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National Drug Threat Assessment 2005 - Executive Summary
February 2005

Methamphetamine

The threat posed to the United States by the trafficking and abuse of methamphetamine is high and increasing. Methamphetamine availability, production, and distribution are increasing nationally; however, national-level data do not indicate a clear trend--either increasing or decreasing--with respect to rates of methamphetamine use. Nevertheless, demand for the drug is relatively high. In fact, NSDUH 2003 data indicate that in 2003 more than 1.3 million persons aged 12 or older had used methamphetamine within the past year.

Unique Challenges of Methamphetamine Production and Abuse

Methamphetamine production and abuse present unique challenges to law enforcement and public health officials, particularly in rural areas where much of the production and abuse occurs. Law enforcement personnel, first responders, clandestine laboratory operators, and those in proximity to laboratories--particularly children--often are injured as a result of chemical burns, fires, and explosions at clandestine laboratories. The environmental damage caused by improper storage and disposal of chemicals and chemical waste attendant to methamphetamine production is severe, and the cost of soil and structure remediation at contaminated methamphetamine production sites is significant. Child neglect and abuse are common within families whose parents or caregivers produce or use methamphetamine.

Trends and Developments

  • Powder methamphetamine is the predominant type available in the United States, and law enforcement reporting as well as drug survey data indicates that, nationally, powder methamphetamine availability is increasing. 

  • The availability of ice methamphetamine has increased in the past year because of an increase in ice production and distribution by Mexican criminal groups; however, this form of the drug is not as widely available in the United States as powder methamphetamine.

  • National-level rates of use for methamphetamine are lower than those for many illicit drugs, primarily because the drug is largely unavailable to significant portions of the population, such as those in the Northeast (the most populous region in the country). Nevertheless, according to Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, past year use of methamphetamine among young adults fluctuated but declined overall from 1999 to 2003. Among adolescents, rates of past year use for methamphetamine also decreased overall from 1999 to 2004.

Powder methamphetamine

  • most common form
  • crystalline texture and water soluble
  • usually is injected or snorted but also can be ingested orally or smoked

Ice methamphetamine

  • highly pure and very addictive
  • resembles shards of ice or rock salt
  • usually is smoked

Methamphetamine tablets

  • the size of a pencil eraser
  • typically ingested orally or smoked
  • can be crushed and snorted or mixed with water and injected

  • El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) National Clandestine Laboratory Seizure System (NCLSS) data show that, nationally, there has been a steady increase in the number of reported laboratory seizures since 1999 and that laboratory seizures have increased sharply in most eastern states. However, the number of reported superlab seizures has decreased sharply from 246 in 2001, to 144 in 2002, and 133 in 2003, likely because Mexican criminal groups producing the drug in the United States are having greater difficulty in obtaining bulk quantities of pseudoephedrine from Canada. In fact, preliminary data show that superlab seizures may have declined significantly in 2004.

Figure 4. Reported Methamphetamine Laboratory Seizures, 1999-2003
Chart showing the number of reported methamphetamine laboratory seizures for the years 1999-2003.
d-link
Source: El Paso Intelligence Center National Clandestine Laboratory Seizure System.

  • Methamphetamine production appears to have increased sharply in Mexico since 2002. Mexican criminal groups are able to acquire bulk quantities of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine from China and other countries for use in Mexico-based laboratories.

  • Methamphetamine smuggling from Mexico into the United States via Arizona appears to have increased sharply since 2001. More methamphetamine was seized at or between ports of entry (POEs) in Arizona in 2003 than at or between POEs in California or Texas. 

  • Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, and San Francisco are the PMAs for methamphetamine because these cities have very high levels of methamphetamine abuse and are among the leading regional- or national-level methamphetamine distribution centers. Several other significant markets for methamphetamine either exhibit high levels of consumption or serve as distribution centers for the drug, although not to the extent of the four PMAs. For example, methamphetamine use in Seattle appears to be considerable as evidenced by a high number of emergency department (ED) mentions for methamphetamine; however, drug seizure data do not substantiate Seattle as a distribution center for methamphetamine at a level comparable with the PMAs. Conversely, Dallas appears to be a significant distribution center for methamphetamine based on EPIC drug seizure data; however, methamphetamine consumption in Dallas appears to be much lower than in the PMAs. 

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