NCJ Number
150360
Date Published
1994
Length
58 pages
Annotation
This report presents an overview of the trends in the availability, price, purity, use, manufacture, and trafficking in methamphetamine in the United States, as well as a summary of trends within each field division of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Abstract
The analysis reveals that methamphetamine remains the most prevalent clandestinely manufactured controlled drug in the United States. Availability is concentrated mainly in the western and southwestern United States, where most illicit manufacturing occurs. The wholesale and retail prices have increased somewhat at the high end of the price range during the past 4-5 years. An estimated 5.2 million Americans age 12 and older have used methamphetamine at least once in their lifetime. During 1992, a total of 288 domestic methamphetamine laboratories were seized, accounting for 87 percent of all clandestine, dangerous drug laboratory seizures. Chemical control legislation enacted at the Federal and State level has made it increasingly difficult for laboratory operators to obtain needed chemicals. Consequently, trafficking organizations have sought new sources and developed novel ways to circumvent the law. Although methamphetamine accounts for a relatively small portion of the overall drug problem, it is still a cause for great concern. Photographs and tables