PDF - http://www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/methamphetamine_report.pdf
Ryan S. King
"This report examines the development of methamphetamine as the “next big thing” in drug threats by analyzing drug use rates through a series of different measures, investigating the role of the media in perpetuating the “epidemic” language, and assessing the state-of-the-art in methamphetamine treatment options. The findings of this report refute the image of methamphetamine use in the United States as popularly conveyed by both the media as well as many government officials. Mischaracterizing the impact of methamphetamine by exaggerating its prevalence and consequences while downplaying its receptivity to treatment succeeds neither as a tool of prevention nor a vehicle of education. To the contrary, this combination of rhetoric and misinformation about the state of methamphetamine abuse is costly and threatening to the national drug abuse response because it results in a misallocation of resources. We urge vigilance in tempering our national response to methamphetamine, keeping the focus local and providing federal funding to augment evidence-based treatment protocols that have been demonstrated successful in a number of jurisdictions."
