains. Law enforcement in
many areas reports increased evidence of organized drug
traffickers, largely from Mexico, covering the established
demand.
Although the number of small “Mom-and-Pop”
labs is far greater than the number of superlabs (labs
capable of making 10 or more pounds of product at a time),
the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) states that
the bulk of methamphetamine on the U.S. market comes from
superlabs concentrated in the Central Valley and southern
areas of California or in Mexico. Data show that the presence
of superlabs in the United States is expanding. Historically,
precursor chemicals were smuggled to superlabs in the
Southwest and California, but the current distribution
is more geographically dispersed throughout the country.
DEA’s Clandestine Laboratory Seizure System reports
that the number of superlabs seized in the western regions
has actually declined by half between 1999 and 2004, but
has doubled in the South. And while seizures of methamphetamine
powder have declined in some areas, officials report an
increase in seizures of the higher potency crystalline
form not generally made by local “cooks.”
Meth Labs Pose Dangers for Law Enforcement and Communities
The way that methamphetamine is manufactured and distributed
hinders law enforcement officers’ ability to locate
and shut down smaller labs. First, detection of these
laboratories is difficult due to their clandestine placement
in rural settings where law enforcement resources are
limited. Second, criminal investigations are also hindered
by the fact thatunlike sales of crack and heroinmost
methamphetamine sales take place indoors, out of the view
of police surveillance. Also, much of the methamphetamine
produced in “Mom-and-Pop” labs is consumed
by the manufacturers or sold to a very small group of
friends or acquaintances. This close-knit distribution
system impedes law enforcement officers’ ability
to use traditional investigative methods to infiltrate
a distribution group and identify offenders, target laboratories,
and take down operations.
Methamphetamine laboratories also pose a serious danger
to law enforcement officers. The use of toxic and combustible
chemicals makes executing search warrants at meth laboratories
a dangerous undertaking. In fact, reports of injuries
to responding law enforcement officers have almost doubled
from 2002 to 2003.12
Whether the laboratory is raided by investigators or encountered
by accident during the course of an operation, first responders
and police agencies require specialized training and equipment.
Hermetically sealed hazmat suits, licensed contractors,
and specialized training in how to safely process the
scene are expensive resources that are in limited supply
in local law enforcement agencies.
Methamphetamine production and use also negatively impact
the quality of life in areas where it has taken hold.
For example, child protection service agencies across
affected areas are inundated with cases involving the
removal of children endangered by chemicals and toxic
fumes. Child neglect cases also abound in areas where
methamphetamine use and production exists.
Methamphetamine laboratories also contaminate surrounding
property. It is estimated that 1 pound of methamphetamine
produced in a clandestine lab yields 5 to 6 pounds of
hazardous waste.13 The
resultant environmental damage to property, water supplies,
farmland, and vegetation where labs have operated costs
local jurisdictions thousands of dollars in clean up and
makes some areas unusable for extended periods of time.
Damage to some areas is extensive. For example, U.S. Forest
Service officers have encountered tree “kills”
in areas surrounding STLs, and ranchers in Arizona have
reported suspicious cattle deaths in areas downstream
from labs.14
These findings demonstrate that methamphetamine is not
just an issue for law enforcement to contend withit’s
an entire community’s problem.
The Methamphetamine Abuser: Not Your Ordinary Addict
Available data on typical methamphetamine users reveal
that most are white, are in their 20’s or 30’s,
have a high school education or better, and are employed
full- or part-time. Methamphetamine is used by housewives,
students, club-goers, truckers, and a growing number of
others. Almost as many women as men use methamphetamine
(55 percent male, 45 percent female.)
But a methamphetamine user is not the typical drug user.
That is because methamphetamine has acute toxic effects
that produce long-term problems for the user and those
around him/her. It is a powerful central nervous system
stimulant that promotes the release of neurotransmitters
that control the brain’s messaging systems for reward
and pleasure, sleep, appetite, and mood. However ingested
(injected, taken orally, or snorted), methamphetamine
produces extended highs and potentially agitated or overenergized
states.
Chronic use of methamphetamine causes long-term alterations
to users’ brain chemistry and structure that result
in impaired memory, mood alterations, impaired motor coordination,
and psychiatric problems, even long after terminating
use. The short-term management of the agitated user at
arrest and the long-term health problems that jails and
lock-ups must deal with make methamphetamine users a serious
logistical and financial burden, particularly in areas
with limited manpower or resources.
Meth Matters
Methamphetamineonce only a regional problem of
the West and Northwest has hit Midwestern and Southern
States hard and is moving east. Methamphetamine is cheap
and easy to manufacture, and profit margins are high.
Its powerful stimulant effect has made it more popular
than cocaine in many areas. It is a drug that appears
to move easily into new areas not typically associated
with drug trafficking, where smaller labs serve local
groups of users. As a demand or market is established,
however, more organized manufacturers and distributors
are attracted.
Methamphetamine presents major challenges and resource
demands for State and local public safety and law enforcement.
The implementation of community resource coordination,
joint agency initiatives, and development of new skills
and partnerships are essential steps to take on the challenges
presented by methamphetamine abuse.
NCJ 214117
For More Information
- Pennell, S., J. Ellet, C. Rienick, and J. Grimes, Meth
Matters: Report on Methamphetamine Users in Five Western
Cities, Research Report, Washington, DC: U.S. Department
of Justice, National Institute of Justice, April 1999
(NCJ 176331), available at www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/176331.pdf.
Notes
- Hunt, D., S. Kuck, and L. Truitt,
Methamphetamine Use: Lessons Learned, final report
to the National Institute of Justice, February 2006
(NCJ 209730), available at www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/209730.pdf.
- Ibid., 13 (Table 1.4).
- Ibid., 7 (Figure 1.1).
- Ibid., 12 (Figure 1.3).
- Ibid., 11. The Treatment Episode
Data Set (TEDS) represents information gathered from
clients at admissions to each episode of treatment in
programs across the country.
- Ibid., 13 (Table 1.4).
- Ibid.
- Ibid., 14 (Table 1.5). The Drug
Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) is a system of data abstraction
from the records of a nationally representative set
of hospital emergency departments. DAWN provides area
level and national estimates of the number of emergency
department episodes that involve various drugs and the
reason for the visit.
- Ibid.
- Ibid., at 15, 16 (Figure 1.4).
- Tennessee, for example, found legislation
placing over-the-counter cold medications containing
ephedrine/pseudoephedrine behind the pharmacy counter
reduced the number of “Mom-and-Pop” or small
local labs seized from more than 1,500 in 2004 to 955
in 2005, with the most dramatic reductions seen in rural
counties. (Data presented by Thomas Scollon, Tennessee
Office of Criminal Justice Programs, Nashville, Tennessee,
at the Evaluation of Task Forces Cluster Meeting held
at the National Institute of Justice in Washington,
DC, in January 2006.)
- Hunt et al., “Methamphetamine
Use: Lessons Learned,” 26.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
|