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The most common ingredient in meth is pseudoephedrine or ephedrine, commonly found in cold medicine. The other ingredients that are used in the process of making meth can include: ether, paint thinner, Freon®, acetone, anhydrous ammonia, iodine crystals, red phosphorus, drain cleaner, battery acid, and lithium (taken from inside batteries).

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Methamphetamine is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - ADHD. It can also help obese patients lose weight, increase wakefulness and physical activity, and decrease appetite. This drug can also cause a variety of cardiovascular problems, including rapid heart rate, irregular heartbeat, and increased blood pressure. Methamphetamine use releases very high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the reward circuit, which "teaches" the brain to repeat the pleasurable activity of taking the drug.

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Approximately 1.6 million people (0.6 percent of the population) reported using methamphetamine in the past year (2017), 774,000 (0.3 percent) reported using it in the past month, and the average age of new methamphetamine users in 2016 was 23.3 years old.

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There are no FDA-approved medications to treat methamphetamine addiction but, behavior therapy programs can help treat addiction. These include:

Cognitive-behavioral therapy

Contingency managementor

The Matrix Model

12-Step facilitation therapy

Mobile medical application: reSET®

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The increased availability of methamphetamine and the low cost of the products have presented a challenge for local officers in Southwest Michigan.

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Addicted Michigan: Law enforcement says meth access in Southwest Michigan is increasing

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Law enforcement officers said Southwest Michigan continues to experience an alarming increase in the availability of heroin and other forms of opioids, both prescribed and produced at a street level, that have been trafficked into the area. The increased availability and the low cost of the products have presented a challenge for local officers.

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Methamphetamine has become a serious problems for Asian countries like China, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. Both the use and the production of the drug is increasing, in line with the expanding economy of the world's most populous continent, leading to growing social problems and higher healthcare bills. Experts have stressed the need to strengthen police capacity and measures to fight crime and corruption, but Southeast Asian states and other countries most affected by the crisis often have very little capacity to stop the crimes.

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Strong and growing demand for drugs in Asia is driving up global production of methamphetamine, with seizures in the region tripling in five years to record levels, a UN body said Tuesday.

Both the use and the production of the drug is increasing, in line with the expanding economy of the world's most populous continent, leading to growing social problems and higher healthcare bills.

Methamphetamine, also called "meth" and "ice", is an extremely addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system.

Chronic use can lead to mood disturbances, violent behavior and symptoms of psychosis such as paranoia and hallucinations.

To compile the latest report, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) grouped together methamphetamine, amphetamine and other similar chemicals as "amphetamine-type stimulants" or ATS.

AFP
It excluded so-called "ecstasy" drugs, which are usually reported separately in drug surveys.

"Over the years, methamphetamine seizures have been predominantly reported in East and Southeast Asia, in countries such as China, Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand," the Office said ahead of the report's launch in Tokyo.

Asia has long been the world's largest market for methamphetamine and drug dealers are targeting its rapid economic success, the UN body said.

Roughly a third of the estimated $90 billion illegal economy in Asia comes from drugs, said Jeremy Douglas, UNODC regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

"The region has had a longstanding problem with... methamphetamine use," he said.

"It originated as a drug that was taken by poor people, traditionally workers. That migrated into youth culture over a decade ago," he said. "More recently, that has evolved into a growing prosperous youth culture.

"You have rising incomes occurring across the region. You have large, large youth population. So you have natural growth of the market" which has attracted criminals from around the world, Douglas said.

Seizures of ATS-related drugs tripled in Asia to at least 36 tonnes per year in the five years to 2012, the Office said.

China has had particularly severe problems, it said. In 2008 Chinese authorities seized six tonnes of methamphetamine.

That figure soared to more than 16 tonnes in 2012, accounting for about 45 percent of total methamphetamine seizures for Asia that year, the UNODC said.

Thailand has also seen its highest levels of seizures of methamphetamine pills and the drug in its crystalline state in past five years, said the report.

Growing ATS use was accompanied by expanding regional production, with large bases seen in China, Myanmar and the Philippines, the UN body said.

The drug is often trafficked for long distances, the report said, and the routes being used by drug sellers are becoming increasingly well-trodden.

These are notably from Mexico, the Middle East, South and West Asia and West Africa to Japan and other lucrative markets in East and Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Ironically, the factors that are starting to boost living standards in Asia -- greater regional integration resulting in improved trade -- are also accelerating the spread of the drug.

Closer ties among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have increased the region's flow of people and goods, including drugs.

Criminal groups are increasingly opening drug factories in the region. They are known to provide cheap products when trying to cultivate a new market and to raise prices once new customers are addicted.

Southeast Asian states and other countries most affected by the crisis often have very little capacity to stop the crimes, Douglas said.

The continued spread of methamphetamine across Asia also poses a growing challenge to justice systems and health providers in societies with large youthful populations, UNODC said.

Douglas stressed the need to strengthen police capacity and measures to fight crime and corruption, while intensifying research and public awareness of the problem.

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The Global Meth Problem Is Worse Than Ever

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Strong and growing demand for drugs in Asia is driving up global production of methamphetamine, with seizures in the region tripling in five years to record levels, a UN body said Tuesday. Both the use and the production of the drug is increasing, in line with the expanding economy of the world's most populous continent, leading to growing social problems and higher healthcare bills.

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Methamphetamine is highly addictive. An estimated 964,000 people aged 12 or older (about 0.4 percent of the population) had a methamphetamine use disorder in 2017—that is, they reported clinically significant impairment, including health problems, disability, and failure to meet responsibilities at work, school, or home as a result of their drug use.

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NIDA. “Overview.” National Institute on Drug Abuse, 20 July 2020, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/methamphetamine/overview.

(DOJ), U.S. Department of Justice. “U.S. Department of Justice Methamphetamine Awareness Home Page.” U.S. Department of Justice, 2019, www.justice.gov/archive/olp/methawareness/.

Agence France Presse . “The Global Meth Problem Is Worse Than Ever.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 20 May 2014, www.businessinsider.com/the-global-meth-problem-is-worse-than-ever-2014-5.