Drug Information - (Crystal) Meth Addiction
What is Methamphetamine?
Methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that dramatically affects
the central nervous system. The drug is made easily in clandestine laboratories
with relatively inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients. These factors combine
to make methamphetamine a drug with high potential for widespread abuse.
Methamphetamine is commonly known as "speed," "meth," and "chalk." In its
smoked form it is often referred to as "ice," "crystal," "crank," and "glass."
It is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily
dissolves in water or alcohol. The drug was developed early in this century
from its parent drug, amphetamine, and was used originally in nasal
decongestants and bronchial inhalers. Methamphetamine's chemical structure is
similar to that of amphetamine, but it has more pronounced effects on the
central nervous system. Like amphetamine, it causes increased activity,
decreased appetite, and a general sense of well-being. The effects of
methamphetamine can last 6 to 8 hours. After the initial "rush," there is
typically a state of high agitation that in some individuals can lead to
violent behavior.
Methamphetamine is a Schedule II stimulant, which means it has a high potential
for abuse and is available only through a prescription that cannot be refilled.
There are a few accepted medical reasons for its use, such as the treatment of
narcolepsy, attention deficit disorder, and -- for short-term use -- obesity;
but these medical uses are limited.
How is Methamphetamine used?
Methamphetamine comes in many forms and can be smoked, snorted, orally
ingested, or injected. The drug alters moods in different ways, depending on
how it is taken.
Immediately after smoking the drug or injecting it intravenously, the user
experiences an intense rush or "flash" that lasts only a few minutes and is
described as extremely pleasurable. Snorting or oral ingestion produces
euphoria -- a high but not an intense rush. Snorting produces effects within 3
to 5 minutes, and oral ingestion produces effects within 15 to 20 minutes.
As with similar stimulants, methamphetamine most often is used in a "binge and
crash" pattern. Because tolerance for methamphetamine occurs within minutes --
meaning that the pleasurable effects disappear even before the drug
concentration in the blood falls significantly -- users try to maintain the
high by binging on the drug.
In the 1980's, "ice," a smokable form of methamphetamine, came into use. Ice is
a large, usually clear crystal of high purity that is smoked in a glass pipe
like crack cocaine. The smoke is odorless, leaves a residue that can be
resmoked, and produces effects that may continue for 12 hours or more.
The Brain - Dopamine plays an important role in the regulation of pleasure. In
addition to other regions, dopamine is manufactured in nerve cells within the
ventral tegmental area and is released in the nucleus accumbens and the frontal
cortex.
Brief Description:
Methamphetamine, or crystal meth, is an addictive stimulant drug that strongly
activates certain systems in the brain. It's chemically related to amphetamine,
but the central nervous system effects of methamphetamine are greater. Both
drugs have some limited therapeutic uses, primarily in the treatment of
obesity. Methamphetamine is made in illegal laboratories and has a high
potential for abuse and addiction.
Street Names:
Speed, meth, chalk, ice, crystal, glass.
Effects:
Increases wakefulness and physical activity and decreases appetite. Chronic,
long-term use can lead to psychotic behavior, hallucinations, and stroke.
Meth addiction :
Methamphetamine addiction has three patterns: low intensity, binge, and high
intensity. Low-intensity abuse describes a user who is not psychologically
addicted to the drug but uses meth on a casual basis by swallowing or snorting
it. Binge and high-intensity abusers are psychologically addicted to meth and
prefer to smoke or inject meth to achieve faster and stronger high. Binge
abusers use meth more than low-intensity abusers but less than high-intensity
abusers. As far as we know, meth does not create a physical addiction in the
user. Although, meth is extremely psychologically addictive.
Methamphetamine or Crystal Meth History
First synthesized in 1887 Germany, amphetamine was for a long time, a drug in
search of a disease. Nothing was done with the drug, from its discovery
(synthesis) until the late 1920's, when it was seriously investigated as a cure
or treatment against nearly everything from depression to decongestion.
In the 1930's, amphetamine was marketed as Benzedrine in an over-the-counter
inhaler to treat nasal congestion (for asthmatics, hay fever sufferers, and
people with colds). A probable direct reaction to the Depression and
Prohibition, the drug was used and abused by non-asthmatics looking for a buzz.
By 1937 amphetamine was available by prescription in tablet form.
Methamphetamine, more potent and easy to make, was discovered in Japan in 1919.
The crystalline powder was soluble in water, making it a perfect candidate for
injection. It is still legally produced in the U.S., sold under the trade name
Desoxyn.
During World War II, amphetamines were widely used to keep the fighting men
going (during the Vietnam war, American soldiers used more amphetamines than
the rest of the world did during WWII). In Japan, intravenous methamphetamine
abuse reached epidemic proportions immediately after World War II, when
supplies stored for military use became available to the public.
In the United States in the 1950s, legally manufactured tablets of both
dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) and methamphetamine (Methedrine) became readily
available and were used non-medically by college students, truck drivers, and
athletes, As use of amphetamines spread, so did their abuse. Amphetamines
became a cure-all for such things as weight control to treating mild depression
Methamphetamine: A Dangerous Drug, A Spreading Threat
Methamphetamine, or crystal meth, is a highly addictive drug that can be
manufactured by using products commercially available anywhere in the United
States. The chemicals used in producing methamphetamine are extremely volatile,
and the amateur chemists running makeshift laboratories -- often in hotels or
areas where children are present -- cause deadly explosions and fires. The
by-products of methamphetamine production are extremely toxic. Methamphetamine
traffickers display no concern about environmental hazards when it comes to
manufacturing and disposing of methamphetamine and its by-products.
The effects of methamphetamine, or crystal meth, on humans are profound. SAMHSA
is currently testing the effectiveness of various treatment regimens for
methamphetamine, an addiction that is extremely difficult to treat. The
stimulant effects from methamphetamine can last for hours, instead of minutes
as with crack cocaine. Often the methamphetamine user remains awake for days.
As the high begins to wear off, the methamphetamine user enters a stage called
"tweaking," in which he or she is prone to violence, delusions, and paranoia.
Many methamphetamine users try to alleviate the effect of the methamphetamine
"crash" by buffering the effects with other drugs such as cocaine or heroin.
Like heroin and cocaine, methamphetamine can be snorted, smoked, or injected.
Short-term Effects Can Include:
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Increased attention and decreased fatigue
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Increased activity
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Decreased appetite
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Euphoria and rush
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Increased respiration
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Hyperthermia
Long-term Effects Can Include:
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Dependence and addiction psychosis
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paranoia
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hallucinations
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mood disturbances
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repetitive motor activity
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Stroke
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Weight loss
Effect of Methamphetamine on the Brain
Dopamine plays an important role in the regulation of pleasure. In addition to
other regions, dopamine is manufactured in nerve cells within the ventral
tegmental area and is released in the nucleus accumbens and the frontal cortex.
It appears that the drug stimulates excess release of dopamine, contributing to
the effects on the user.
What are the short-term effects of methamphetamine use?
As a powerful stimulant, methamphetamine or crystal meth, even in small doses,
can increase wakefulness and physical activity and decrease appetite. A brief,
intense sensation, or rush, is reported by those who smoke or inject
methamphetamine. Oral ingestion or snorting produces a long-lasting high
instead of a rush, which reportedly can continue for as long as half a day.
Both the rush and the high are believed to result from the release of very high
levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine into areas of the brain that regulate
feelings of pleasure.
What are the long-term effects of methamphetamine use?
Long-term methamphetamine or crystal meth abuse results in many damaging
effects, including addiction. Addiction is a chronic, relapsing condition,
characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and drug use which is accompanied by
functional and molecular changes in the brain. In addition to being addicted to
methamphetamine, chronic methamphetamine abusers exhibit symptoms that can
include violent behavior, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia.
They also can display a number of psychotic features, including paranoia,
auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances, and delusions (for example, the
sensation of insects creeping on the skin, called "formication"). The paranoia
can result in homicidal as well as suicidal thoughts.
How is methamphetamine different from other stimulants, like
cocaine?
Methamphetamine is classified as a psychostimulant as are such other drugs of
abuse as amphetamine and cocaine. We know that methamphetamine is structurally
similar to amphetamine and the neurotransmitter dopamine, but it is quite
different from cocaine. Although these stimulants have similar behavioral and
physiological effects, there are some major differences in the basic mechanisms
of how they work at the level of the nerve cell. However, the bottom line is
that methamphetamine, like cocaine, results in an accumulation of the
neurotransmitter dopamine, and this excessive dopamine concentration appears to
produce the stimulation and feelings of euphoria experienced by the user.
In contrast to cocaine, which is quickly removed and almost completely
metabolized in the body, methamphetamine has a much longer duration of action
and a larger percentage of the drug remains unchanged in the body. This results
in methamphetamine being present in the brain longer, which ultimately leads to
prolonged stimulant effects.
What treatments are effective for methamphetamine or crystal
meth abusers?
At this time the most effective treatments for methamphetamine addiction are
cognitive behavioral interventions. These approaches are designed to help
modify the patient's thinking, expectancies, and behaviors and to increase
skills in coping with various life stressors. Methamphetamine recovery support
groups also appear to be effective adjuncts to behavioral interventions that
can lead to long-term drug-free recovery.
There are currently no particular pharmacological treatments for dependence on
amphetamine or amphetamine-like drugs such as methamphetamine. The current
pharmacological approach is borrowed from experience with treatment of cocaine
dependence. Unfortunately, this approach has not met with much success since no
single agent has proven efficacious in controlled clinical studies.
Antidepressant medications are helpful in combating the depressive symptoms
frequently seen in methamphetamine users who recently have become abstinent.
There are some established protocols that emergency room physicians use to
treat individuals who have had a methamphetamine overdose. Because hyperthermia
and convulsions are common and often fatal complications of such overdoses,
emergency room treatment focuses on the immediate physical symptoms. Overdose
patients are cooled off in ice baths, and anticonvulsant drugs may be
administered also.
Acute methamphetamine intoxication can often be handled by observation in a
safe, quiet environment. In cases of extreme excitement or panic, treatment
with antianxiety agents such as benzodiazepines has been helpful, and in cases
of methamphetamine-induced psychoses, short-term use of neuroleptics has proven
successful.
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