Methamphetamine is a serious problem in the United States. Part of what makes it so dangerous is the fact that it is excessively addictive, and that people don’t need to have used a lot to be completely hooked. It is taking the US by storm and leaving only degraded and destructive beings in its wake. Rare are the people in the US who will only try methamphetamine once and never touch it afterwards. It doesn’t take long before one becomes addicted to the effects of the meth rush.

In the United States alone, over nine million people reported having tried methamphetamine. This number was reported 1999, and it has been growing ever since. Methamphetamine has seen an increase in use among young adults, which is usually the age at which they start using methamphetamine. The people around 20 years old have the highest rate of methamphetamine use, with five percent addicted to methamphetamine.

Methamphetamine production

Another big problem in the United States related to methamphetamine is the quantity of locally produced meth in what we call clandestine meth labs. The number of meth labs discovered went up by almost 600 % in five years (from 1995 to 2000). The meth labs are a threat to United States population for numerous reasons. First, it increases the risk of meth abuse by the people locally, and second meth labs are very hazardous. A lot of explosions come from meth labs and the chemicals used in the manufacture of meth are damaging the environment.

A lot of other problems are brought about by meth abuse and manufacturing, and those are creating a constant problem for US officials. Such problems are domestic violence, child abuse, etc. Methamphetamine has an undesirable effect on the personality of the addict. It often makes them very aggressive, especially when they go through cravings and their family can sometimes be the target of all that aggressiveness and violence.

Methamphetamine is a highly toxic substance. In some experiments, animals were seen completely brain damaged after only one high dose of meth. It seemed to affect particularly the dopamine production zone of the brain, making it produce dopamine in excess, which is very dangerous to the body.

Meth labs cost

Methamphetamine is not a cheap drug to eradicate. It costs the US government and population almost 23.5 billion dollars just to cope with meth use and manufacturing. As a matter of fact, it costs about 2000 dollars just to clean a meth lab which has been seized by law officials. That money is paid in big part by tax payers, so even though meth is rather a cheap drug to make, it costs a lot of money to the entire population.

US law authorities are trying to eliminate this meth epidemic for good. One of the laws passed to help with this problem was one regarding the sale of chemicals which are used in labs, which manufacture methamphetamine. Retailers cannot sell certain chemicals on the shelves anymore, and that has helped tremendously. The results show when you look at the significantly decreasing amount of meth lab seizures in various states. But meth continues to be a problem because of the importation of methamphetamine.

Methamphetamine statistics

These are a few statistics on methamphetamine that shows how much of a problem the increased of methamphetamine production and usage have become in United States/

• The number of labs seized in the U.S. have sky rocketed over the years from 63 in 1994 to 879 in 1996 and 1627 seized meth labs in 1998. It just kept going up in the following years.
• In the Mid-West, 90% of all the drug cases are meth related. The problem with meth is overwhelming.
• Methamphetamine is a very addictive that can be produced by using commercial products available anywhere.
• The cost to clean a meth lab is around 2000$.
• The state of oklahoma is the U.S. leader for meth labs seized, meth related arrest and cases.

  
  
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^{More Meth resources and links:
I am Meth - A poem about the power of meth
The Montana Meth Project}