Methamphetamine Use Increasing Again, Researchers Find

AUSTIN, Texas — Use of methamphetamines is on the rise nationally after a decrease a few years ago, according to university researchers. Use of meth dropped significantly in 2007 and 2008 after laws limiting the availability of pseudoephedrine went into effect made it much harder to obtain key ingredients. However, indicators of meth use - reported identification of local meth labs, admissions to emergency rooms and treatment centers, arrest records and more - show that use increased in 2009 and 2010. Jane Maxwell , a senior research scientist in the School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin, and Mary Lynn Brecht, a researcher in the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs at the University of California, Los Angeles, reported their findings in the journal Addictive Behaviors in December 2011. Meth purveyors are getting around restrictions on pseudoephedrine by turning to a manufacturing method that uses different chemicals, according to Maxwell. The recent increase in use as seen in the indicators is not as high as use mid-decade, but Maxwell said she's worried that the stage is set for a repeat. That concern is reflected in the title of the paper "Methamphetamine: Here We Go Again?" For example, there were more than 18,000 meth lab accidents in 2003, according to the National Clandestine Laboratory Database and National Laboratory Information System.