Take our Addiction Test

Find a therapist to overcome addiction

Methamphetamine is a difficult drug to quit.

We currently have very few successful treatments for methamphetamine addiction.

Behavioral treatments could be helpful but are not readily covered by insurance.

Millions of people use methamphetamine in the United States, and overdoses involving the drug have been rising over the last decade. But while we have a veritable armory of tools to help with other types of addictions, like opioid misuse, our treatment options for methamphetamine remain stalled.

So why is it so hard for us to treat methamphetamine addiction? The reasons are varied, covering both the biology of the addiction and the societal stigma attached to meth users.

First, the withdrawal from methamphetamine is intense. With the massive rush of dopamine caused by the drug comes an equally intense rush of dysphoria. The initial crash from the drug is followed by at least a week of other symptoms, like fatigue, insomnia, and extreme hunger. And once those symptoms abate, people withdrawing from methamphetamine have six months to a year of residual cognitive symptoms like memory issues to look forward to.

Because of this, many methamphetamine users relapse during the first year, with as high as 60% of them returning to the drug.

Given the severity of the symptoms, treatments for methamphetamine should alleviate some of those withdrawal symptoms, but scientists have not yet found one that is able to do so. And it’s not for lack of trying—everything from antidepressants, narcolepsy medications, asthma and stroke medications, antipsychotics and even cannabinoids have been tested. Right now, combination treatments including medications such as injectable naltrexone combined with a bupropion pill are being tested as new potentials, with some success, but this research is still preliminary.

Pharmacological treatments are not the only methods that scientists have been trying. Behavioral models like contingency management, using incentives like gift cards or vouchers to “trade” for clean drug tests, have shown promise. But while contingency management might be helpful not only for methamphetamine use but other addictions, most health insurance coverage does not cover this treatment. And other behavioral treatments like exercise suffer from high attrition rates, with many people dropping out of the study before they could see the benefits.

Another obstacle is that the definition of effective treatment varies from person to person. Some practitioners promote maintenance therapies, while others demand complete abstinence, making it difficult to compare treatments between studies.

The societal stigma attached to methamphetamine intensifies this difficulty. Many meth users are wary of starting treatment, not wanting to divulge that they have a problem with the drug. Personal guilt and shame contribute to a lack of motivation to start treatment.

And the stigma leeches into funding as well. Money aimed at combatting methamphetamine use in the United States goes into law enforcement and funds to prevent the creation and sale of the drug. Research funding is severely limited for methamphetamine addiction, with many of the studies being focused on polydrug use, such as methamphetamine being co-used with opioids, instead of developing new treatments for stimulant use on its own.

For people struggling with methamphetamine addiction, this means that not only are current treatments limited, but future options are slow to come. Given the millions of people globally who are stuck in a cycle of methamphetamine use, wanting to get out but finding it difficult to quit, it might feel grim. But hopefully science will continue to march forward and new and improved treatments will be discovered in the future.

Take our Addiction Test

Find a therapist to overcome addiction

Acheson, L. S., Williams, B. H., Farrell, M., McKetin, R., Ezard, N., & Siefried, K. J. (2023). Pharmacological treatment for methamphetamine withdrawal: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomised controlled trials. Drug and Alcohol Review, 42(1), 7-19.

Brecht, M. L., & Herbeck, D. (2014). Time to relapse following treatment for methamphetamine use: a long-term perspective on patterns and predictors. Drug and alcohol dependence, 139, 18-25.

Brown, H. D., & DeFulio, A. (2020). Contingency management for the treatment of methamphetamine use disorder: A systematic review. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 216, 108307.

Cumming, C., Troeung, L., Young, J. T., Kelty, E., & Preen, D. B. (2016). Barriers to accessing methamphetamine treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Drug and alcohol dependence, 168, 263-273.

Jones, C. M., Houry, D., Han, B., Baldwin, G., Vivolo‐Kantor, A., & Compton, W. M. (2022). Methamphetamine use in the United States: epidemiological update and implications for prevention, treatment, and harm reduction. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1508(1), 3-22.

Li, M. J., Chau, B., Belin, T., Carmody, T., Jha, M. K., Marino, E. N., & Shoptaw, S. J. (2024). Extended observation of reduced methamphetamine use with combined naltrexone plus bupropion in the ADAPT‐2 trial. Addiction, 119(10), 1840-1845.

Mu, L. L., Wang, Y., Wang, L. J., Xia, L. L., Zhao, W., Song, P. P., ... & Jiao, D. L. (2022). Associations of executive function and age of first use of methamphetamine with methamphetamine relapse. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 971825.

© Psychology Today