Reducing Illicit Methamphetamine Labs: Is Precursor Control the Answer?

Abstract Reducing illicit methamphetamine (meth) labs poses many unique challenges. For more than 30 years, the government’s strategy has relied on controlling certain chemicals and precursors used by amateur chemists (called “cooks”) to make meth. Some states have pursued additional controls, including, for example, requiring prescriptions for popular drug products that can be used as meth precursors. In this paper we review the government’s anti-meth strategies and assess their effectiveness. Our findings suggest that, historically, precursor controls have caused only limited and temporary disruptions in meth production because cooks are quick to adapt and use alternate methods for making meth. Our data review uncovered limitations in a national database that has been used for more than a decade by federal and state agencies to track meth production and formulate anti-meth strategies. The continued use of these data, we conclude, has contributed to wasteful federal spending that, in turn, has distorted the scope and nature of the domestic meth lab problem.