Once shy of restrictions, lobby support new anti-meth acts
While the Drug Enforcement Administration was proposing laws to restrict pseudoephedrine in the 1990s, some saw the anti-methamphetamine measures as potentially harmful to legitimate businesses and consumers seeking over-the-counter medications.

Former drug maker: 'I always knew I would get busted'
Bill Meyer laughs boisterously and hunkers down on the floor of his office to play with his pet Chihuahua, Lily.

Secure mailbox standards go into effect to fight identity theft
New homes must be built with more-secure mailboxes under a regulation that took effect Oct. 1, but current homeowners may also want to consider an upgrade to prevent identity theft.

1980s: Meth explodes in San Diego
For most of its history, methamphetamine had been a second-class drug, never as popular as amphetamines and never as glamorous among drug users as cocaine, heroin or LSD.

Kamikaze pilots, Beats and Hells Angels all part of meth crisis history
Most of the nation was oblivious to methamphetamine as it slowly became the drug of choice in Southern California, quietly replacing crack cocaine and phencyclidine, or PCP, in the 1980s.

Meth use a growing concern on Indian reservations
Methamphetamine use is becoming a growing concern in American Indian communities, including local reservations, say tribal leaders who are trying to combat the problem.

The meth connection -- Drug, sensational crimes have long association in region
From superior court judges to casual newspaper readers, residents of San Diego County already know of the connection between violent crime and methamphetamine abuse.

The neuroscience of meth -- From pleasure to paranoia, drug's effects explained through brain chemistry
From a neurological perspective, it's easy to understand the appeal of methamphetamine.

Identity theft fueled by meth
If you live in San Diego County and have been a victim of identity theft, police say there's a good chance that methamphetamine fueled the crime.

Meth user on his life and times
VISTA ---- Meth user Tracy Shreeve is a man who has grown to love the adrenaline rush of committing crimes to feed his drug habit, he said recently --- from the Vista Jail.

Responding to the meth epidemic: Battling problem from all sides
To those of us in public health and safety arenas, methamphetamine is an old, familiar enemy.

Responding to the meth epidemic: More treatment, less hype
Before methamphetamine was a policy issue for me, it was a drug.

Hospital study: Meth leaves users injured, bills unpaid
The local cost of methamphetamine abuse has long been evident in property crime, broken families and the loss of life, but a less visible toll is the financial strain and additional workload the drug places on emergency rooms.

Drug use led to young mother losing custody of daughter
VISTA ---- Everyone was doing it. That was reason enough for Stephanie Martinez, 26, who began using methamphetamine in her first year of high school in 1996.

Escondido official's fall showed meth's reach
ESCONDIDO -- Methamphetamine addiction can happen to anyone. The prominent and the highly placed are not exempt.

Officials: Ingredients key in meth fight
NORTH COUNTY ---- A shortage of the "precursor" chemicals, or basic ingredients, used to produce methamphetamine has led to decreased purity levels, tighter supplies and higher prices locally, according to key local and federal law enforcement officials.

Dying Before Our Eyes: Methamphetamine, the craze that won't go away
Nobody has to look far to find signs of a methamphetamine epidemic in San Diego County. Retirees and young families see the evidence in their local city parks where addicts waste away. Paramedics and emergency-room doctors see the evidence in overdoses and meth-related accidents.

'A numb plateau where there once was a high'
VISTA ---- As a teenager in the 1980s, Terri Hagmann sometimes lied to friends to keep drugs out of her life. "I made up audacious stories about how I had seen people get high," she said. "I thought if I made up stories, they wouldn't ask." But drugs were all around her Chula Vista neighborhood in 1984, and Hagmann's curiosity finally got the best of her.

Meth striking older generations
SAN DIEGO -- More older adults in the county are using the potentially deadly drug methamphetamine, officials said Monday.

County Supervisors call for upgrades to protect against identity theft
County supervisors Tuesday unanimously directed county managers to find $300,000 to reinforce safeguards to protect taxpayers' personal information from identity theft.

Meth reportedly fueling fanaticism in Iraq
As the war in Iraq goes on, it's interesting to note that our combat troops are finding a chemical element used by enemy combatants that is commonly used by crooks, thieves and other social degenerates in the United States: forms of the illegal stimulant methamphetamine.