Contradicting its own benchmark Monitoring the Future Survey, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is painting a grimmer picture of methamphetamine use among young adults in the U.S.

The Bush administration has long portrayed meth use as a regional problem, with little evidence of growing consumption on a national level. Officials typically cited the annual MTF report, which in 2002 estimated that 1.4 percent of 19- to 28-year-olds used meth.

The new report revises that estimate upward, saying that actual prevalence among 18- to 26-year-olds was 2.8 percent. The study, based on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, also found that meth use among Native Americans was 4.2 times higher than among whites, and that meth users were more likely to be poor, have fathers in jail, and to use alcohol and other drugs.

"The study showed not only greater use of crystal methamphetamine, it also suggests the drug is associated with risky and antisocial behaviors, including other illicit drug use," said NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow.

Meth use also was associated with criminal behavior and risky sex, especially among women.

The new study appears in the July 2007 issue of the journal Addiction.

NIDA Press Release