The distribution and use of methamphetamine in the United States is on the rise, with authorities seeing a more than 100 percent increase in seizures of the drug in recent years.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the DEA saw a 118 percent jump from 2010 to 2017 in the number of meth seizures, with law enforcement reporting 347,807 in 2017. There is also an increased number of meth users, particularly in the New England states.
Jon DeLena of the DEA's New England office told the Journal there are worries meth could eventually be as deadly as the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
"Everybody's biggest fear is what's it going to look like if meth hits us like fentanyl did," he said.
Methamphetamine is a synthetic stimulant made in labs, and the Journal reported drug cartels in Mexico have boosted the amount of it they are selling in the U.S.
The Journal report comes on the heels of a United Nations finding that meth production in southeast Asia is dramatically ramping up.
The UN said meth is now the main drug of concern in 12 of the 13 east and southeast Asian countries. Vietnam is the lone exception, as heroin is the main drug problem there.
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