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™)

States Open Meth Prisons

More states are turning to treatment-oriented "meth prisons" to stem a rising tide of methamphetamine use, Newsweek reported in its April 24 issue.

Montana, for example, recently completed separate meth-oriented facilities for men and women, which will hold 80 and 40 inmates, respectively. Illinois is building two prisons dedicated to meth users, which will hold a total of 400 male inmates.

The theory is to provide meth offenders with intensive treatment while also keeping them isolated from the general, criminal prison population. People who commit crimes like robbery to support a drug addiction will be eligible for placement in the prisons in Montana, as well as those convicted of drug possession or sales. Case managers will track offenders once they leave prison.

Indiana also has carved out separate meth programs in four of its state prisons, and not one of the first 66 people to graduate six months ago has re-offended. Illinois officials say recidivism among meth program participants is half that of inmates in regular prisons.