Meth in Utah about 90% pure

Utah police say the potency of methamphetamine being made and sold in the state is increasing — averaging a purity of about 90 percent.

Five years ago, the potency of the drug police confiscated by police was measuring between 50 percent and 70 percent. The increased purity means two things for users: it takes less meth to obtain a high and users are experience a more intense highs and side effects.

It's affected the street price of the illegal drug. Meth is now more expensive than cocaine. Meth made in most home labs is selling on Utah's streets for about $1,000 an ounce. Mexican meth sells for between $700 and $900 per ounce.

To determine a drug's potency, laboratory technicians divide its components and measure the drug against impurities. Those impurities include byproducts created during the cooking process or substances known as "cutting materials," which meth-makers add during cooking to dilute the drug.

Police say Utah's meth cooks have honed their cooking skills. Better equipment is used and cooks have fine-tuned the amount of ingredients, cooking temperatures and time.

The high quality of the drug may also make it more difficult to treat those suffering from addiction. Meth effects the frontal cortex of the brain, the area critical for decision making. After consuming drugs, brain activity returns to normal after a few days or weeks. But meth has a long-term effect, says Glen Hanson, director of the Utah Addiction Center at the University of Utah.

The higher-the grade of the drug, the more serious the effect. Highs can last longer and be more intense with brain activity altered more drastically.