Until 1999, the methamphetamine problem was increasing at an alarming rate. International chemical control efforts reduced the supply of those chemicals needed to produce high-quality methamphetamine. As a result, the national purity level for methamphetamine has decreased dramatically. The average purity of methamphetamine exhibits seized by DEA dropped from 71 percent in 1994 to 30 percent in 1999. The average purity of methamphetamine exhibits seized by DEA in 2000 rose slightly to 35 percent and 40 in 2001.Source: DEA, Drug Trafficking in the United States
Methamphetamine is a Schedule II drug under Federal regulations, meaning it has a high potential for abuse with severe liability to cause dependence. During World War II, methamphetamine was used by soldiers as an aid to fight fatigue and enhance performance. In Japan, intravenous methamphetamine abuse reached epidemic proportions immediately after World War II, when supplies stored for military use became available to the public. In the United States in the 1950s, legally manufactured tablets of methamphetamine were used nonmedically by college students, truck drivers, and athletes, who usually did not become severely addicted. This pattern changed drastically in the 1960s with the increased availability of injectable methamphetamine. The 1970 Controlled Substances Act severely restricted the legal production of injectable methamphetamine, causing its use to decrease greatly.Methamphetamine trafficking and abuse in the United States have been on the rise over the past few years, as indicated by investigative, seizure, price, purity, and abuse data. As a result, this drug is having a devastating impact in many communities across the nation. Although more common in western areas of the country, this impact increasingly is being felt in areas not previously familiar with the harmful effects of this powerful stimulant.
Illicit methamphetamine, which is almost exclusively methamphetamine hydrochloride, is sold in powder, ice, and tablet forms. Powder methamphetamine, the most common form available in the United States, is produced domestically and also is smuggled into the country from Mexico. Traditionally, Asian-produced ice was almost exclusively found in Guam, Hawaii, and parts of California; however, increased domestic production of this form of methamphetamine has increased availability to several other areas of the country previously untouched by exposure to ice. Methamphetamine tablets, primarily manufactured in Burma, have been smuggled into the United States, especially to northern California and the Los Angeles area. Source: DEA, "Drug Intelligence Brief: The Forms of Methamphetamine," April 2002
Yaba: Thai for "crazy medicine," Yaba, a methamphetamine tablet, has been appearing in the United States. Yaba tablets are sometimes flavored (grape, orange, and vanilla): tasting like candy, the tablets are obviously marketed to a young audience, particularly at rave�s or parties where Ecstasy (a similar looking drug) has been well established. The tablets are commonly reddish-orange or green, and fit inside the end of a drinking straw. They have a variety of logos, with �WY� the most common. Methamphetamine pills are normally ingested orally, although they can be crushed into powder and administered.
In 2000, authorities seized 301,697 SEA methamphetamine tablets in U.S. Postal Service facilities in Oakland, Los Angeles, and Honolulu. This represents an 656-percent increase from the 1999 seizure total of 39,917.Source: DEA, "Drug Trafficking in the United States," www.dea.gov
In the News:
During the last two years, the use and production of methamphetamine has cost communities in Northeastern Colorado nearly $1 million. According to a study by the Colorado State University (CSU) Cooperative Extension and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, government costs related to methamphetamine increased by $916,850 from 1999 to 2001 in Morgan, Logan, Washington, Yuma, Phillips, Sedgwick, and Kit Carson counties.Source: The Fort Morgan Times, Nov. 12, 2002 Hawaii has a meth problem: According to a Justice Department report, 40 percent of people arrested in Honolulu tested positive for methamphetamine use. No other U.S. city came close to 30 percent. The report also found that 30,000 Honolulu residents are hard-core users of crystal meth, while as many as three times more are recreational users. In addition, 50 percent of teenagers are addicted to crystal meth in one town on the Big Island.