Frontline

The Meth Epidemic

What started as a fad among West Coast motorcycle gangs in the 1970s - methamphetamine - quickly spread across the United States over the last decade. These days, meth remains as potent and widespread as ever. Despite calls to regulate its key ingredient, pseudoephedrine, which is found in over-the-counter cold remedies, "super smurfs" still manage to stockpile enough of the drug to fuel thousands of small meth labs nationwide. FRONTLINE, in association with The Oregonian, investigates the ongoing meth problem in America: the devastating impact on individuals, families and communities and the state-by-state battles to make pseudoephedrine a prescription drug, a strategy that's led to significant improvement in Oregon.