Crackdowns on U.S. meth labs being offset by foreign production and trafficking
Feds say 80 percent of the drug is coming from Mexican traffickers

Efforts at reducing the number of methamphetamine labs in the U.S. have been working, but the demand for the drug is being met by meth manufacturers in foreign countries.

Labs in Mexico that produce the drug have been found to be capable of producing 400 pounds of finished meth per day, compared to the 10 pounds maximum produced by domestic labs.

According to government statistics, 80 percent of the U.S. supply of methamphetamine now comes across the U.S.Mexican border or is produced by Mexican drug trafficking organizations in California.

But the real problem begins with demand.

"Eliminating the methamphetamine tragedy in this country will not be accomplished by solely focusing on law enforcement. At the same time we are shutting down labs, we must also concentrate on drug rehabilitation using methods that are proven to work," said Gary Smith, CEO of Narconon Arrowhead, a drug and alcohol education program in Oklahoma.

"Meth is a highly addictive, deadly drug that has been sampled by 12 million people at least once in their lifetime," Smith said. "What casual users don't know is that they can quickly turn into addicts."

Complicating the problem is misdiagnosis. The symptoms of meth abuse are often confused with mental illness, according to Smith, which leads to the user being given psychotropic or anti-psychotic medicine.

For more information, call Narconon Arrowhead at (800) 468-6933.