Availability

Methamphetamine is by far the most prevalent synthetic controlled substance clandestinely manufactured in the United States. In the West and Southwest, it is increasingly significant as a drug of abuse: 52 percent of all those arrested in San Jose for drug possession, for example, test positive for methamphetamine. The Midwest has also seen an increase in methamphetamine production, trafficking and consequences. While the drug is not commonly found in the East and Southeast an analysis of methamphetamine treatment admissions as well as increased seizures suggest that the use of the drug maybe spreading eastward. The number of methamphetamine laboratory seizures reported to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1997 increased dramatically, to 1,431 from 879 in 1996. This reflects the widespread proliferation in the manufacture, trafficking, and use of the drug across the West and Midwest and portions of the South. During 1997 methamphetamine prices nationwide ranged from $3,500 to $30,000 per pound, $400 to $2,800 per ounce, and 37 dollars to $200 per gram.

Source: SAMHSA, OAS, TEDS (Jan 1998)