Methamphetamine Abuse in Illinois

Choose Another State

DEA Assessment:

• Methamphetamine is the principal drug of concern in the rural areas of central and southern Illinois.
• The proliferation of small, clandestine methamphetamine laboratories throughout the rural areas force law enforcement to expend a large number of man-hours and resources on combating the lab problem.¹

Methamphetamine Use among State Population (2002-2005):

3.7% of persons aged 12 or older reported using meth one or more times during their life.²
0.5% of young adults aged 18-25 reported past year methamphetamine use.
0.2% of persons aged 12 or older reported past year methamphetamine use.³

Drug Offenses:

18% of 2005 Federal Drug Cases in Illinois involved methamphetamine.⁴

Lab Incidents:

There were 751 lab incidents in 2006.⁵

Treatment Admissions for Methamphetamine Abuse:

2,562 treatment admissions for methamphetamine/amphetamine abuse in 2005;
3% of all drug abuse treatment admissions.⁶

State Laws Pertaining to Precursor Chemicals:

Pharmacy operators may not knowingly distribute more than two packages of products containing PSE or EPH per transaction; Anyone who purchases PSE or EPH products must be at least 18 years old; Products containing PSE and EPH must be packaged in blister packs, with each blister containing not more than 2 dosage units; Purchaser must provide a driver's license or other government issued ID; Purchasers of PSE and EPH products must sign a log including purchaser's name and address, the date and time of the transaction, the brand, product name and quantity of PSE / EPH distributed; All PSE and EPH products sold in pharmacies must behind the pharmacy counter and distributed by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician licensed under the Pharmacy Practice Act.⁷

Program book for 6th annual Southern Illinois Methamphetamine and other Drugs Awareness Conference

TV ads and information from community-based campaign, site follows same template as National Meth Project, Colorado, etc.

MethNet site, administered by ILL Attorney General

1 2006 DEA State Fact Sheets. Available: http://www.dea.gov/pubs/state_factsheets.html
2 Prevalence Estimates for 2002-2004. NSDUH. Office of Applied Studies. SAMHSA. Available: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/statesIndex.htm#2k4
3 Prevalence Estimates for 2002-2005. NSDUH. Office of Applied Studies. SAMHSA. Available: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k6/stateMeth/stateMeth.htm
4 Federal Sentencing Stats. U.S. Sentencing Commission. Available: http://www.ussc.gov/JUDPACK/JP2005.htm
5 Maps of Methamphetamine Lab Incidents. DEA. Available: http://www.dea.gov/concern/map_lab_seizures.html
6 TEDS. Drug and Alcohol Services Information System. SAMHSA. Available: http://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/webt/newmapv1.html
7 Methamphetamine Precursor Laws. National Association of Chain Drug Stores. Available: http://www.nacds.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=3814