Methamphetamine: Background, Prevalence, and Federal Drug Control Policies

Publication Date: January 2007

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Social conditions

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Abstract:

Methamphetamine has risen to the top of the American drug-policy agenda. For most of its history, it was regarded in law and public opinion as a secondary or regional concern, different from and less damaging than the drugs -- heroin, cocaine, and marijuana -- that have defined the focus of national drug policy. More recently, however, as the production, trafficking, and use of methamphetamine have spread, a gathering consensus has come to regard it as one of the most dangerous substances available in illegal markets. Methamphetamine's dangers, including the devastating impact of the drug on child welfare and health care systems in blighted communities, the risk of fires and explosions and the environmental contamination resulting from illicit manufacture of the drug, and the rapid increase in foreign suppliers of the drug are likely to keep this drug problem at the forefront of the congressional agenda.

Existing evidence of the pattern of methamphetamine abuse and the effectiveness of alternative responses to its abuse are in some cases highly imperfect, and policymaking in this field remains an exercise in decision making under uncertainty. There is, however, little doubt that methamphetamine use has risen significantly since the early 1990s. Indeed, this trend arguably is the most important change in drug consumption patterns since the crack cocaine epidemic of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The prospect of increased methamphetamine use is a major concern for the future.

During the 109th Congress, more than 25 bills were introduced to address the methamphetamine problem, including its implications for public health, child welfare, crime and public safety, border security, and international relations. Of these proposals, Title VII of H.R. 3199, the PATRIOT Act Renewal Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-177), was signed into law on March 9, 2006. The new law establishes measures to control the availability of methamphetamine precursor chemicals used for the illicit manufacturing of methamphetamine by drug trafficking organizations and amateur producers. The law limits the amount of cold and sinus medicine that can be purchased by consumers and requires that retailers maintain a registry of purchasers and secure their drug inventories. Among other provisions, P.L. 109-177 provides for limits on imports of methamphetamine precursor chemicals and requires the Departments of Justice and State to work with Mexico to effectively disrupt the smuggling of illicit methamphetamine across the U.S.-Mexico border.

This report begins with a brief overview of the history of methamphetamine use, followed by an analysis of the available prevalence data on the drug's use. The final section of the report provides a few overall conclusions that can be inferred from over two decades of congressional action to control illicit methamphetamine use, manufacture, and distribution. Appendices include a description of past congressional action and a brief description of three case studies analyzing the impact and effectiveness of past congressional efforts to regulate and control methamphetamine and its precursor chemicals. This report will be updated to reflect legislative activity in the 110th Congress.