false
OasisLMS
zh-CN,en,fr,de,ja,es
Catalog
35th AM (2025) - Poster Session
What Dose of Methamphetamine Do Regular Consumers ...
What Dose of Methamphetamine Do Regular Consumers Use Daily_Estimating Milligrams of Oral Amphetamine Equivalent
Back to course
Pdf Summary
This study by Friedman et al. addresses the quantity of methamphetamine consumed daily by regular users, introducing a novel metric: Milligrams of Oral Amphetamine Equivalence (MOAE). This metric, inspired by the Morphine Milligram Equivalent (MME) used in opioid prescribing, converts illicit methamphetamine consumption into a standardized measure equivalent to pharmaceutical stimulants like mixed amphetamine salts. <br /><br />The researchers combined data from three sources: self-reported daily methamphetamine consumption among 68 regular users in Los Angeles, purity analysis of 112 methamphetamine samples via LC-MS, and bioavailability estimates from a literature review. They used a bootstrapping method with 10,000 iterations to incorporate uncertainties across these factors to estimate MOAE for individuals.<br /><br />Key findings include:<br />- The mean self-reported daily methamphetamine dose was about 0.96 grams, with a median of 0.36 grams.<br />- Average sample purity was approximately 71.6%, median 75.5%.<br />- Estimated MOAE averaged 1,549 mg, with a median of 517 mg.<br /><br />Since the typical maximum recommended clinical dose of mixed amphetamine salts is 60 mg, the average methamphetamine user consumes roughly 25 times more stimulant daily than prescribed for clinical use. This substantial exposure helps explain why prescription stimulants often show limited effectiveness in treating methamphetamine use disorder and may underlie the high rates of methamphetamine-related psychosis and cardiovascular/neurovascular complications.<br /><br />The study highlights the utility of drug checking programs in helping users and clinicians better understand exposure levels and suggests that MOAE could be a valuable endpoint for clinical trials aiming to reduce consumption. More broadly, quantifying illicit stimulant exposure may improve risk assessment and personalized treatment approaches.<br /><br />In summary, the research establishes a framework to standardize methamphetamine dose reporting, revealing high levels of stimulant exposure among users and supporting dose reduction as a key treatment target.
Keywords
Methamphetamine consumption
Milligrams of Oral Amphetamine Equivalence (MOAE)
Morphine Milligram Equivalent (MME)
Illicit stimulant standardization
Methamphetamine purity analysis
Bootstrapping dose estimation
Mixed amphetamine salts clinical dose
Methamphetamine use disorder treatment
Drug checking programs
Stimulant exposure quantification
×