After 3 years of decline, meth production is rising

Methamphetamine production rose in 2008 after years of decline. Between 2004 and 2007, the number of meth labs discovered in the U.S. dropped from 17,000 to 6,000, following new regulations on the sale of over-the-counter medications used to produce the drug. But falling meth prices and an increase in meth-lab seizures trouble many law enforcement agents, saying they point to savvier producers of the drug.

"Restrictions did their job for a while, but they found a way to get around them," said Abraham Azzam, Michigan director of High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a federal program that coordinates drug enforcement, told Brian Whitley of The Christian Science Monitor. Rural California is seeing a surge in production, thanks to recently-strengthened regulations in Mexico. Law enforcement officials are also noticing most of the increase is coming from small-scale production. (Read more)

"The problem appears to be re-emerging, and it's important to nip it in the bud," The Tennesseean says in an editorial.