The US authorities have warned
that the addictive drug methamphetamine has
become a "global threat".
US Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) chief Karen Tandy said global users of
methamphetamine outnumbered cocaine and heroin
users combined.
She was speaking at an international
narcotics conference in Canada.
Methamphetamine, or crystal
meth, is a stimulant which induces euphoria,
but can lead to side effects such as violent
behaviour and depression.
Delegates at the 24th International
Drug Enforcement Conference in Montreal were
told that synthetic drugs such as ecstasy and
methamphetamine were becoming a worldwide phenomenon.
"Methamphetamine trafficking
and the movement of its precursor chemicals
are an increasing global threat," Ms Tandy told
the conference.
"More than 26 million people
worldwide use amphetamines - largely methamphetamines...
," she added.
Crime link
She cited the example of a
laboratory in Indonesia, raided in November,
which had exports linked to Hong Kong, Thailand,
Singapore and the US.
Criminal gangs were also exporting
the drug from the US to Japan, she said.
The raw ingredients of the
drug were being shipped from India and China
and smuggled through third countries, she added.
Dr Paul Thompson, a California-based
neuroscientist researching the effects of the
drug, told the BBC's World Today programme that
the spread of the drug could lead to an increase
in violent crime.
"We know that many of the people
that are arrested in Los Angeles - about 40%
of them - have been using methamphetamine,"
he said.
"We're worried that as this
drug is spreading throughout the US and overseas,
this could produce a massive increase in violent
crime.
