The primary methamphetamine / amphetamine admission rate for the United States increased by 127% between 1995 and 2005, from 30 per 100,000 population aged 12 and over, to 68 per 100,000, based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) T reatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). Methamphetamine treatment admissions, focused in the Pacific and Mountain States early on, have recently shown a steady increase in the Central and Eastern US. More recent data show that in 2006, 8.6% of the 1,800,717 total admissions to TEDS (or 155,643) were primary methampheta- mine admissions. Male clients comprised 54.2 percent of methamphetamine admissions (68.2% of all treatment admissions). Female clients account for 45.8% of methamphetamine admissions (31.8 percent of all treatment admissions). Under the Services Accountability Improvement System (SAIS), of those clients admitted to substance abuse treatment supported by SAMHSA's CSAT discretionary grants program from October 2004 through March 2008, 3,373 clients admitted to using methamphetamine at intake. Clients in treatment substantially decreased methamphetamine use (81.9%) between intake and six months post-intake. Methamphetamine-users also showed the greatest improvement in employment/education status (82.4%). In summary, SAIS data reveal that treatment can provide positive outcomes. In addition to monitoring epidemiology changes and treatment outcomes, other US Federal efforts include identifying and disseminating effective treatment protocols for methamphetamine, the development of an interagency workgroup between SAMHSA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to address the intersection of methamphetamine use and the transmission of infectious diseases, and the upcoming submit Methamphetamine: The National Summit to Promote Public Health, Par tnerships, and Safety for Critically Affected Populations. This event will bring in State Teams to develop actions plans that address local methamphetamine problems. A National Federal Action Plan for Methamphetamine will also be developed by the multiple Federal agencies participating. Dr. Edwin Craft is the Lead GPO and Activities Coordinator for Methamphetamine at the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). During his service with SAMHSA, Dr. Craft has as headed the SAMHSA Office on AIDS; provided leadership for the legislative, policy, planning, and evaluation functions at CSAT; and headed up the Critical Populations Demonstration Program. From 1996 to 2004, Dr. Craft's efforts focused on the translating science to service arena, where development of community-specific treatment practices and tools was the focus. He also provided leadership for development of the publication A Provider's Introduction to Substance Abuse Treatment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Individuals and the recently released accompanying training curriculum. Dr. Craft is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, and helped establish legislation to regulate the profession of counseling in the State of Maryland. Dr. Craft has held state and national offices with the American Counseling Association and the American Mental Health Counselors Association. He is the current Vice-President for Interdisciplinary Affairs of the US Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.

First global conference on methamphetamine science, strategy and response, Prague, 15-16 September 2008