Headlines

L.A. Meth Prices Double Over The Past Year

Monday, August 13, 2007

dailynews.com (CA)

The price of methamphetamine in Los Angeles has doubled over the past year as federal efforts to curb production have put a dent in local supplies, according to an LAPD report.

The report, to be presented to the Police Commission today, found that a 2006 federal law prohibiting stores from selling more than 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine - a key ingredient in meth - has diminished production in L.A. while driving it south to Mexico.

A pound now retails on the street for about $15,000 to $17,000, said said Lt. John King of the Los Angeles Police Department's Narcotics Division.

"They are now producing a lot of methamphetamine south of the border, just like they do with cocaine," he said. "A lot of the precursor chemicals are secured in Mexico."

But treatment practitioners say they haven't noticed a similar drop in patients. Worse yet, they're seeing more teenage girls getting hooked.

"It's still a major problem," said Ken Bachrach, clinical director for Tarzana Treatment, one of the area's largest treatment centers, with more than 5,000 patients a year. "If there has been a dent, it's a minor dent."

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