Ron and Carren Clem have the kind of relationship many fathers would die to have with their daughters. They tease each other affectionately, see one another regularly; they’ve even started working together. The irony is that Ron nearly died to have this.

Six years ago, Carren, 23, was a crystal meth addict. She stole from her parents to fund her habit. One of her junkie friends threatened to shoot Ron. He started to drink heavily and considered suicide. If ever there was a warning about how destructive drug addiction is, it is sitting in front of me.

Carren is now clean, married and pregnant with her first child. The two have written a book together, Loss of Innocence, a memoir of Carren’s slide into addiction — and her recovery.

You may not have heard of crystal meth — or crystal methamphetamine, but if its use continues to spread at its current rate, it could soon be as infamous as crack cocaine. Some 12m people in America are said to have tried the drug, which is likened to speed. There has been a sharp rise in users in Australia and New Zea-land and now it’s on its way to the UK. Scotland Yard is taking the crystal meth threat so seriously that the drug was reclassified as a class A narcotic in January.

According to police intelligence, the drug is available in almost every city in Britain. Commander Simon Bray, a spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers, who has met the Clems, says meth “could become as popular as crack unless we take action to prevent its spread”. Last year, six illicit laboratories were found in Britain and last December a man was convicted of producing the drug on the Isle of Wight.

Meth has become the drug of choice for so many young people because it is cheap. It is also easy to produce, with many of the ingredients commonly found in over-the-counter remedies. Meth has also gained a higher profile with stars such as singer Rufus Wainwright admitting to battling meth addiction: Wainwright revealed that he went blind for a week after an overdose.

According to Ron, 85% of meth users become addicted after their first “hit”. Long-term abuse can result in psychotic behaviour. Meth also causes dramatic weight loss, and lesions on the skin. When Ron, a retired Los Angeles police officer, saw his daughter for the first time after five months of taking the drug, she looked 10 years older than her 17 years.

“I had a great life growing up in Montana,” Carren says. “I had my own pony, was an accomplished violinist and wanted for nothing.” But at school she was regarded as odd because of her strict upbringing. Her father admits that he was paranoid about keeping his family safe. “My wife threw a surprise 50th birthday party for me and when our local pastor arrived, I answered the door with my gun.”

Ron and his wife Karyl insisted on meeting all the friends (and their parents) of Carren, her older sister Alicia and brother Scott. Carren says she found her father’s strictness stifling and, coupled with her poor grades at school, it affected her self-esteem. “I started hanging around with a bad crowd and began smoking marijuana and drinking.” She was befriended by a girl called Collette, who turned out to be a drug runner for a 25-year-old local man. She took Carren to his house, ostensibly for a party, and Carren was drugged and raped.

Ron, after sending her to bed in disgrace because he thought she was drunk, found her lying in the shower the next morning, covered in bruises and bite marks. “We lost Carren that day. I still can’t forgive myself for not listening to her when she tried to tell me what had happened. She simply gave up on life after that.”

Carren gave up at school too, leaving at 17 to find a job as a telemarketer. The long hours, however, left her feeling exhausted. Then at a party she was offered crystal meth. “I was told it would give me the boost I needed. I felt incredible; it was as if I had found the thing I’d been missing. After that, all that I cared about was getting my next hit.”

Ron vividly remembers the first night Carren came home strung out on meth. “I’d worked for years on the drugs squad, so I recognised all the signs. She was making jerky movements, was chattering constantly and her pupils were dilated. I’d seen so many addicts and here was my daughter, looking exactly the same.”

Carren quickly used all her $6,000 (£3,050) of savings to pay for her habit, then started stealing from her parents. Ron and Karyl gave their daughter a choice to stay with them and give up the drugs or leave with nothing. She walked out without even looking back. “My need for the drug was greater than my need for anything else,” she says.

Out of money, she was offered a hit of meth by someone for sex. Carren agreed. Ron was secretly using his police contacts to keep an eye on her. After discovering Carren had sold herself to a dealer, he suffered a heart attack. She visited Ron in hospital and was so overcome with guilt she took an overdose. When that failed she realised she needed help.

Carren was finally declared clean in 2005, after 18 months in rehab. But the financial and emotional strain almost led Ron and his wife to divorce. To fund Carren’s rehabilitation, they sold their home and used all their savings: a total of around $130,000.

Now they help others: Ron is the president of Teens in Crisis, an American charity that supports parents with children in crisis situations.

How does Carren feel, knowing her addiction caused her family such torment? “I feel guilty, but the drug was stronger than I was,” she says. “But I’m incredibly grateful to my parents for helping me through this. Only one in 30 meth addicts goes on to live a normal life again. I’m one of the lucky ones.”

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