Emerging methamphetamine use in North Carolina

Objectives. Indicators (arrests, laboratory seizures, and treatment admissions) suggest that methamphetamine use is increasing in North Carolina. This study compares drug users in North Carolina who use methamphetamine to those who do not use it.

Method. Six hundred three current (past 30 days) hard drug (e.g. cocaine, crack, methamphetamine, heroin) users participated in a study of high risk drug users and men who have sex with men in North Carolina between 2005-2006.

Results. Eleven percent (66/603) of participants reported current methamphetamine use. Methamphetamine users were significantly more likely to be white and homeless, however they were similar to other drug users in age, gender, education, and other socio-demographic characteristics. They were significantly more likely than other participants to report current use of speedball, powder cocaine, heroin and injecting drug use. They were significantly less likely to have used crack. They were significantly more likely to report bisexual behavior and slightly more likely to report sex with multiple partners. In multivariate analyses, methamphetamine use was associated with increased odds of multiple sexual partners and other sexual risk behaviors. Twenty-five percent of methamphetamine users reported it was the first hard drug they had used. Most (97%) methamphetamine users reported current use of at least one other hard drug.

Conclusions. Although methamphetamine use is present in this sample, there were few if any traditional “speed freaks.” Methamphetamine use in this sample was limited to users of other drugs who also used methamphetamine occasionally. Despite this, it was associated with higher risk sexual behaviors.