The History Behind Methamphetamine

Although amphetamines which included methamphetamine were manufactured much earlier, these stimulant drugs started being used in the medical field in the 30s. Amphetamines and methamphetamines were very easy to come by from 1940 through the 50s by prescription. In the beginning amphetamines were produced as bronchial dilators and then they started being prescribed for patients treating narcolepsy, attention deficit disorder, obesity and fatigue. By the time the 50s and 60s came around amphetamines and methamphetamines were so easy to find they people started abusing them. By 1970 the government classified them as a Schedule II substance because the potential for abuse had soared and they were highly addictive.

The 70's Started to Spiral

By 1970 amphetamines by themself or combined in other mixtures turned out to be one of the most abused drugs besides marijuana throughout the United States. Production of amphetamines that were legally produced in the 70s soared, there were more than 10 billion tablets produced at that time. The amount of amphetamine tablets that were produced well exceeded the amount needed for legitimate use in the medical field.

In the 70s a survey was done among 7,000 college students and the findings were that 11% of the students used amphetamines or methamphetamines. Over the next couple of decades laws changed and drug trends changed so methamphetamine and amphetamine use decreased drastically and started to disappear.

Illegal Meth Production of the 80's

In the 70s and 80s the use of amphetamines in the medical field began to drastically decrease and because of this people started manufacturing methamphetamines illegally and production was diverted to the streets. Unfortunately in the 80s the use of methamphetamines began to resurface and it didn't take long for people to start using them again. The use of methamphetamines started out in Hawaii and out West, in a short period of time because meth became so popular, treatment admissions spiked from 2% to 7%. In 1993 treatment admissions for methamphetamines was 2 percent but by the time 2003 came around admissions spiked to 7 percent.

Meth Abuse Today

Today in 2011 some of the production of methamphetamine takes place in illegal clandestine labs throughout the United States. A huge portion of meth in the U.S. comes from Mexico via illicit drug trafficking and produced by organized crime groups. Some of these illegal operations take place in super-labs. These labs have the capability of producing more than 10 pounds of methamphetamine in a single production cycle. There are also small mom and pop labs that can be found everywhere today because meth is sought after by so many people and very cheap to make.

There are a couple different forms of meth that are abused today and they are all dangerously addictive. Crystal Meth, a white crystalline powder, crank, and a meth tablet are all forms of methamphetamine that are abused for the purpose of getting high. All forms of meth are addictive and can found quite easily because meth is so inexpensive to produce, unfortunately meth is very dangerous to make which puts many people's lives at risk. This isn't just dangerous for those who illegally manufacture meth, but for anyone living near an illicit lab. Meth labs have been known to catch fire or sometimes blow up due to the toxic chemicals involved in the cooking process.