CMA

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Jan 31, 2005 3:59PM

Country Music Association? The Christian Missionary Alliance? Certified Management Accountants? Try Crystal Meth Anonymous. A few years ago the 12-step CMA group met once a week in Chicago and now meetings are available 5 days a week - a chilling indication of how much crystal meth has become a problem in the area.

Crystal Meth is known to be a problem in many rural areas (hence one of its nicknames, Hillbilly Crack**) but is now becoming a big issue in major US cities. In Atlanta, meth users are the fastest-growing segment of addicts seeking treatment. In Minneapolis-St. Paul there's an alarming number of users under the age of 18. Overall, there's an increasing number of addicts who are women.

Experts are saying that the meth boom is like the early days of cocaine. The manufacturing of crystal meth creates a baaaad smell. That's why it's made in rural areas and why they were the first users of it. Now it's making its way into trendy clubs all over the country. They say that meth is big with urban gay men and that users are traditionally white, but that the drug is making its way into the black and hispanic communities as well.

** This site says that meth is known around the Chicago area as "222." Chicagoist hasn't a clue why, but then we're not meth users.. are we just missing the boat on figuring this one out?