Check it Out: • 1 LB of METH = 5 LBS of   TOXIC WASTE • In 2004 alone, there were more   than 10,000 meth lab cleanups   at a cost of $18.6 million (Source: DEA, NIDA, NIH, USDHHS)

Other Drug Information: Alcohol Cocaine Ecstasy Fentanyl Hallucinogens Heroin Inhalants LSD Marijuana Prescription Drugs Steroids

The Many Faces of Meth: Before After

(Source: Multnomah County Sheriff's Office - Faces of Meth™)

ONDCP Official Calls Meth Insidious Problem

The White House's position may be that marijuana is the nation's top drug problem, but a top official at the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) says that methamphetamine is the most insidious, the Oregonian reported July 7.

"I think we would all agree methamphetamine is the most destructive, dangerous, terrible drug that's come along in a long time," said deputy drug czar Scott Burns at the Advanced Community Prosecution Workshop in Portland last week. Burns' comments followed the release of a report from the National Association of Counties that cited meth as the top drug problem among communities nationwide; the report said meth deserves at least as much attention as marijuana from ONDCP.

"We've got something right in our laps that is absolutely the worst kind of drug the nation has ever seen," said Umatilla County Commissioner Bill Hansell, president-elect of the National Association of Counties. "To not address it now would be a huge mistake."

Burns said the federal government is working to block foreign manufacturing and shipment of meth precursor chemical to the U.S. and stepping up border controls.