In 2018, an estimated 1 million people age 12 and older met diagnostic criteria for methamphetamine dependence or abuse. Among that figure, 24,000 were adolescents, while 188,000 were young adults ages 18 to 25. The other 751,000 were adults age 26 and older. During 2015–2018, an estimated 1.6 million U.S. adults aged ≥18 years, on average, reported past-year methamphetamine use.
Methamphetamine (d-methamphetamine, crystal meth, or meth) is a man-made, chemically derived central nervous system stimulant that’s most commonly smoked or snorted. It can be manufactured in small, private, home laboratories, using pseudo-ephedrine or ephedrine along with other toxic substances that can be purchased at drugstores or hardware stores, such as antifreeze, battery acid or drain cleaner.
The meth plague is most rampant in what we could call (John Cougar) Mellencamp Country. Like opioid use among rural whites, it has become a serious problem.
Missouri, Tennessee and Ohio are also considered the Meth Belt.
Indiana has busted thousands of meth labs. Evansville has gotten so bad that public officials are warning people that meth-tainted trash left outdoors could be corrosive, toxic or flammable.
