The U.S. Senate Finance Committee held hearings last week on the impact of methamphetamine on youth, USA Today reported April 26.

The hearing featured testimony from a number of young former meth users who detailed their experience with the drug, as well as experts who spoke about the impact on the child-welfare system.

Witnesses told the committee, chaired by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), that the number of people who abuse meth more than doubled between 2002 and 2004. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana) called the trend "frightening."

A Missouri couple, Darren and Aaronette Noble, said that a family-oriented treatment program helped them break their meth addiction.