Methamphetamine has grown from a street drug problem to one affecting society’s mainstream, as its highly-addictive nature draws users further and further into the darkest aspects of abuse.

Today is National Meth Awareness Day, as lawmakers and prevention experts across the country seek to educate the public about the risks of meth abuse, and tell users about the programs available to help them.

Katie Bee is a prevention consultant with the state’s Bureau of Substance Abuse; she tells KNIA/KRLS News the use of meth has become all too commonplace, and is now one of the most-often abused drugs in the country.

“Methamphetamine is now the second-most reported drug by adults at admission to treatment, which is moving ahead of marijuana for the first time,” Bee says. “Alcohol does remain number one for adults, while marijuana remains the number one drug of choice for juveniles.”

The spread of meth has been difficult to contain, partly because the individual ingredients used to manufacture the drug are legal and have legitimate uses…and partly because meth causes changes to the brain which increase the craving for the drug, leading users to constantly increase the amount they take.