Press Release

RESOURCES: Press Release Taking Action Against Methamphetamine Fact Sheet MethResources.gov Impact of Methamphetamine on Children Fact Sheet Impact of Methamphetamine on the Environment Fact Sheet Methamphetamine Fact Sheet

What is methamphetamine?

• Methamphetamine is a powerful central nervous system stimulant. It often is classed together with amphetamines as an amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS).

• Forms in which it is produced include powder, pills, base, or as a high-potency re-crystallized powder. Meth can be inhaled, smoked, injected, or swallowed, depending on the form.

• In 1970 meth was classified as a Schedule II substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Sale of many of the precursor chemicals used to make meth also are restricted.

What are its effects?

• Meth produces a very intense pleasurable effect on the brain by releasing large amounts of the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, which are variously associated with pleasure, sleep, appetite, and mood.¹ This "rush" lasts for several minutes and meth's effects may persist up to 12 hours—longer than even crack cocaine.²

• Meth users use the drug because of its acute psychological effects, including increased confidence, alertness, mood, sex drive, energy, talkativeness and decreased boredom, loneliness, and timidity.³

• Negative physical and psychological effects include increased heart rate, blood pressure, temperature and rate of breathing; decreased appetite, sleep, reaction time, and lung function; increased risk of stroke, cardiace valve sclerosis, pulmonary hypertension, and anorexia; and confusion, lack of concentration, hallucinations, fatigue, memory loss, insomnia, irritability, paranoia, panic reactions, depression, anger, and psychosis. ^{3 ,4}

• Because meth constricts the capillaries near the skin, it can cause intense itching that users liken to bugs crawling under their skin. This itching leads to repetitive scratching and open sores.

• Users who smoke meth often have severe dental problems—rotting of the gums and teeth known as meth mouth—because of the toxicity of the chemicals in the smoke.

How is methamphetamine produced and trafficked?

• There are many ways to synthesize meth from a wide range of chemicals. The active ingredient is derived from one of three chemicals, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine. Other chemicals used in the synthesizing process include iodine, red phosphorous, hydrochloric acid, ether, hydriodic acid, and anhydrous ammonia.

• Recipes are commonly available over the Internet and only high school level chemistry skills are required to make it.

• Many of the chemicals used to produce meth are highly volatile and extremely toxic, and can cause death or injury to the lab operators and their children, law enforcement officials who seize the labs, and first responders to lab explosions, and great harm to the environment—one pound of meth is estimated to produce five or six pounds of toxic waste.⁵

• Superlabs—those capable of producing 10 or more pounds of meth in a single 24-hour production cycle—use large amounts of diverted commercial pseudoephedrine produced in China, India, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Many of the superlabs found in the United States are operated by Mexican-national criminal gangs.

• Small toxic labs (STLs)—those that produce less than 10 pounds of meth in a single production cycle—use pseudoephedrine extracted from over-the-counter cold medications. Many of the STLs—also known as "mom and pop labs"—are located in rural areas and are operated by users for their own consumption.

• Between 2001 and 2004, federal, state, and local law enforcement officials have investigated/seized over 60,000 domestic meth-related incidents (equipment seizures, toxic waste dumps, or lab seizures). Over this time there has been a 27 percent increase in the number of these incidents, from 13,551 to 17,154.⁶

• Of these incidents, nearly 600 were seizures of domestic superlabs; such seizures have declined 77 percent between 2001 and 2004, from 246 to 55.⁶

Who uses methamphetamine?

• Worldwide, ATS (including meth) are the second most commonly used illicit drug, second only to marijuana. The United Nation's Office of Drugs and Crime estimates that 30 million people regularly (past year) use ATS compared to 15 million regular users of heroin and 10 million cocaine regular users. Sixty percent of ATS users live in Asia.⁷

• In 2003, 12.3 million Americans 12 and older (5.2%) reported having used meth at least once in their lifetime; 1.3 million (0.6%) reported past year use, and 607,000 (0.3%) reported past month (current) use. Rates were highest among people 18 to 25 years of age: 5.2 percent lifetime; 1.6 percent past year; and 0.6 percent current. These rates are unchanged from 2002.⁸

• In 2004, among middle- and high school students 2.5 percent of 8th graders, 5.3 percent of 10th graders, and 6.2 percent of 12th graders have used meth at least once in their life. Current use rates among these students were 0.6 percent for 8th graders, 1.3 percent for 10th graders, and 1.4 percent for 12th graders.⁹ Lifetime, past year, and current use of methamphetamine among 8th, 10th, and 12th grades combined declined 25 percent each between 2001 and 2004—from 5.8 percent to 4.5 percent, 3.4 percent to 2.6 percent, and 1.4 percent to 1.1 percent, respectively.¹⁰

• Among booked male arrestees in selected U.S. metropolitan areas in 2003 the median positive urine-testing rate for meth was 4.7 percent. However, rates vary greatly by region, with the highest use rates found in the West and Midwest: Honolulu (40.3%), Phoenix (38.3%), Sacramento (37.6%), San Jose (36.9%), San Diego (36.2%), Spokane (32.1%), Los Angeles (28.7%), Las Vegas (28.6%), Des Moines (27.9%), Salt Lake City (25.6%), Portland (25.4%), and Omaha (21.4%).¹¹

• Drug tests among the general U.S. workforce, as documented by Quest Diagnostics, suggests that positive tests for ATS have doubled between 2000 and 2004, from 0.25 percent of all tests that look for ATS in 2000 to 0.52 percent in 2004. In recent years, several locations in the south and northeast have shown high positive testing rates, perhaps suggesting that meth use may be emerging as a problem in these traditionally low-use areas.¹²

What treatment is available for methamphetamine abuse/dependence?

• Emergency department (ED) episodes involving ATS increased 54 percent between 1995 and 2002, from 25,515 to 39,340. Among selected metropolitan areas, those with the highest number of ED ATS-involved episodes in 2002 were in the West, and include Los Angeles (3,380), Phoenix (1,937), San Diego (1,741), and San Francisco (1,427). For the first three metropolitan areas the numbers have increased 81 percent, 57 percent, and 57 percent, respectively since 1995—there was no change for San Francisco.¹³

• By 2002, some metropolitan areas in the East exhibited increased ATS-involved ED episodes, including Atlanta (861) and Boston (554).13

• Admissions to specialty treatment providers in which ATS was the primary substance of abuse increased 484 percent between 1993 and 2003, from 28,014 to 135,737 admissions.¹⁴

• In 1993, only five states, all in the West—Hawaii, California, Oregon, Nevada, and Montana—had meth treatment admission rates of 24 per 100,000 or higher. No state in the East or South had more than 9 admissions per 100,000. By 2002, all but four states west of the Mississippi—Alaska, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana—had admission rates of 24 per 100,000 or higher. Additionally, six states East of the Mississippi had rates in excess of 10 per 100,000—Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia¹⁵

• Currently there are no psychotherapeutic medications for meth treatment.

• However, several behavioral treatment therapies, some originally developed for cocaine dependence, have shown to be effective for treating meth dependency.¹⁶

• Of particular interest is the Matrix Model, an intensive outpatient program based on cognitive behavioral therapy models, relapse prevention, and skills training. A recent evaluation of the Matrix Model comparing it to treatment-as-usual indicates that Matrix Model clients over the course of their treatment were more likely to stay in treatment, to complete treatment, and have negative meth urine tests. However, at discharge and 6-month follow-up, Matrix Model client outcomes were similar to those who received treatment-as-usual.¹⁷

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