What is Methamphetamine?

Methamphetamine, or "meth," is the number one drug problem in rural America, a trend which is spreading to all regions in the nation. It is a potent psychoactive stimulant drug that has a dramatic effect on the central nervous system. Unlike other naturally occurring drugs such as marijuana or opiate based drugs which are cultivated, meth is a synthetic drug which is manufactured. Most of the meth found in the U.S. is produced in small, rural, makeshift "laboratories," using equipment and ingredients that are readily available at local drug, hardware, and farm supply stores. Because meth is highly addictive, cheap, and easy to make, abuse has spread rapidly through the western, southwestern, Midwestern, and southeastern United States, as well as through other parts of the world such as Southeast Asia and New Zealand.

Meth in its rawest form is an odorless, bitter-tasting powder that dissolves easily in water or alcohol. This powder may be white, yellow, pink, red, tan, or brown, depending largely on the ingredients used to make it. There are numerous street names for the drug, including speed, crank, chalk, crystal, ice, glass, shabu, zip, pep-pills, and go-fast.

When an individual uses meth, the brain and body are fooled into thinking that they have limitless stamina while in fact critical energy reserves are being drained, reserved which are needed to maintain the body's vital organs and functions. Therefore, meth use results in bursts of energy and euphoria but ultimately leads to severe depression, brain damage, physical deterioration, and in some cases violent paranoia.

There are several routes of administration that individuals who use meth may employ to get high, each having a different intensity and outcome. Meth may be ingested, snorted, smoked, or injected. When meth is snorted or taken in pill form, it produces a sense of euphoria that can last up to twelve hours. When meth is smoked or injected the user experiences a more immediate and intense "rush" which can may last for only a few minutes, which is followed by a lower-level feeling of euphoria.

Crystal meth is a form of meth that looks similar to large crystal chunks, small glass fragments or shiny blue-white rocks. Crystal meth is typically smoked in a glass pipe like crack cocaine, but it may also be dissolved and injected. The use of crystal meth results in a more intense and longer lasting high than the user would experience with the powdered form of meth. Similar to the results of chronic powder meth use, chronic use of crystal meth causes damage to the brain, body, and central nervous system.

The typical progression of meth use is ingestion in pill form, then snorting it, then smoking it, and then finally injecting it. New meth users will often ingest or snort the drug, while hard-core users will end up smoking or injecting it. Regardless of the method of administration, meth use results in increased activity, decreased appetite, and a false sense of well-being. This is then followed by the negative consequences which will affect the individual in the long-term, which can include damage to the brain, body, and central nervous system in the long term.