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Methamphetamine is a
highly addictive stimulant
that affects the
central nervous system. Although
most of the methamphetamine
used in this country comes from
foreign or domestic superlabs,
the drug is also easily made in
small clandestine laboratories,
with relatively inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients. These
factors combine to make methamphetamine a drug with high
potential for widespread abuse.
Methamphetamine is commonly
known as "speed," "meth," and
"chalk." In its smoked form, it
is often referred to as "ice,"
"crystal," "crank," and "glass." It
is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting
crystalline powder that easily
dissolves in water or alcohol.
The drug was developed early
last century from its parent drug, amphetamine, and was used
originally in nasal decongestants
and bronchial inhalers. Like
amphetamine, methamphetamine
causes increased activity and
talkativeness, decreased appetite,
and a general sense of well-being.
However, methamphetamine
differs from amphetamine in
that at comparable doses, much
higher levels of methamphetamine
get into the brain, making
it a more potent stimulant drug.
It also has longer lasting and
more harmful effects on the
central nervous system.
Methamphetamine is a
Schedule II stimulant, which
means it has a high potential
for abuse and is available only
through a prescription. It is
indicated for the treatment of
narcolepsy (a sleep disorder)
and attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder; but these medical uses
are limited, and the doses are
much lower than those typically
abused.
What is the scope of methamphetamine
abuse in the United States?
NIDA's Community
Epidemiology Work
Group (CEWG), an early
warning network of researchers
that provides information about
the nature and patterns of drug
abuse in 21 major areas of the
U.S., reported in January 2006
that methamphetamine continues
to be a problem in the West,
with indicators persisting at high
levels in Honolulu, San Diego,
Seattle, San Francisco, and Los
Angeles; and that it continues
to spread to other areas of the
country, including both rural
and urban sections of the South
and Midwest. In fact, methamphetamine
was reported to be
the fastest growing problem in
metropolitan Atlanta.
According to the 2005 National
Survey on Drug Use and Health
(NSDUH), an estimated 10.4 million
people age 12 or older (4.3
percent of the population) have
tried methamphetamine at some
time in their lives. Approximately
1.3 million reported past-year
methamphetamine use, and
512,000 reported current (past-month)
use. Moreover, the 2005
Monitoring the Future (MTF)
survey of student drug use and
attitudes reported 4.5 percent of
high school seniors had used
methamphetamine within their
lifetimes, while 8th-graders and
10th-graders reported lifetime
use at 3.1 and 4.1 percent,
respectively. However, neither
of these surveys has documented
an overall increase in the abuse
of methamphetamine over the
past few years. In fact, both
surveys showed recent declines
in methamphetamine abuse
among the Nation's youth.
In contrast, evidence from
emergency departments and
treatment programs attest to the growing impact of methamphetamine
abuse in the country.
The Drug Abuse Warning
Network (DAWN), which collects
information on drug-related
episodes from hospital emergency
departments (EDs) throughout
the Nation, has reported a
greater than 50 percent increase
in the number of ED visits related
to methamphetamine abuse
between 1995 and 2002, reaching
approximately 73,000 ED visits,
or 4 percent of all drug-related
visits in 2004.
Treatment admissions for
methamphetamine abuse have
also increased substantially. In
1992, there were approximately
21,000 treatment admissions in
which methamphetamine/amphetamine was identified
as the primary drug of abuse,
representing more than 1 percent
of all treatment admissions during
the year. By 2004, the number
of methamphetamine treatment
admissions increased to greater
than 150,000, representing 8
percent of all admissions.
Moreover, this increased
involvement of methamphetamine
in drug treatment admissions has
also been spreading across the
country. In 1992, only 5 states
reported high rates of treatment
admissions (i.e., >24 per 100,000
population) for primary methamphetamine/amphetamine
problems; by 2002, this number
increased to 21, more than a
third of the states.
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