Meth Facts

Methamphetamine, also known as "meth", is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug that dramatically affects the central nervous system. The drug is produced in clandestine laboratories using relatively inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients. These factors make methamphetamine a drug with high potential for widespread abuse, a problem which has swept the entire nation. Like amphetamine, it causes increased activity, decreased appetite, and a general sense of well-being.

Because it is an extremely powerful stimulant drug, meth can cause dependence, side effects and severe withdrawal. The following are some meth facts which highlight some of these issues:

• Meth is a neurotoxin, meaning the drug causes damage to the nervous system.
• Individuals who use may experience dependence and addiction psychosis, stroke, dangerously high body temperature, and cardiac arrhythmia.
• Meth withdrawal often results in severe depression and paranoia.
• Methamphetamine use causes a boost of energy and causes individuals to feel more alert. It also acts as an appetite suppressant.
• Smoking or injecting meth produces an intense rush almost immediately, while snorting the drug results in about a 5 minute delay.
• Meth use produces a release of high levels of dopamine into the section of the brain that controls the feeling of pleasure.
• Undesirable side effects of meth use include convulsions, dangerously high body temperature, stroke, cardiac arrhythmia, stomach cramps and shaking.
• Chronic meth users develop a tolerance for the drug, and often try to intensify the desired effects by taking higher doses, taking it more frequently or changing their method of ingestion.
• Individuals who abuse meth will refrain from eating or sleeping for days while they binge, or "run" on the drug.
• During meth binge episodes, an user may inject as much as a gram of meth every 2-3 hours for several days until they run out of the drug or are too dazed to function.
• It is common for chronic meth users to experience psychotic behavior including intense paranoia, hallucinations, and out-of-control rage that can result in violent episodes.
• The psychotic symptoms that are sometimes consistent with meth use can persist for months or years after an addict has stopped using meth.
• Chronic meth users sometimes develop sores on their bodies where they have scratched at what are called "crank bugs." This term is used to describe a common delusion that bugs are crawling under the skin. After meth use is stopped, several withdrawal symptoms can occur, including depression, anxiety, fatigue, paranoia, aggression and an intense craving for the drug.
• Chronic meth abuse may produce inflammation of the heart lining. Individuals who inject meth may notice damaged blood vessels and skin abscesses.
• As with other drugs, chronic meth users progressively lose their ability to relate to others socially.
• In the case of a meth overdose, hypothermia and convulsions can occur and if not treated immediately could result in death.
• Studies show that as much as half of the dopamine-producing cells, or "feel good" chemicals, in the brain can be damaged by prolonged exposure to relatively low levels of meth.
• Research has show that long-term meth use, even at low doses, may cause extensive damage to the serotonin-containing nerve cells in the body, leading to long-term sleep deprivation.