Methamphetamine in the United States

It is approved for pharmacological use in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, narcolepsy, and treatment-resistant obesity, but it is primarily used as a recreational drug.

[13] During the early 1960s, amphetamine was sold in the U.S. as an over-the-counter medicine in the form of an inhaler, until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration restricted its sale to physician prescriptions.

In 1986, the U.S. government passed the Federal Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act in an attempt to curb the growing use of designer drugs.

States like Montana, South Dakota, Idaho, Colorado and Arizona have all launched extensive efforts – both private and public – to fight the meth menace.

Methamphetamine can be produced in home laboratories using pseudoephedrine or ephedrine, which, at the time, were the active ingredients in over-the-counter drugs such as Sudafed and Contac.

She was reported by the Orlando Sentinel as commenting that illegal trafficking in methamphetamine, a dangerous and powerful stimulant, had been spreading rapidly across the United States.

[19] She appeared at the 68th session of the United States Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., in 2000 with President Clinton and others to discuss social and law enforcement dangers of the drug nationally, especially in medium-sized and rural communities in order to deal with "the rapidly emerging issue of meth in America, discuss the unique needs of smaller and mid-sized communities to deal with the crisis, and develop prevention, treatment and interdiction strategies for meth which can then be applied to cities of all sizes as the methamphetamine crisis spreads across the nation.

For example, people purchasing large quantities of red phosphorus, iodine and hydrochloric gas were required to document that they intended them for legitimate purposes.

[15] By 2000, in the Inland Northwest, and in much of the West United States, methamphetamine was the favored hard drug, surpassing crack and cocaine as the stimulant of choice, as it offered 3.5 times more potency, and a much longer half life.

Common wastes include discarded chemical containers (acid, drain cleaner, iodine, rubbing alcohol, starter fluid, toluene, etc.

), chemical-stained cloth and coffee filters, glassware and baking dishes, hoses, lithium batteries, propane tanks, and pseudoephedrine blister packs.

[31] Symptoms of methamphetamine toxicity include difficulty breathing, agitation, heart attack, high body temperature, seizures, stroke, and in extreme cases, coma.

[33] Harm reduction strategies for preventing meth overdoses include not injecting it and avoiding mixing it with other illicit drugs or prescription medications such as SSRIs, SNRIs and SNDRIs.