The Magnitude of the Problem
Estimates of use. Formerly a threat largely in Hawaii and the West, use and production of methamphetamine has moved eastward and has had an especially severe impact in the Midwest, Northwest and certain areas of the South. Between 1992 and 2003, treatment admission rates nationwide for methamphetamine and amphetamine increased 470 percent in the population aged 12 or older. According to the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 11.7 million Americans ages 12 and older (or 4.9 percent of this population) reported trying methamphetamine at least once during their lifetime, and the average age of new users was 22.1 years. Recently, however, we have seen some promising trends. Between 2004 and May 2006 positive drug-testing rates among the general United States workforce for methamphetamine decreased 45 percent, from 0.33 percent to 0.18 percent. These data corroborate recent findings of decreases in youth methamphetamine use nationwide. The 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, released earlier this month, indicates lifetime youth methamphetamine use has declined 36.7 percent since 2001, and the 2005 Monitoring the Future survey indicates a 34 percent decrease in lifetime use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders combined since 2001.
Consequences of methamphetamine to populations. Methamphetamine is a schedule II drug that has high addictive potential and very limited medical applications (such as attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder—ADHD—and narcolepsy). Acutely, adverse effects of methamphetamine can lead to psychotic behavior that includes auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances, delusions and paranoia. Repeated use of methamphetamine can result in addiction, psychotic behavior and brain damage. Abstention from methamphetamine can produce severe symptoms of psychological withdrawal that include depression, anxiety, fatigue, dysphoria, aggression, and intense cravings for the drug. Chronic users may exhibit violent behavior, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia and poor performance on neuropsychological tests. Methamphetamine use also wreaks havoc on families, communities and the environment. Children living with parents who produce methamphetamine in their homes are subjected to an environment of toxic chemicals, neglect or abuse. The number of children in foster care has been increasing in States that have been affected by the methamphetamine scourge, an additional social burden on systems with severely limited resources. Children who reside in or near labs are at a great risk of being physically harmed in such a toxic environment, due to the noxious fumes that can cause damage to the brain and rest of the body, notwithstanding the risk of explosions arising from the use of volatile solvents in the synthesis of methamphetamine. The environment also pays a heavy toll.
For each pound of methamphetamine produced, five to six pounds of toxic, hazardous waste are generated, posing immediate and long-term environmental health risks, not only to individual homes but to neighborhoods. Poisonous vapors produced during synthesis permeate the halls and carpets of houses and buildings, often making them uninhabitable. Cleaning up these sites requires specialized training and costs an average of $2,000—$4,000 per site.
