The BBC has tried to document serious addictions to methampetamine in America. They focus on Fresno, California in a story called “The City Addicted to Crystal Meth”

There’s a big why. Why meth? Why is that particular drug so prevalent? But it’s not hard to solve – lack of opportunity, lack of guidance, the cheapness and availability of that narcotic, and the powerful illusions of escape and control which it provides.

Meth is “ghetto Prozac” – a primitive and dangerous pain-reliever, which goes on to aggravate the very pain and chaos which people take it to avoid.

While cocaine is still considered the main drug in the Americas, meth use worldwide now outnumbers the total combined of cocaine and heroin, according to the DEA. The supply-chain of this drug is therefore an interesting study in security as traffickers use complex multi-nation routes to serve the demand of American production and distribution, which is also linked to a rise in crime.

Studies have shown a strong correlation between criminal activity and meth use. 58 percent of US Sheriffs named it as the “biggest cause of raising crime rates” and police data has shown it was involved in an 1/8 of all homicides in San Diego. In Arizona a school was opened specifically for meth addicted teens to aid their rehabilitation.

Today the US Drug Enforcement Agency figures suggest that 80 percent of meth now originates form abroad. Outside the US methamphetamine continues to remains endemic in parts of Asia, particularly Thailand and Japan.