According to a new UNODC report, amphetamine-type stimulants – or ATS – in particular methamphetamine, are widely used in East and South-East Asia and are now ranked among the top-three drugs of use in every single one of the 11 countries reviewed. Moreover, in some East and South-East Asian countries, ATS have become the primary drug threat, displacing traditionally-used drugs such as heroin, opium or even cannabis. UNODC’s latest ATS report estimates that between a range of 3.4 million and 20.7 million people in the region have used amphetamines in the past year – a sizeable portion of the estimated 14 million to...

People who abused methamphetamine or other amphetamine-like stimulants were more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who did not, in a new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).  The researchers examined almost 300,000 hospital records from California covering 16 years. Patients admitted to hospital for methamphetamine or amphetamine-use disorders had a 76 per cent higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease compared to those with no disorder. Globally, methamphetamine and similar stimulants are the second most commonly used class of illicit drugs. “This study provides evidence of this...

Scientists are reporting development of three promising formulations that could be used in a vaccine to treat methamphetamine addiction — one of the most serious drug abuse problems in the U.S. The report appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. In the paper, Kim Janda and colleagues note that methamphetamine use and addiction cost the U.S. more than $23 billion annually due to medical and law enforcement expenses, as well as lost productivity. The drug, also called “meth” or “crystal meth,” can cause a variety of problems including cardiovascular damage and death. Meth is highly addictive, and...