Efforts at reducing the number of methamphetamine labs in the U.S. have been working, but the steady demand for the drug means more business for international criminals that want a piece of the action.

While President Bush was proclaiming November 30, 2006 as National Methamphetamine Awareness Day, criminals in China were disguising and shipping 43,000 pounds of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in the manufacture of meth, by cargo ship to Michoacan, Mexico. This ingredient was intended to supply one of the huge meth labs that are now being established in Mexico, such as the one raided in January, 2006 by Mexican authorities.

This lab, discovered in Guadalajara, Mexico, was capable of producing 400 pounds of finished meth per day. By comparison, most domestic labs produce a few ounces to ten pounds of drug in a production cycle lasting about 24 hours.

Another huge meth lab was discovered outside Guadalajara on August 1, 2006. Approximately 220 pounds of finished meth was found on this site at the time of the raid.

Government statistics state that 80% of the U.S. supply of methamphetamine is currently coming across the U.S.-Mexico border or it is produced by Mexican drug trafficking organizations in California.

“The key to eliminating the methamphetamine tragedy in this country is not cracking down on labs or suppliers, it’s reducing the demand through effective rehabilitation and drug education,” said Gary Smith, executive director of Narconon Arrowhead, a residential drug rehabilitation facility in Oklahoma. “This is a highly addictive, deadly drug that has been sampled by twelve million people at least once in their lifetime. What casual users don’t know is that they can quickly turn into addicts.”

“We have had many meth addicts come here for our program because there has long been a serious meth problem in the rural Midwest areas, “ said Smith. “Our program that includes thorough physical detoxification of drug residues and improvement of life skills rehabilitates even the meth addict successfully.” Overall, the Narconon Arrowhead program has a 70% success rate two years after completion of the program, defined as program completions that stay clean of drugs and alcohol.

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