WHO DEVELOPED METH?

A Short History of Meth

A pharmaceutical company developed Meth but there is currently no
accepted medical use for it. However, Meth's medical history is only
the background to today's story. These days, non-medical use is the
real issue. Some people refer to this type of use as "illicit" or
"illegal" but Meth's consequences reach far beyond the law, including
a whole range of health, social and environmental issues.

Meth has been used for non-medical purposes for a very long time,
almost since it was first developed. Until the 1970's, Meth was
obtained primarily from prescriptions, but when that source became
less available, illegal clandestine (secret) laboratories started
making Meth. The development of a smokeable form of Meth created a
new interest in the 1990's.

Meth use has increased over the last five years and it's now more
popular than it ever was. So at least some of the media reports are
right - Meth's potential to create harm is greater than ever.

How common is Meth use?

General population surveys on alcohol and other drug use are often
done by telephone interviews. You may have even participated in
surveys done through questionnaires at your school. These studies
show a low rate of Meth use in the general population.

For example, a major recent survey, the Canadian Addictions Survey
2004 (CAS), asked people about their use of "speed", an informal term
that covers all amphetamines, including Meth. The CAS showed that
0.8% of Canadians reported using speed at least once in the previous 12 months.

That doesn't seem like a big percentage so why the big deal?

Firstly, 0.8% of Canadians 15 year and older equals about two hundred
thousand people so, while that number is much smaller than some other
substances, it's still significant. Also, standard surveys and
interviews in the general population likely miss hard-to-reach people
such as street youth. Information from other sources suggests that
Meth use is much higher among this group.

Information, such as hospital admissions, shows that the number of
people seeking treatment for Meth problems is growing. Police have
also uncovered more clandestine laboratories producing Meth. They
have also seized greater quantities of Meth. All these factors point
to increasing Meth use, particularly in British Columbia, Alberta,
Ontario and Quebec.