Methamphetamine use is dangerous, but the drug is not the national threat portrayed by some political and law-enforcement leaders, according to a new report (PDF) from the advocacy group The Sentencing Project.

The report, detailed in a June 15 Associated Press story, maintains that while meth has become a hot topic in the news, and use has exploded in some communities, consumption has not increased nationally since 1999. Moreover, teen use of the drug dropped by more than one-third between 2001 and 2005, according to report author Ryan King.

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"The portrayal of methamphetamine in the United States as an epidemic spreading across the country has been grossly overstated," King said, who blamed political rhetoric, errors of fact, and assertions that later proved unfounded for the drug's unwarranted stature.

The report noted that surveys have shown that only 2/10 of 1 percent of Americans use meth. King called the meth problem "highly localized."