MMWR Publishes Methamphetamine Incidence Report
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The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance System and National Toxic Substance Incidents Program (ATSDR/HSEES/NTSIP) analyzed the injury incidence and trends of methamphetamine production here in the US.
CDC’s “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report” (MMWR) recently published a report based on this analysis entitled Injuries from Methamphetamine-Related Chemical Incidents — Five States, 2001–2012. ATSDR/HSEES/NTSIP used data from 2001-2012 on 1,325 meth-related chemical incidents and examined incidents reported by the following states:
- Louisiana,
- Oregon,
- Utah,
- New York, and
- Wisconsin
Learn More About MMWR…..
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Often called “the voice of CDC,” the MMWR series is the agency’s primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. MMWR readership predominantly consists of physicians, nurses, public health practitioners, epidemiologists and other scientists, researchers, educators, and laboratorians.
The data in the weekly MMWR are provisional, based on weekly reports to CDC by state health departments.
Report Highlights
The MMWR Report indicates that the meth-related chemical incidents:
- increased with the drug’s popularity (2001–2004),
- declined with legislation limiting access to ingredients used to make meth (2005–2007),
- increased again as drug makers found a way around government rules for purchasing ingredients used to make meth (2008-2012), and
- resulted in injuries to 162 persons (7% percent of meth-related chemical incidents), mostly members of the public including children and law enforcement officials.
Recent trends suggest a need for efforts to protect the public, particularly children and law enforcement officials. Because individual state legislative actions may result in increased illegal meth production in neighboring states, ATSDR/HSEES/NTSIP recommends a regional approach to prevention.
What is Methamphetamine?
Methamphetamine (meth) is a highly addictive drug and can be illegally manufactured using chemicals that are easy to get. Meth production can cause
- fires,
- explosions,
- injuries, and
- environmental contamination.
Learn more about the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance System and National Toxic Substance Incidents Program.
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