As a drug of abuse methamphetamine (MA) has received tremendous press, much of which has been inaccurate. For example people do not become addicted to MA after one exposure; it is not inherently more reinforcing than other drugs with abuse potential. Moreover, treatment for MA addiction can be effective; in fact it often appears to be as effective as treatment for cocaine addiction (., Copeland & Sorensen, 2001; Luchansky et al., 2007). That is not to say, of course, that MA is benign. It is an incredibly dangerous drug. Those who use it, even once, put themselves at tremendous risk for a variety of deleterious consequences, including legal sanctions, physical.
