METHAMPHETAMINE USE REMAINS HIGH IN WESTERN CITIES

Methamphetamine production is growing in the Midwest as more people
chose the drug as a cheaper, longer-lasting alternative to cocaine,
but usage remains highest in cities west of the Rocky Mountains,
according to a federal study released here Tuesday.

Additionally, 10 percent of methamphetamine users studied in San
Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose, Phoenix and Portland, Ore., say they
were introduced to the drug by their parents or a family member,
researchers found.

``Although it's been around for decades, methamphetamine is the new
drug,'' said Susan Pennell, a criminal researcher with the San Diego
Association of Governments and one of the authors of the study. ``It's
easy to get. It's easy to make. It's cheap and the high lasts a long
time. But the long-term effects on the brain chemistry are severe.''

The National Institute of Justice, the research branch of the DOJ, and
the government association studied 1,000 methamphetamine users who
were jailed in the five Western cities between October 1996 and
September 1997.

In the last decade, use of methamphetamine -- also known as crank, ice
or meth -- has grown as the cocaine trade has declined. Mexican
national drug traffickers operate large labs and then smuggle the
odorless, colorless drug across the border, researchers reported.

However, the drug is easily made in the United States using readily
available ingredients such as pseudoephedrine (found in cold
medicines), hydrochloric acid, iodine, Drano and lighter fluid.

The misuse of the chemicals, however, can cause explosions when
cooking and vapors created when making the drug can create the same
effect as second-hand smoke, Pennell said. Children living in homes
where meth is manufactured often test positive for the drug because of
exposure, she said.

Reducing meth trafficking is difficult because the drug is sold on a
closed market, she said. Users surveyed said they usually went to
someone's home or hotel room to buy meth and it was someone they knew,
compared to 50 percent of cocaine and crack users who buy from
multiple street sources, often strangers.

The spread to the Midwest is evident in the number of labs discovered
by authorities but a relatively low percentage of people arrest are
meth users -- meaning cities like Omaha, St. Louis and Dallas are
manufacturing and distribution sites, researchers found.

About half of the meth users said they snorted or inhaled meth (46
percent) while others preferred smoking (31 percent). Users in
Portland, which also has a high rate of heroin use, were more like to
inject meth (49 percent).

Because tolerance is developed quickly, users are more likely to
indulge in a binge and crash pattern, Pennell said. The user attempts
to recreate the original high, despite higher concentrations of the
drug in the body, staying awake for 3 or 4 days, and then shutting
down.

Jeremy Travis, director of the National Institute of Justice, said it
is difficult to get someone whose brain processes have been affected
by the drug to accept treatment.

``A lot of meth users don't think they have a problem. They don't
think taking speed is as big of a problem, as say, using heroin,'' he
said. ``It indicates a larger cultural problem.''

Pennell said the drug initially makes a user feel powerful, confident
and alert. Side effects include weight loss and a sense of
productivity, but overtime the drug twists the brain chemistry and
nerve endings die due to the lack of oxygen, creating sensations like
bugs crawling under the skin.

Among other findings by researchers:

- -- Meth use is often linked with violent and destructive behavior,
however the study found 40 percent of users were charged with a drug
or alcohol violation. Only 16 percent were jailed because of violent
behavior.

Most of the meth users were white males, ranging from 54 percent in
San Jose to 94 percent in Portland. However, 57 percent of meth users
surveyed in Los Angeles were Hispanic. Meth use by blacks was
relatively low, ranging from one percent in Phoenix to 11 percent in
San Diego.

The average age was 30, slightly younger than the age of cocaine and
heroin users.

Meth users had higher rates of overall drug use than users of other
drugs. For example, 95 percent of meth users surveyed in San Diego
also tested positive for another illegal drug.

The other drug of choice was most often marijuana.

California leads the nation in number of labs seized

1,234 in 1997 compared to 1,273 other labs nationwide.