Frontline

The Meth Epidemic

Season 24, Episode 7 of 14

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.

Previously Aired

Day
Time
Channel
5/17/2011
10 p.m.
5/18/2011
3 a.m.
1/25/2012
3 a.m.
5/15/2012
10 p.m.
5/16/2012
3 a.m.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona