Download the full report: Methamphetamine: A Regional Drug Crisis

 

Methamphetamine has been a drug of misuse for decades. The first “speed” laboratory in the United States was reported in 1963 as methamphetamine use expanded in the 1960s (Spotts, 1980). In the mid-1980s, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reported that, “methamphetamine continues to be available and of high quality in most cities throughout the country” (NIDA, 1986). 

 

More recent national and local public health and law enforcement data indicate methamphetamine may be a growing problem in some areas and that availability and use varies considerably across the United States.

 

This report combines information from national sources and the 12 NDEWS Sentinel Community Site (SCS) reports to create a fuller understanding of trends in the availability and use of methamphetamine in the United States. A major theme from our analysis is that there is extensive methamphetamine misuse in subsections of the United States that, although smaller than the opioid crisis, deserves heightened attention from policy makers. To explore this theme, opioids data are included along with methamphetamine data for each indicator.

 

Download the full report: Methamphetamine: A Regional Drug Crisis