REPORT FINDS SHARP RISE IN TREATMENT RATES FOR METH

WASHINGTON The number of people seeking treatment for methamphetamine
abuse more than quadrupled from 1993 2003, a report released Thursday said.

States in the Midwest and South that had few meth abuse patients a decade a
go are now seeing a sharp rise in the rate of admissions to treatment
centers, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Service Administration.

The report's findings mirror the trend of meth abuse moving gradually from
the West where the highly addictive drug first became popular across the
Midwest and south to the East Coast.

"Methamphetamine is undeniably a uniquely destructive drug," said the
agency's administrator Charles Curie. "As this new analysis of data shows,
many states continue to see a dramatic increase in the numbers of
methamphetamine users in treatment programs."

The report was released hours before the Senate was expected to pass major
anti-meth legislation as part of the bill renewing the anti-terror Patriot Act.

Common cold remedies that can be used by drug dealers to make meth would be
forced behind store counters under the congressional measure. Law
enforcement officials have said the federal restrictions are critical to
helping eliminate meth labs and curb abuse in neighborhoods around the country.

Nationwide, the admission rate for treatment of methamphetamine or
amphetamine abuse rose from 28,000 in 1993 to nearly 136,000 patients in
2003, the report said.

The report analyzed data on the approximately 1.8 million patients admitted
each year for substance abuse treatment.