Meth Watch

1.. What is methamphetamine?

2. How is methamphetamine produced?

3. What products are being diverted to make meth in these small toxic labs?

4. What are the legitimate uses for pseudoephedrine and ephedrine?

5. What is CHPA doing to address the meth production and abuse problem?

6. What is Meth Watch?

7. What is CHPA’s role?

8. How does Meth Watch work?

9. How is CHPA working to reduce the demand for meth?

10. What can Congress do to address the meth problem?

1. What is methamphetamine?

Methamphetamine, also known as “meth,” “speed,” “crank,” or “ice,” is a powerful, addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system. Meth is a synthetic drug produced and sold as pills, capsules, or powder that can be smoked, snorted, injected, or swallowed.

Meth often has alarming effects that include twitching and jerking; aggressive behavior; increased muscle tension and grinding of teeth; impaired speech; dry, itchy skin; and more. Meth users are often easy to spot – they tend to have poor hygiene, are thin, have bags under their eyes, and act jittery or paranoid.

Additional adverse consequences of methamphetamine use include the risk of stroke, dangerously high body temperature, and cardiac arrhythmia. Withdrawal from high doses often results in severe depression and paranoia.

2. How is methamphetamine produced?

Production of methamphetamine has changed significantly over the past 10 years. Primarily, Meth has been imported into the United States as a finished drug from Mexico. More recently, officials have traced importation from other countries as well, including Canada, China, and Southeast Asia.

Methamphetamine is also manufactured illegally in the United States. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the majority of the precursor chemicals used for local meth production is smuggled into the country in bulk quantities and is produced in “super labs,” defined as laboratories capable of making in excess of 10 pounds of methamphetamine in one 24-hour production cycle. However, law enforcement authorities have seen a substantial increase in the number of clandestine labs where “meth cooks” use illegally diverted chemicals to produce methamphetamine in small toxic labs.

The growing use of the Internet, which provides access to methamphetamine "recipes," coupled with increased demand for high-purity product, has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of these small toxic labs throughout the United States.

DEA tracks the number of meth lab seizures nationwide. Click here to view maps from the past few years of the number of seizures per state. [http://www.dea.gov/concern/map_lab_seizures.html]

3. What products are being diverted to make meth in these small toxic labs?

Many common, household products—most notably over-the-counter (OTC) medicines containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine—are used to make meth. While the majority of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine used for meth production is smuggled into the country in bulk quantities, a growing number of these small, illegal, small toxic labs use pseudoephedrine and ephedrine diverted from legitimate over-the-counter cold and asthma medicines, as well as other common household products, to produce meth.

The following products are among those being diverted to make the illegal drug, methamphetamine:

Cold and asthma tablets containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine
Acetone
Rubbing and isopropyl alcohol
Iodine
Starter fluid (ether)
Gas additives (methanol)
Drain cleaner (sulfuric acid)
Lithium batteries
Rock salt
Matchbooks (red phosphorus)
Lye
Paint thinner
Aluminum foil
Glassware
Coffee filters
Propane tanks

4. What are the legitimate uses for pseudoephedrine and ephedrine?

Pseudoephedrine (PSE) and ephedrine are common ingredients found in legitimate, safe, and effective nonprescription, or over-the-counter (OTC), medicines that are used by millions of consumers every day for relief from the symptoms caused by colds, allergies, and asthma.

Both ingredients are recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as safe and effective medicines. Pseudoephedrine is an FDA-approved OTC nasal decongestant, and ephedrine is an FDA-approved OTC bronchial dilator. Pseudoephedrine is sold as either a single-ingredient product or in combination cough/cold products.

5. What is CHPA doing to address the meth production and abuse problem?

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) is concerned about the growing number of small toxic labs making methamphetamine and is working to address the meth problem on all fronts. While DEA officials agree that a majority of the pseudoephedrine used to make methamphetamine is imported into this country in bulk, CHPA feels strongly that the only way to significantly address methamphetamine production and abuse is to reduce the demand through education and coordination among local community leaders, as well as to promote cooperation within communities to stem the production of meth locally. As a result, CHPA has taken a comprehensive approach towards meth production and abuse on multiple levels. Specifically, CHPA is:

Working on a national strategy to prevent the diversion of pseudoephedrine that includes a consistent, uniform policy on the retail sale of pseudoephedrine.
Coordinating with elected officials to draft comprehensive federal legislation to address methamphetamine abuse, including funding for prevention, education, and law enforcement efforts.
Establishing a national Meth Watch program to curtail sales and theft of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine products for illicit purposes and to promote cooperation between retailers and law enforcement. As part of this program, CHPA and its member companies provide direct funding and resources to states interested in implementing Meth Watch programs in their communities. CHPA developed www.MethWatch.com to serve as a national resource center for the program and is providing training, technical assistance, and retail support to those states participating in the voluntary program.
Supporting regional programs by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and the American Academy of Pediatrics to prevent adolescent use of meth and club drugs through education and outreach to teens and parents about the health risks associated with methamphetamine abuse.
Working with a coalition of national organizations representing manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to work collectively against the illegal diversion of methamphetamine precursor ingredients.

6. What is Meth Watch?

Meth Watch was started in Kansas as a public-private partnership between the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas Methamphetamine Prevention Project (part of the non-profit statewide drug prevention system), and Kansas retailers. Meth Watch is a program developed and sponsored by CHPA based on the successful Kansas model, to help curtail suspicious sales and theft of pseudoephedrine products, as well as other precursor products, used in the illegal manufacturing of methamphetamine in the small toxic labs. A key goal of this program is to promote cooperation between retailers and law enforcement to prevent the diversion of legitimate products to illegal use.

7. What is CHPA’s role?

CHPA has developed a uniform Meth Watch model, available through a web site, www.MethWatch.com. The goal of this site is to provide a “one-stop shop” to help interested states implement Meth Watch in their communities. CHPA is providing funding and resources directly to states for the implementation of Meth Watch, as well as training, technical assistance, and retail support and education. CHPA also coordinates with retailers and law enforcement at the national level to help enhance cooperation at the local level. Through Meth Watch, CHPA and its partners are increasing awareness about the diversion of legal, legitimate products to the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine and assisting local communities in addressing the meth problem.

8. How does Meth Watch work?

Meth Watch is a voluntary program that involves a variety of people at the community and state level, although retailer involvement is the cornerstone of this program. Participating retailers strategically post Meth Watch signs and tags on their doors and windows, around their cash registers, and on the shelves where precursor products are located. They place precursor products in staffed areas or aisles with surveillance cameras and may impose purchase limits to prevent high-volume sales. They train their employees to recognize, but not to confront, suspicious customers and to contact law enforcement with as much identifying information as possible. In addition, they display educational posters in employee areas and make Meth Watch information available to their customers.

Participants in Meth Watch report safer stores, better customer relations, reduced losses due to theft, increased employee awareness, and better relations with law enforcement. In areas that have been hard hit by the meth scourge, retail Meth Watch partners are helping to unify their communities against drug abuse.

9. How is CHPA working to reduce the demand for meth?

CHPA, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA), has developed a two-year educational campaign aimed at reducing substance abuse among adolescents through open and frank discussions with both teens and parents about the health consequences of using methamphetamine. The campaign, launched in St. Louis, Missouri, and Phoenix, Arizona, in June 2003, is working to affect a positive change in anti-drug attitudes toward methamphetamine among young people between 12 and 17 years old.

The latest results from PDFA’s Partnership Attitude Tracking Study suggest that media-based education efforts are positively influencing teen attitudes and behavior. Teens frequently exposed to anti-drug ads are more likely to see risks in specific drugs, and as a result, are significantly less likely to use certain drugs.

10. What can Congress do to address the meth problem?

CHPA believes more can be done on the federal level to address the meth problem. CHPA advocates full funding for DEA’s war on methamphetamine and an increase in funding for other law enforcement efforts, including High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program. CHPA also urges Congressional leaders to support federal programs for drug prevention and education (such as the reauthorized Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign) and increased funding for anti-meth programs within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In addition, CHPA is calling on Congress to authorize and appropriate continued funding for state and local Meth Watch programs across the nation.