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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. |
