The number of people seeking treatment for methamphetamine addiction quadrupled between 1993 and 2003, according to a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The Associated Press reported March 3 that the rise in admissions was especially profound in the Midwest and South, where meth use was almost unknown a decade ago. Nonetheless, SAMHSA spokesperson Mark Weber suggested that the trend did not indicate a rise in meth use. 

"It's not that the prevalence of meth is changing, but the addictive nature of this drug and the meth crisis is showing up in drug-treatment programs." he said. "They're being overwhelmed by the number of people showing up for treatment." 

Overall, meth admissions rose from 28,000 in 1993 to 136,000 in 2003. Oregon, Hawaii, Iowa, California, and 14 other states had meth admission rates higher than the national average. Rates were lowest in the Northeast.

The report comes as the U.S. Senate voted to approve an anti-meth bill that would require stores nationally to sell from behind pharmacy counters drugs that can be used to make meth, including cold medications like Sudafed. Buyers would face limits on how many pills they can buy and would have to show ID and sign a log to make a purchase. The measure was part of the renewal of the U.S. Patriot Act.