The US crack cocaine „epidemic“ can be understood as a moral panic. Unlike prior drug waves, it featured a large proportion of pregnant and mothering women. Central to this period was the image of the „crack baby“ - a physically and emotionally damaged being brought into the world by an irresponsible even reprehensible woman. Currently meth- amphetamine (MA) is the most common drug used by pregnant women admitted into treat- ment in the US accounting for over 25% of all admission. In terms of total numbers, MA use among pregnant women today roughly equals the rate of crack use two decades ago. Unlike crack, there appears to be no moral panic concerning MA in pregnancy. There are no „ice babies“, no federal hearings on perinatal drug use, and no overblown media reports. What accounts for this silence? Is this development „positive“? For example, there is not the unjust removal of „exposé“ newborns with notification child protective services that was part of the crack panic. Or is it „negative“? For example, without public attention are the needs of pregnant MA users going unmet? Have we learned from the mistakes of crack, or is a moral panic needed for policy change? We propose a discussion that will include: 1) what constitutes a moral panic, 2) an analysis of policy formation, 3) popular and scientific literature on both cocaine and MA in order to explore the current absence of a panic surrounding MA use. Mishka Terplan is an OB/Gyn on faculty at the University of Chicago. He has a background in anthropology and a MPH in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina. His research interests are in drug use in women in general, in pregnancy in particular. His research methods fall into two general categories: 1) systematic reviews and meta-analyses (he has authored the only Cochrane reviews on the efficacy of various treatment interventions for pregnant women in drug and alcohol treatment), and 2) se- condary data analyses of pre-existing, often publically available data bases. Currently he is investigating gendered differences in drug use and treatment patterns. Most of what is known about addiction is derived from research on men. Gendered differenc- es exist for all substances but may be more pronounced with methamphetamine, a drug that historically was given preferentially to women.

OB Gyn on faculty at the University of Chicago

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