II. America's Drug Use Profile
Methamphetamine: A Dangerous Drug, A Spreading Threat
Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug that can be manufactured by using products commercially available anywhere in the United States. The chemicals used in producing methamphetamine are extremely volatile, and the amateur chemists running makeshift laboratories -- often in hotels or areas where children are present -- cause deadly explosions and fires. The by-products of methamphetamine production are extremely toxic. Methamphetamine traffickers display no concern about environmental hazards when it comes to manufacturing and disposing of methamphetamine and its by-products.
Source: SAMHSA, OAS, TEDS (Jan 1998) |
The effects of methamphetamine on humans are profound. SAMHSA is currently testing the effectiveness of various treatment regimens for methamphetamine, an addiction that is extremely difficult to treat. The stimulant effects from methamphetamine can last for hours, instead of minutes as with crack cocaine. Often the methamphetamine user remains awake for days. As the high begins to wear off, the methamphetamine user enters a stage called "tweaking," in which he or she is prone to violence, delusions, and paranoia. Many methamphetamine users try to alleviate the effect of the methamphetamine "crash" by buffering the effects with other drugs such as cocaine or heroin. Like heroin and cocaine, methamphetamine can be snorted,smoked, or injected.
Source: SAMHSA, OAS, TEDS (Jan 1998) |
Overall usage. The 1997 NHSDA estimated that 5.3 million Americans (2.5 percent of the population) have tried methamphetamine in their lifetime, up significantly from the 1994 estimate of 1.8 million. The ADAM system reports that methamphetamine use continues to be more common in the western United States than in the rest of the nation. Methamphetamine use, according to ADAM, increased substantially in 1997, negating the progress achieved in 1996. In San Diego, roughly 40 percent of both male and female arrestees tested positive for methamphetamine.83
Source: SAMHSA, OAS, TEDS (Jan 1998) |
Use among youth. The 1998 MTF survey asked 12th graders about the use of crystal methamphetamine known as "ice" -- which is smoked or burned in rock form. The survey found that lifetime ice use -- which had leveled-off at 4.4 percent in 1997 after a four-year rise -- rose in 1998 to 5.7 percent. The perceived harmfulness of methamphetamine among youth has also declined steadily since 1992 -- when 61.9 percent of 12th graders perceived "great risk" in trying "ice" once or twice -- to 1998, when only 52.7 percent perceived great risk.
Source: SAMHSA, OAS, TEDS (Jan 1998) |
Availability. Methamphetamine is by far the most prevalent synthetic controlled substance clandestinely manufactured in the United States. In the West and Southwest, it is increasingly significant as a drug of abuse: 52 percent of all those arrested in San Jose for drug possession, for example, test positive for methamphetamine.84 The Midwest has also seen an increase in methamphetamine production, trafficking and consequences. While the drug is not commonly found in the East and Southeast an analysis of methamphetamine treatment admissions as well as increased seizures suggest that the use of the drug maybe spreading eastward. The number of methamphetamine laboratory seizures reported to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1997 increased dramatically, to 1,431 from 879 in 1996. This reflects the widespread proliferation in the manufacture, trafficking, and use of the drug across the West and Midwest and portions of the South.85 During 1997 methamphetamine prices nationwide ranged from $3,500 to $30,000 per pound, $400 to $2,800 per ounce, and 37 dollars to $200 per gram.86
Source: SAMHSA, OAS, TEDS (Jan 1998) |
