Healthcare Prescription Drug, And Medication Abuse Blog

Methamphetamine is an addictive stimulant that is closely related to amphetamine, but has longer lasting and more toxic effects on the central nervous system. It has a high potential for abuse and addiction.

Methamphetamine use is on the rise around the country.  It has reached epidemic proportions mainly because it is easy to make using common household items.

Meth is often referred to as speed, chalk, ice, crystal, and glass. 

The drug increases wakefulness and physical activity and decreases appetite. Chronic, long-term use can lead to psychotic behavior, hallucinations, and stroke.  People who use meth often don’t sleep – sometimes for days on end.  They lose weight quickly because the drug suppresses appetite.

Meth addicts often have lost some of their teeth, look gaunt, and will have sores on their body from nervous energy they are trying to get rid of.

National health statistics report that over 12 million Americans have tried methamphetamine with many of them quickly becoming addicted to the drug.

Methamphetamine is taken orally, intra-nasally (snorting the powder), by needle injection, or by smoking. Abusers may become addicted quickly, needing higher doses and more often.

Methamphetamine increases the release of very high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which stimulates brain cells, enhancing mood and body movement. Chronic methamphetamine abuse significantly changes how the brain functions.

Animal research going back more than 30 years shows that high doses of methamphetamine damage neuron cell endings. Dopamine- and serotonin-containing neurons do not die after methamphetamine use, but their nerve endings (“terminals”) are cut back, and re-growth appears to be limited.
Human brain imaging studies have shown alterations in the activity of the dopamine system. These alterations are associated with reduced motor speed and impaired verbal learning.

Recent studies in chronic methamphetamine abusers have also revealed severe structural and functional changes in areas of the brain associated with emotion and memory, which may account for many of the emotional and cognitive problems observed in chronic methamphetamine abusers.