meth epidemic

Filmmaker Carl Byker will be online Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the PBS Frontline film, "The Meth Epidemic," which examines the spread of this dangerous drug across the U.S. and its devastating consequences. Statistics link meth use to a variety of further crimes, and with an estimated 1.5 million addicts in the U.S. alone and with the increase of meth use on the East Coast. Reporter Steve Suo says we can expect "increased car theft...domestic violence, child neglect, drug overdoses and just a lot of mayhem." The difficulty of controlling essential components of meth, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, has been an obstacle in fighting meth production. Congress has called for international controls on the substances, but the difficuly of regulating common remedies has been apparent in previous crackdowns.