Methamphetamine

(methamphetamine - description) "Methamphetamine is a central nervous system stimulant drug that is similar in structure to amphetamine. Due to its high potential for abuse, methamphetamine is classified as a Schedule II drug and is available only through a prescription that cannot be refilled. Although methamphetamine can be prescribed by a doctor, its medical uses are limited, and the doses that are prescribed are much lower than those typically abused."

(methamphetamine - description) "Methamphetamine is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol and is taken orally, intranasally (snorting the powder), by needle injection, or by smoking."

(methamphetamine - military use) "During Vietnam both the Air Force and Navy made amphetamines available to aviators. Intermittently since Vietnam up through Desert Storm the Air Force has used both amphetamines and sedatives in selected aircraft for specific missions."

Methamphetamine - Effects

(methamphetamine - acute - effects) "Acute effects: Many psychologic effects of amphetamines are similar to those produced by cocaine; they include increased alertness and concentration, euphoria, and feelings of well-being and grandiosity. Palpitations, tremor, diaphoresis, and mydriasis may also occur during intoxication.

"Binges (perhaps over several days) lead to an exhaustion syndrome, involving intense fatigue and need for sleep after the stimulation phase."

(methamphetamine - effects - chronic) "Chronic effects: Repeated use of amphetamines induces dependence. Tolerance develops slowly, but amounts several 100-fold greater than the amount originally used may eventually be ingested or injected. Tolerance to various effects develops unequally. Tachycardia and increased alertness diminish, but hallucinations and delusions may occur.

"Amphetamines typically cause erectile dysfunction in men but enhance sexual desire. Use is associated with unsafe sex practices, and users are at higher risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV infection. Amphetamine abusers are prone to injury because the drug produces excitation and grandiosity followed by excess fatigue and sleepiness."

(methamphetamine - effects - chronic) "Chronic effects: A paranoid psychosis may result from long-term use; rarely, the psychosis is precipitated by a single high dose or by repeated moderate doses. Typical features include delusions of persecution, ideas of reference (notions that everyday occurrences have special meaning or significance personally meant for or directed to the patient), and feelings of omnipotence. Some users experience a prolonged depression, during which suicide is possible. Recovery from even prolonged amphetamine psychosis is usual but is slow. The more florid symptoms fade within a few days or weeks, but some confusion, memory loss, and delusional ideas commonly persist for months.

"Users have a high rate of severe tooth decay affecting multiple teeth; causes include decreased salivation, acidic combustion products, and poor oral hygiene."

(methamphetamine - effects - withdrawal) "Withdrawal: Although no stereotypical withdrawal syndrome occurs when amphetamines are stopped, EEG changes occur, considered by some experts to fulfill the physical criteria for dependence. Abruptly stopping use may uncover or exacerbate underlying depression or precipitate a serious depressive reaction. Withdrawal is often followed by 2 or 3 days of intense fatigue or sleepiness and depression."

(methamphetamine - effects - brain chemicals) "Methamphetamine increases the release and blocks the reuptake of the brain chemical (or neurotransmitter) dopamine, leading to high levels of the chemical in the brain, a common mechanism of action for most drugs of abuse. Dopamine is involved in reward, motivation, the experience of pleasure, and motor function. Methamphetamine’s ability to rapidly release dopamine in reward regions of the brain produces the intense euphoria, or 'rush,' that many users feel after snorting, smoking, or injecting the drug."

(methamphetamine - effects - HIV and hepatitis transmission) "Transmission of HIV and hepatitis B and C can be consequences of methamphetamine abuse. The intoxicating effects of methamphetamine, regardless of how it is taken, can also alter judgment and inhibition and lead people to engage in unsafe behaviors, including risky sexual behavior. Among abusers who inject the drug, HIV and other infectious diseases can be spread through contaminated needles, syringes, and other injection equipment that is used by more than one person."

(methamphetamine - medical uses) "Some amphetamines, including dextroamphetamine, methamphetamine, and the related methylphenidate, are widely used medically to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, obesity, and narcolepsy, thus creating a supply subject to diversion for illicit use. Methamphetamine is easily manufactured illicitly."

Methamphetamine - Data

(2008 - methamphetamine prevalence) In 2008, just 5 percent of those aged 12 and over in the US had ever tried methamphetamine, and approximately 0.1% of the population has used methamphetamine in the past month. In comparison, 41 percent were reported to have tried marijuana in their lifetimes and 6.1% of the population were estimated to have tried marijuana in the past month; 14.7% of the population were reported to have ever tried cocaine and 0.7% were past month users; 1.5% of the US population have ever tried heroin and 0.1% were estimated to be past month users; and 5.2% of the US population have ever tried Ecstasy (MDMA) while 0.2% were estimated to be past month users.

(2008 - Mexico - methamphetamine) "Preliminary 2008 availability and seizure data indicate a strengthening in domestic methamphetamine availability and domestic methamphetamine production, and an increase in the flow of methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico—most likely attributable to the efforts of methamphetamine producers in both countries to reestablish the methamphetamine supply chain in the face of disruptions and shortages that began occurring in early 2007. Throughout 2007 methamphetamine availability decreased in U.S. drug markets, causing instability in the methamphetamine supply chain. Prior to 2007, U.S. drug markets relied on the strong flow of methamphetamine produced in Mexico, a supply system established in 2005 and strengthened in 2006. However, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine restrictions in Mexico resulted in a decrease in methamphetamine production in Mexico and reduced the flow of the drug from Mexico to the United States in 2007 and from January through June 2008."

(2008 - number of methamphetamine users) "The number of past month methamphetamine users decreased by over half between 2006 and 2008. The numbers were 731,000 in 2006, 529,000 in 2007, and 314,000 in 2008."

(2008 - obtaining methamphetamine) "In 2007-2008, 42.8 percent of past year methamphetamine users aged 12 or older reported that they obtained the methamphetamine they used most recently from a friend or relative for free, lower than the 49.7 percent reported in 2006-2007. In contrast, the percentage of past year methamphetamine users who bought it from a friend or relative increased from 25.1 percent in 2006-2007 to 30.1 percent in 2007-2008. About one in five users (21.7 percent) in 2007-2008 bought the methamphetamine they used most recently from a drug dealer or other stranger, which was comparable with the rate for 2006-2007 (20.5 percent)."

(2006 - threat of methamphetamine) "In fact, according to National Drug Threat Survey (NDTS) 2006 data, 38.8 percent of state and local law enforcement officials nationwide report methamphetamine as the greatest drug threat to their areas, a higher percentage than that for any other drug."

(2005 - number of methamphetamine users) "The number of recent new users of methamphetamine taken nonmedically among persons aged 12 or older was 192,000 in 2005 (Figure 5.4). Between 2002 and 2004, the number of methamphetamine initiates remained steady at around 300,000 per year, but there was a decline from 2004 (318,000 initiates) to 2005. The average age of new methamphetamine users aged 12 to 49 was 18.9 years in 2002, 20.4 years in 2003, 20.6 years in 2004, and 18.6 years in 2005."

(2005 - methamphetamine use rates and numbers) "The rates for past month and past year methamphetamine use did not change between 2004 and 2005, but the lifetime rate declined from 4.9 to 4.3 percent. From 2002 to 2005, decreases were seen in lifetime (5.3 to 4.3 percent) and past year (0.7 to 0.5 percent) use, but not past month use (0.3 percent in 2002 vs. 0.2 percent in 2005). Although the number of past month users has remained steady since 2002, the number of methamphetamine users who were dependent on or abused some illicit drug did rise significantly during this period, from 164,000 in 2002 to 257,000 in 2005."

(2004 - methamphetamine production) "Methamphetamine production and distribution are undergoing significant changes. Methamphetamine use has stabilized nationally since 2002 after increasing during much of the 1990s, and domestic production of methamphetamine has decreased dramatically since 2004. However, the increasing prevalence of high-purity ice methamphetamine throughout the country and the expansion of methamphetamine networks operated by Mexican and, more recently, Asian drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) have largely sustained methamphetamine markets in the United States."

(2003 - methamphetamine manufacturing and importing) "80 percent of all methamphetamine in the United States comes from super labs in Mexico and California. However, the purity of that methamphetamine ranges from 15 percent to 20 percent. Individuals who manufacture meth, often dubbed 'cookers' usually only make about an ounce for personal use, but the product is about 85 percent to 95 percent pure."

(2000 - incidence of methamphetamine use) "The number of new users of stimulants generally increased during the 1990s, but there has been little change since 2000. Incidence of methamphetamine use generally rose between 1992 and 1998. Since then, there have been no statistically significant changes."

(Mid-1990s - military use of methamphetamine) "Following Desert Storm an anonymous survey of deployed fighter pilots was completed. 464 surveys were returned (43%). For Desert Storm: 57% used stimulants at some time (17% routinely, 58% occasionally, 25% only once). Within individual units, usage varied from 3% to 96%, with higher usage in units tasked for sustained combat patrol (CAP) missions. Sixty one percent of those who used stimulants reported them essential to mission accomplishment."

Environment - Methamphetamine Production

(hazardous materials from methamphetamine labs) "Illicit production of methamphetamine may involve hazardous materials that are toxic, corrosive, flammable, or explosive. Such materials include anhydrous ammonia, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, red phosphorous, lithium metal, sodium metal, iodine, and toluene. Upon discovery, the hazardous materials contained at clandestine drug laboratory locations are classified and managed as hazardous wastes."

(2003 - fires in methamphetamine labs) "Further contributing to the threat posed by the trafficking and abuse of methamphetamine, some chemicals used to produce methamphetamine are flammable, and improper storage, use, or disposal of such chemicals often leads to clandestine laboratory fires and explosions. National Clandestine Laboratory Seizure System (NCLSS) 2003 data show that there were 529 reported methamphetamine laboratory fires or explosions nationwide, a slight decrease from 654 reported fires or explosions in 2002."

(hazardous materials from methamphetamine labs and clean-up costs) "Toxic chemicals used to produce methamphetamine often are discarded in rivers, fields, and forests, causing environmental damage that results in high cleanup costs. For example, DEA's annual cost for cleanup of clandestine laboratories (almost entirely methamphetamine laboratories) in the United States has increased steadily from FY1995 ($2 million), to FY1999 ($12.2 million), to FY 2002 ($23.8 million). Moreover, the Los Angeles County Regional Criminal Information Clearinghouse, a component of the Los Angeles HIDTA, reports that in 2002 methamphetamine laboratory cleanup costs in the combined Central Valley and Los Angeles HIDTA areas alone reached $3,909,809. Statewide, California spent $4,974,517 to remediate methamphetamine laboratories and dumpsites in 2002."

(2001 - methamphetamine lab removal) "The incidence of clandestine drug laboratories has grown dramatically in the past 10 years. For example, in Fiscal Year 1992, the DEA's National Clandestine Laboratory Cleanup Program funded approximately 400 removal actions and by fiscal year 2001, the DEA Program funded more than 6,400 removal actions."

(methamphetamine from Mexico) "Law enforcement pressure and strong precursor chemical sales restrictions have achieved marked success in decreasing domestic methamphetamine production. Mexican DTOs, however, have exploited the vacuum created by rapidly expanding their control over methamphetamine distribution -- even to eastern states -- as users and distributors who previously produced the drug have sought new, consistent sources. These Mexican methamphetamine distribution groups (supported by increased methamphetamine production in Mexico) are often more difficult for local law enforcement agencies to identify, investigate, and dismantle because they typically are much more organized and experienced than local independent producers and distributors. Moreover, these Mexican criminal groups typically produce and distribute ice methamphetamine that usually is smoked, potentially resulting in a more rapid onset of addiction to the drug."