Methamphetamine overview in West Virginia
Methamphetamine poses an increasing illicit drug threat to the state of West Virginia and is the main drug threat in Wood County. Statewide,addiction treatment data indicate low levels of meth abuse. However, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reports that the level of meth abuse likely is not reflected in the number of addiction treatment admissions because meth is a relatively new abuse addiction problem. Most of the meth available in the state of West Virginia is produced locally, with availability levels varying from high to low among communities throughout the state of West Virginia.
Meth increasingly is associated with violent crime in the state of West Virginia. Methamphetamine abusers and producers often commit crimes of domestic violence, including spousal and child abuse and child neglect.
Meth treatment admissions per 100,000 citizens (2003): 1
1% of all drug addiction treatment admissions involving illicit drugs in the state of West Virginia were meth-related in 2000. According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, the number of addiction treatment admissions to publicly funded addiction treatment facilities for meth abuse decreased from 71 in the year of 1998 to 48 in 1999, then increased slightly to 53 in 2000.
Methamphetamine, a drug known to hit rural regions the hardest, is a major issue in the largely rural state of West Virginia. According to drug enforcement authorities, clandestine lab activity has "increased threefold in the past several years." During 2004, 165 labs were seized by DEA, state and local authorities, in comparison to 64 in 2003 and only 3 in 2000.
Unfortunately, it is hard to know the full extent of West Virginia's struggle with meth since drug treatment admissions data for the state is incomplete; nonetheless, it appears that the number of individuals seeking treatment for meth addiction has gone down in recent years: from 72 in 2001 to 8 in 2002 and 21 in 2003.
Update:
The Combat Meth Act, signed by President Bush on March 9, 2006, gives minimum standards for retailers across the nation that sell substances containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. The law limits sales to 3.6 grams of the base ingredient (the pure ephedrine or pseudoephedrine) daily and 9 grams per month, and requires that buyers provide identification and sign a sales log. Also, sellers must keep these substances behind the counter or in a locked case and register on-line with the U.S. Attorney General. Additionally to the federal minimums, West Virginia state law requires that buyers of these substances be at least 18 years old and stipulates that sellers be pharmacists or pharmacy technicians.
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