The widespread availability of methamphetamine is illustrated by increasing numbers of methamphetamine seizures, arrests, indictments, and sentences. According to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), methamphetamine is widely available throughout the Pacific, Southwest, and West Central regions and is increasingly available in the Great Lakes and Southeast.
Similarly, the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG) reports that, in 2002, methamphetamine indicators remained highest in West Coast areas and parts of the Southwest, as well as Hawaii. Methamphetamine abuse is spreading in areas such as Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, and Texas. Relatively low indicators were found in East Coast and Mid-Atlantic CEWG areas, although abuse is increasing.
According to the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program sites, during 2002, methamphetamine use by adult arrestees was concentrated in the Western region of the United States. Out of 36 sites, the highest percentages of adult male arrestees testing positive for methamphetamine were located in Honolulu (44.8%), Sacramento (33.5%), San Diego (31.7%), and Phoenix (31.2%). Out of 23 sites, the highest percentages of adult female arrestees testing positive for methamphetamine were located in Honolulu (50%), San Jose (42.8%), Phoenix (41.7%), Salt Lake City (37.7%), and San Diego (36.8%).
According to Pulse Check: Trends in Drug Abuse, law enforcement agencies and epidemiologic/ethnographic sources surveyed in 2002 reported that methamphetamine availability increased in the following sites: Boston, Billings, Chicago, Columbia (South Carolina), Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami, New York, and Sioux Falls (South Dakota). The remaining 12 Pulse Check sites reported stable methamphetamine availability. There were no reported decreases in availability.
