Meth Crawls the Landscape of America

Survey shows overall methamphetamine treatment admissions have increased five times over the last decade and law makers are seeking to pass prohibitive legislation on common meth ingredient.

The methamphetamine epidemic in the United States is not just a problem in rural America.  It's so prevalent that a Google News search on methamphetamine turns up over 5,000 articles in just the last thirty days.

The drug has crawled its way onto the doorstep of nearly every city in the country and it is so insidious that it would be hard to exaggerate its negative effects on addicted individuals, families and communities.  In fact, a recent article released by the Rueters news agency calls it the 'devil's drug'.

Meth lab busts have soared to well over 1,000 per year in multiple states and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports that treatment admission rates for this class of drug have increased more than five times across the country in the last decade. 

"We have definitely seen an increase in people seeking help for meth addiction," reports Gary Smith, the Executive Director of Narconon Arrowhead.  As one of the nation's largest and most successful drug rehabilitation and education programs, approximately 25 percent of their current clients are in treatment for methamphetamine.

"Since people come to our program from across the country, the increase isn't isolated to one area or region," Smith adds.  Narconon Arrowhead's proven track record of successfully rehabilitating meth addicts makes them a diamond in the rough, as most programs have a very difficult time effectively treating them.  Smith credits their success to the drug-free rehabilitation methodology they use that was developed by American author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard.

The easily obtained ingredients to manufacture meth (also known as crank, crystal, ice) and the mobility of the labs make it difficult for law enforcement officials to track down a high percentage of potential busts.  Even when these labs are tracked down and the manufacturers arrested, the toxic chemicals used in the process are hazardous and cost thousands to be properly disposed of. 
 
Information provided by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) indicates that methamphetamine users and manufacturers take irresponsibility and neglect to the level of endangerment.  In 2003 more than ten percent of meth lab-related incidents in the United States involved children, most of whom had been directly or indirectly exposed to the highly toxic chemicals used to manufacture the drug.  Drug Endangered Children (DEC) programs have been developed to coordinate the efforts of law enforcement, medical services, and child welfare workers to ensure that children found in these environments receive appropriate attention and care. 

In an effort to curb manufacturing of the debilitating substance several states are seeking to pass legislation that makes the main ingredient found in methamphetamine, pseudoephedrine, harder to obtain.  Oklahoma, for example, already has a law in effect that restricts sales of over-the-counter cold medicines that contain the drug and requires consumers to sign for the purchase. 

The plan has even gone to the U.S. Legislature in the form of the Combat Meth Act, where the idea is to put pharmacy items containing pseudoephedrine behind the counter and to provide more resources to law enforcement officials.

While the problem still grows, there are hundreds of former meth addicts that are now living healthy lives again because of Narconon Arrowhead.  To find out more about meth or the Narconon program, visit www.methamphetamineaddiction.com today or call 1-800-468-6933.

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