The manufacture and sale of legal pharmaceuticals amounts to an estimated $30 billion per year. Advertising by drug companies has increased the demand for prescription drugs in recent years. The rising cost of prescription medications has produced another crisis. Problems related to prescription drugs are costly and cause both morbidity and mortality. Illicit drug production in the United States centers mainly around three types of illicit activities: marijuana cultivation, clandestine laboratories that primarily manufacture methamphetamine and PCP, and pharmaceutical diversion by scammers and registrants. Marijuana cultivators usually produce commercial marijuana; some produce sinsemilla. The clandestine laboratory problem is increasing. Diversion of pharmaceuticals results from both profit motives and from personal addictions developed by registrants themselves. Evidence of drug diversion is difficult to acquire; prosecution also encounters problems. Figures, photograph, list of major terms used, and discussion questions