The U.S. is in the grips of an epidemic of drug overdose deaths. Stemming the tide of this crisis is a massive undertaking for the nation’s scientific and health-care communities. The Louisiana Addiction Research Center (LARC) at LSUHS leads a multidisciplinary effort to study and understand the impact of substance use on our citizens. 

United States Drug Enforcement Administration - HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant shared, “HSI and its law enforcement partners undoubtedly saved lives by preventing this massive drug shipment from entering our communities. We will remain vigilant in our mission to prevent these drugs from crossing the border and entering our communities.”

San Diego Union Tribune - The methamphetamine, and an accompanying 127 pounds of fentanyl powder that officers discovered Thursday, had an estimated street value of more than $12.9 million, according to customs officials.

Insightcrime.org - The United States saw a record toll in drug overdose deaths last year, driven in part by two powerful synthetic drugs mass-produced in Mexico and then smuggled over the border. The CDC recorded 93,331 drug overdose deaths in 2020. The devastating tally marked a nearly 30 percent increase from 2019.

KTAL/KMSS - Alarming new data from the CDC shows a drastic increase in drug overdose deaths across the country. Louisiana ranks in the top 5 states with the highest increase of fatalities. “We have to pay attention to it. There are too many lives at risk,” said Dr. Nicholas Goeders, Director of the Louisiana Addiction Research Center at LSU Health Shreveport.

KKTV 11 - “Grand totals for the entire investigation include 800 arrests; and seizures of more than 8 tons of cocaine; 22 tons of marijuana; 2 tons of methamphetamine/amphetamine; six tons of precursor chemicals; 250 firearms; and more than $48 million in various worldwide currencies. Dozens of public corruption cases have been initiated over the course of the investigation. And, during the course of the investigation, more than 50 clandestine drug labs have been dismantled. One of the labs hit yesterday was one of the largest clandestine labs in German history.”

Fox 29 San Antonio - The reason people consume methamphetamine is what it does in your brain releasing large amounts of dopamine, the feel really good chemicals in your brain, says James Miller, Houston Forensic Science Center. Today's meth has never been purer or cheaper, making it all the more difficult for users to resist. And shocking scientists now are lab results showing cocaine is being replaced by meth.

CNN - Authorities seized a record 175 tons of meth in 2020 throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia, a new record despite the Covid-19 pandemic, according to preliminary UNODC data. Drug prices continued to drop, meaning these major busts are not materially affecting the overall supply of drugs in the region.

InSight Crime - Long considered a drug mostly used in poorer backwaters, methamphetamine availability and use has exploded in the United States in the last few years in places where it had never been consumed in any large amounts, marking a dramatic shift. 

KFOR - “Often times we’re seeing some of the largest drug shipments in the country coming through Oklahoma because of our highway system and because of our close proximity to the border,” said Mark Woodward, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

Clinical Toxicology - From Jan 1, 2000 to Dec 31, 2019, US poison control centers managed 54,199 cases involving methamphetamine as the first-ranked substance. Adults 20–39 years old accounted for more than half (56.3%) of cases. There were 1,291 deaths.

Wall Street Journal - When Dutch police raided a barge last year, they found more than just a sophisticated crystal meth lab that started sinking as they inspected it.

National Institute on Drug Abuse shares, "Although deaths from opioids continue to command the public’s attention, an alarming increase in deaths involving the stimulant drugs methamphetamine and cocaine are a stark illustration that we no longer face just an opioid crisis." 

Dr. Nora Volkow wrote in the National Institute on Drug Abuse on Oct. 5, 2020, "As I wrote in April when the COVID-19 pandemic was an emerging health threat in the U.S., there is reason to be concerned that people with substance use disorders (SUDs) may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 and its most adverse health outcomes."

NOGALES, Mexico — As the U.S. border wall rose just north of this city, the drug trade here has been driven underground. Mexican and U.S. patrols have found tunnel after tunnel drilled into an 80-year-old drainage system that connects the two countries, 15 feet below the surface. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, deaths from drug overdoses have reportedly surged, even as a relaxing of federal restrictions and a rapid shift by treatment providers has led to an explosion in telemedicine options for receiving help with substance use disorders.

SAN DIEGO – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Otay Mesa commercial facility Friday seized more than 3,100 pounds of methamphetamine, fentanyl powder, fentanyl pills and heroin.

The population level changes for women, younger, and non-Hispanic White individuals highlight that health systems may need to educate consumers through print or online media about increased alcohol use during the pandemic and identify factors associated with susceptibility and resilience to the impacts of COVID-19.

DEA.gov - “Criminals selling fentanyl on the Darknet should pay attention to Operation DisrupTor,” said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. “The arrest of 179 of them in seven countries—with the seizure of their drug supplies and their money as well—shows that there will be no safe haven for drug dealing in cyberspace.”

WWLTV - New Orleans reports drug enforcement agents say they've been seeing a big increase in the highly addictive drug methamphetamine, and have made hundreds of arrests in LA, MS, AR, and AL since February. 

Borderland Beat reports, "More than 8 tons of various products that would be used for the manufacture of drugs were discovered by elements of the State Security and Investigation Guard (GESI), during an operation carried out in the Heriberto Jara ejido, on September 5 in the Poniente area of Mexicali, Baja California."

EL PASO, Texas — Seizures of illegal drugs are on the rise along the U.S.-Mexico border, as drug cartels have adjusted their tactics amid the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. officials say. Quantities of meth seized at the border through August are already double the amount that U.S. border agents came across all of fiscal year 2019; fentanyl seizures are up 30 percent and 24,264 more pounds of marijuana have been seized.

Opioid deaths involving methamphetamine increased significantly by 14.6% from July–December 2017 to January–June 2018 (Gladden et al., 2019).

ST. LOUIS — The Drug Enforcement Administration is warning of a rise in a dangerous mix of fentanyl and methamphetamine linked to the coronavirus pandemic’s effects on the drug trade.

Ventura County Star reports, "Santa Barbara County authorities arrested 33 people in the largest drug bust in the county's history after intercepting a boat carrying 3,164 pounds of methamphetamine."

Business Insider reports, "US border officials are seizing more meth, showing how the coronavirus is changing the drug market. The recent seizure of $16 million worth of methamphetamines by US customs officials underscores rising seizure and overdose trends in the United States.

MINNEAPOLIS– Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents from the Minneapolis/St. Paul District Office are reporting a significant increase in counterfeit pills entering Minnesota from drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) in California, Arizona and Mexico.

SAN ANTONIO — The borders may still be shut down for non-essential travel due to COVID-19, but according to the DEA, that’s not stopping drug traffickers from getting fake prescription pills into the U.S.

The NIH Director's Blog: Dr. Nora Volkow shares, "And as I see the movements across the country speaking out against injustice, I would hope that this will also extend to diseases that have been stigmatized. We need to modify our stigma so we provide the same level of importance to treating these diseases and supporting people afflicted by them."

The American Medical Association’s Opioid Task Force report released July 20th shows a dramatic increase in fatalities involving illicit opioids, stimulants (e.g. methamphetamine), heroin and cocaine and a similarly dramatic drop in the use of prescription opioids.

Dr. Nicholas Goeders, LSU Health Shreveport, shares "Addictions feed on uncontrolled fears and anxiety, and COVID-19 has unfortunately produced the perfect storm of prolonged fear and anxiety."

As of June, 108 people in the parish have died of overdoses this year, according to LSU Social Research and Evaluation Center data. This represents an increase of almost 93% from last year's overdose deaths at the same time period.

Millennium Health conducted an analysis of over 500,000 definitive urine drug test (UDT) results for non-prescribed fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine in the periods before and after COVID-19 was declared a national emergency, March 13, 2020. Nationally, all four drugs had significant increases in positivity.

The AMA is greatly concerned by an increasing number of reports suggesting increases in opioid-related mortality—particularly from illicitly manufactured fentanyl and fentanyl analogs. More than 35 states have reported increases in opioid-related mortality as well as ongoing concerns for those with a mental illness or substance use disorder.

Retail alcohol sales jumped by 55% nationally during the third week of March, when many stay-at-home orders were put in place, according to Nielsen data, and online sales skyrocketed. The consumption of all this alcohol can be problematic for individuals, even those who haven't had issues with drinking in the past.

Mexican soldiers seized a huge drug stash in the border city of Tijuana, including about two tons of methamphetamine, eight tons of marijuana and 131,500 pills containing the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

For Afghan meth makers, the wild ephedra bush has been a game-changer, breathing life into a new, troubling industry.

Thirty pounds of suspected methamphetamine and a stolen semi-automatic pistol were seized by Oregon State Police troopers during a routine traffic stop May 11.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized a shipment of methamphetamine from Mexico on May 20 in Cincinnati and found emulsified inside soap bars.

A Texarkana man has been charged with multiple felonies for allegedly raping a woman after injecting her with methamphetamine.

In a 2018 Eau Claire Community health assessment it was found that on average per 100,000 people 824 people in Eau Claire County were arrested for drug related incidents.

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Mexican authorities on Friday reported seizing nearly 8,000 gallons of liquid meth and chemicals used in the manufacturing of synthetic drugs.

Health care already has effective treatment tools, including medications, but many people who could benefit are reluctant to seek them out because of the stigma that surrounds addiction.

Vinton County, Ohio, has been on the front lines of the opioid crisis in the U.S. for several years. And even though the county hasn't had high infection rates of the coronavirus, the necessary social restrictions have made it harder to keep people addicted to drugs and their children safe.

More than 67,300 americans died from drug overdose in 2018, according to the CDC. That number is higher than those who have died from COVID-19 in the U.S so far. While the world's focus has been on coronavirus, the DEA is focusing on a drug with higher purity and a lower cost... meth.

Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse shares, "We immediately can recognize the unique challenges of COVID-19 for people having an addiction. Some of these are structural; the healthcare system is not prepared to take care of them. They relate also to stigma and social issues, because it interferes with many of the support systems that can help them to reach recovery." 

Australia's methamphetamine addiction is being fuelled by some south-east Asian nations ceding parts of their sovereignty to warlords and drug traffickers, a top United Nations official says.

For the U.S, combating Mexico’s fastest-growing and most violent gang is a top priority. Law enforcement officials believe the gang has drug distribution hubs in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta.

CBP officers assigned to the World Trade Center on Tuesday observed a 2012 Ford pickup truck hauling a shipment of magnets from Mexico. The officers selected the truck for a secondary inspection, according to information obtained from Laredo Sector CBP officials.

"So, I kept it a secret for a long time. I think that's kind of like what fueled the fire and really made me want to find a way to numb the pain and do not have to deal with it," Shelby Wirth said. "The drugs did that for me."

Methamphetamine and bongs made from baby bottles were among the items seized from a mobile home when a 19-year-old Glade man was arrested for dealing drugs and having a gun, according to a press release from the Jones County Sheriff’s Department.

Unrecorded alcohol, that is, alcohol not reflected in official statistics of the country where it is consumed, contributes markedly to overall consumption of alcohol. 

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) - Drug enforcement agents focus their efforts on methamphetamine transportation hubs across the U.S. FOX8

In 2018, the rates of drug overdose deaths for methamphetamine and cocaine surpassed that of prescription opioids. ScienceNews

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - Sit in an Arkansas courtroom on any given day, and the results of a recent nationwide study become apparent: methamphetamine use is a continuing, still growing problem. KAIT 8

Two women, now in recovery, talk about their struggle and experience with drugs and specifically meth and the turmoil their addiction caused. Cincinnati Enquirer

Overdose deaths tied to opioids are down slightly in Massachusetts and across the nation as a whole. But deaths involving stimulants, cocaine and methamphetamine, are way up. WBUR 90.9

Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon announced that the DEA will direct enforcement resources to methamphetamine “transportation hubs” — areas where methamphetamine is often trafficked in bulk and then distributed across the country.