Meth is a growing threat in rural communities

Once considered a West Coast phenomenon, methamphetamine abuse and illicit manufacturing have spread across the nation to the Northwest, Midwest and portions of the South.

Some indicators show stabilization in the abuse of methamphetamine; nonetheless, the record amounts of powder methamphetamine trafficking and abuse in the United States during the 1990s resulted in a devastating impact on communities across the nation.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, meth has become the most dangerous drug problem of small-town America. Traffickers make and distribute the drug in some of ou...