Speed. Meth. Glass. Methamphetamine has many names. What began as a fad among motorcycle gangs has spread across the US, and the drug is now more potent, and more destructive, than ever.

Meth addiction takes a terrible toll on individuals, families and communities, but one of the main ingredients is commonly found in cold remedies. In the mid 1980s the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) attempted to restrict the sale of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine medicines, such as Sudafed. 

Although pharmaceutical companies agreed to stop supplying the chemical direct to suspect buyers, they resisted the call to limit the sale of commercial cold remedies. These are now used by addicts in a volatile ‘shake and bake’ method of mixing the ingredients. Paying for the drug is also an incentive to crime. In the American state of Oregon an increbible 85 percent of property and other crime has been linked to meth addicts. 

New state legislation has made pseudoephedrine prescription-only and officials say the measure has all but eradicated meth abuse. Will other states now follow suit?