Methedrine, ice, crank, and crystal: An historical and cultural examination of methamphetamine in the United States

In recent years, hysteria over America's "meth epidemic" has infiltrated air waves, newspaper columns, and Congressional hearings. Contrary to much public opinion, methamphetamine is not a new drug, nor is it remarkably different from other amphetamines. The most recent "meth epidemic" is merely the latest of several methamphetamine scares that preceded it. A dope fiend mythology, conveyed through a discourse of fear, serves to reduce the sociological and historical complexities of the modern methamphetamine problem to simple personal troubles. From a social constructionist framework, attention is given to the various ways in which claims-makers have produced alarm through mass media depictions of the methamphetamine users and traffickers. Attention is also paid to many of the unintended consequences resulting from over a century's worth of U.S. drug prohibitions. It is suggested that the current methamphetamine problem has evolved from a series of American drug policies enacted largely within a culture of fear.