methamphetamine

methamphetamine, potent and addictive synthetic stimulant drug that affects the central nervous system (the spinal cord and brain). Methamphetamine is prescribed for the treatment of certain medical conditions, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. In the United States it is marketed under the brand name Desoxyn.

Effects

Methamphetamine increases physical activity and suppresses appetite. Heavy or prolonged use may produce powerful side effects, including aggression and paranoia, kidney and lung disorders, brain and liver damage, chronic depression, immune deficiency disorders, convulsions, and schizophrenia. As a recreational drug, methamphetamine may be taken in pill form or, as a crystalline powder (“crystal meth”), sniffed through a hollow tube; it may also be taken intravenously.

Historical developments

Methamphetamine was used as a stimulant, under the name Pervitin, by German soldiers during World War II. Disturbing side effects, including a general worsening in physical condition and acute circulatory disorders, led to a decline in its use by German troops by 1940. In Japan in the 1940s and ’50s, industrial workers used methamphetamine to increase their productivity. By the 1960s in the United States, methamphetamine was viewed with deep suspicion and hostility, not only by law-enforcement officials, politicians, the media, and medical professionals but also by large sections of the drug subculture.

Discover how ordinary objects work, and expand your understanding of the familiar.

SIGN UP

" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">

Thank you for signing up!"

Back to homepage

By clicking "Sign Up", you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

After the Controlled Substances Act (1970) severely restricted its availability, a large illicit manufacturing industry relying on hundreds of clandestine “meth labs” arose in the Southwest and West and, in the 1990s, spread to parts of the Midwest. Despite periodic police crackdowns, large quantities of the drug were produced in these labs. Methamphetamine abuse also became particularly widespread in Pacific Rim countries, where it emerged as a serious social problem.

Methamphetamine trafficking

Although reliable figures were difficult to find, some studies suggested that a substantial increase in methamphetamine usage did not occur in the 1990s. In the United States a survey in the mid-1990s claimed that nearly 5 million people had tried methamphetamine, representing an increase of approximately 240 percent from 1990. In the first part of the 21st century, in many places worldwide, meth labs—hidden away variously in apartment buildings, houses, outdoor settings, motels, and vehicles—continued to produce large quantities of the drugs. According to a national survey in 2012, some 1.2 million Americans had used methamphetamine in the past year.

Today, the U.S. methamphetamine market is driven largely by Mexican drug cartels and other transnational criminal organizations, which import precursor chemicals from abroad, including China, and manufacture high-purity methamphetamine in industrial-scale laboratories in Mexico. These groups transport the drug across the border through well-established trafficking networks and distribute it via extensive supply chains throughout the United States. At the same time, tighter regulation of precursor chemicals within the United States has reduced domestic production, further strengthening the dominance of cartel-supplied methamphetamine. As a result, the drug is widely available, relatively inexpensive, and often more potent than in previous decades.