Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine: What Is It?

Summary

Meth can:

  • Change your brain
  • Damage your body
  • Control your actions

 

Some people call crystal meth a “dragon,” for good reason.

When people talk about meth, they most often mean crystal methamphetamine, an illegal, strong, and addictive drug made by turning household chemicals into a crystal-like powder.

Methamphetamine is a type of amphetamine (also called speed)—a legal drug sometimes prescribed in small doses by doctors treating people with depression, attention deficit disorder, and other health problems.

Doctors never prescribe crystal meth. It is made strictly for illegal drug use.

What does it look like?

Crystal meth is a white, odorless, bitter powder or an off-white clear rock that melts easily in water or alcohol. It also can be made into a waxy solid called glass. A person can drink it, snort it, smoke it, or inject it.

What is it made of?

All crystal meth is manmade. It is based on a common item in sinus and asthma drugs, called ephedrine. That drug is cooked with other items, such as lye, anhydrous ammonia (found in fertilizers, refrigerators, and air conditioners), iodine, car-battery acid, red phosphorous found on match heads, ether, mercury, sodium, acetone, paint thinner, drain cleaner, brake fluid, lighter fluid, and lithium from small batteries. Most of these items are easy to find in homes, stores, or on farms.

Some meth comes into the U.S. from other countries, but a lot of it is made in small local labs built in homes, garages, warehouses, or vacant buildings. Federal officials found more than 11,000 meth labs in the United States in 2010.

To prevent vapors from escaping the lab, people may cover or tape up windows, which can lead to a violent explosion or fire. Those making the drug breathe in unsafe fumes and touch chemicals that can eat away their skin. The chemicals are so unsafe that, long after the lab closes, neighbors and people who live or work in that space can be hurt by what is left behind.

Substances used to make meth will even kill grass and other plants near a lab. Only trained and licensed experts wearing hazmat suits can safely, and legally, clean up these sites.

Police often find labs after they burn or explode. But sometimes a lab goes unnoticed, and then someone buys the property, years later. The new owner may not realize what he has bought until children start showing signs of nerve damage, skin rashes, breathing issues, or learning problems. The unseen and odorless residue left behind on the walls, floors, countertops, and the soil around a meth lab is very harmful to children and pregnant women.

Who uses it?

According to a United Nations report, amphetamines are the most used hard drug in the world, with 37 million users throughout the globe in 2015. And among amphetamines, methamphetamine represents the greatest global health threat, with the use growing. There are 1.4 million people using meth spread from coast-to-coast in the U.S., but it is most used in western or Central Plains states. People living in the U.S. who use meth tend to be in their teens, 20s or early-30s, male and white.

What it does

Once in your body, meth changes your brain chemistry, feelings, perceptions, and personality. Even a small amount can have a lasting impact.

At first, you may be dazzled by the high, as it makes colors brighter, sounds more beautiful and lets thoughts race through your mind. It amplifies sexual desire and pleasure. But after you use it for a while, that rush swings the other way, leaving you struggling to get back to the state of mind you had before using meth.

A meth high can last for six-24 hours. Some people are so excited by the drug that they stay awake for days, then sleep for days, as well. While they are high, people using meth often do not eat, so they lose a lot of weight. They may have hallucinations or times of rage. A kind person may turn violent and commit crimes he would never do when sober.

Long-term effects

Meth latches on to a person quickly because it changes brain chemistry. Chemicals fire up nerve endings, amplifying sensory information. But, with use, meth changes that same brain tissue, little by little, leaving you no way to feel good without using more.

Since it takes over the body as well as the mind, rehab specialists say a meth habit is very hard to reverse. The healing time is longer and harder than it is for other drugs. Some people may experience brain damage, kidney damage, depression, or full-blown psychosis, plus unattractive looks from lost teeth, weakened muscles, and skin problems.

However, people can and do recover. It helps to be actively involved in your recovery process and to have a recovery and wellness plan. There is hope for recovery from an addiction to meth.

Why Is Meth Dangerous?

Summary

Meth is dangerous because it:

  • Is highly addictive
  • Changes the brain
  • Causes risky behavior

 

One piece of crystal meth may look small, but it has a huge impact on a person’s mind and body, even after one use.

In fact, methamphetamine is so strong, few people are satisfied using it once or twice. Not everyone gets hooked on it the first time, because the causes of addiction are complex. Some people are more likely to get hooked on pleasurable things—like alcohol, gambling, drugs, sex, eating, or shopping—than others. But anyone who gets caught up in those pleasures should never try meth. Not even one time.

Nic Sheff wrote a book about his longtime experience with the drug. He started using alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs before he was 14 years old (the average age for starting drug use in those who become hooked), so by the time he was out of high school, he was looking for something different.

“When I took those off-white crushed shards up that blue, cut-plastic straw, well, my whole world pretty much changed after that,” Sheff says in his book Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines. “There was a feeling like, my God, this is what I’ve been missing my entire life. It completed me. I felt whole for the first time.”

Who would not want to repeat an experience like that?

What meth does

In the short term, here are some of the drug’s effects:

  • Strong positive reaction to surroundings—colors are brighter, music is sweeter, smells are unusually strong, and the person may feel very much at peace with himself and others.
  • Energy and alertness—meth makes it easy to stay awake and alert for a long time.
  • More confidence—shyness goes away.
  • More desire for excitement and sex—meth is a staple at parties built on drugs and anonymous sexual encounters.

Our brains are very complex organs that get information, and then tell us what to do with it. Sometimes we react right away to those signals without thinking, such as when we touch a hot stove. Other times, we mull over the information, and then act on it very deliberately.

You could say the receiving part of the brain has two doors, one marked go and the other marked stop. When we get positive signals—such as the sight of a sunset, or the sound of music we like—the go door opens wide to get a bigger signal. If the signal is unsafe or harmful, our brain tells us to close the stop door, to keep us from harm.

In very basic terms, meth opens the go door wide, over and over, but stops us from closing the stop door. The thinking part of our brain does not have the chance to make the choice. The chemicals in the drug make the choice for us. That is simply how addiction works.

Of all the drugs a person can use, including alcohol, methamphetamine is very likely to make us go back, time and again, to do something we know is bad for our body and mind, but we want to use it anyway.

“It’s like I‘m being held captive by some insatiable monster that will not let me stop. All my values, all my beliefs, everything I care about, they all go away the moment I get high,” says Sheff.

Meth fires up the brain by amplifying each signal that comes in. It can do that because it is very close, chemically, to dopamine, one of the natural fuels our brain runs on. Unlike the chemicals we are born with, meth burns out nerve endings so that the only way we can feel normal is to use more and more of the drug.

Long-term effects

Over time, here are some of the things meth will do to a person. Someone who uses meth will experience:

  • Aggressive, violent behavior—he may do something out of character, such as start a fight, steal, lie, or attack strangers for no reason
  • Big changes in sleep patterns—sometimes a person using meth will stay up for days or sleep for days
  • Loss of appetite and weight—people who have used meth for a long time are often very skinny
  • High blood pressure, which can lead to kidney failure, heart attack, or stroke
  • High blood sugar, which might lead to diabetes
  • Irregular heartbeats, bad chest pains, or other heart problems
  • Depression or flat emotions, putting her at risk for suicide
  • Meth mouth—a mixture of gum disease, tooth decay, mouth sores, and tooth loss brought on by the harmful ingredients in meth
  • Skin infections and unusual skin color, often pale grey or yellow
  • Muscle wasting—this adds to the skinny and misshapen appearance
  • Nose problems, including sinus infections and nose bleeds
  • Trouble breathing because of a chronic cough or bronchitis
  • Urinary tract infections, diarrhea, or constipation
  • Sexual problems
  • Muscle twitches and tics
  • No control over repetitive motions
  • Psychosis, hallucinations, mental breakdowns that can take years to recover from
  • Birth defects, if a mother uses meth during pregnancy

Where does meth come from?

Some meth comes into the U.S. from other countries but much of it is made in small local labs built in homes, garages, warehouses, or vacant buildings.

To prevent vapors from escaping the lab, people who make it sometimes cover over or tape up windows. This can cause a violent explosion or fire. While they are working, they breathe in unsafe fumes and touch chemicals that can eat away their skin. These chemicals are so unsafe that, long after the lab closes, whatever is left behind can harm neighbors or anyone who lives or works in that space. Meth ingredients will even kill grass and other plants near a lab. Only trained and licensed experts wearing hazmat suits are allowed to clean up these sites.

Police often find labs after they burn or explode. But sometimes a lab goes unnoticed and someone buys the property years later. The new owner may not realize what he has bought until people living there show signs of nerve damage, skin rashes, breathing problems, or learning disabilities. The invisible and odorless residue left behind on the walls, floors, countertops, and soil around a meth lab is bad for everyone, but especially children and pregnant women.

When and How to Seek Help in a Methamphetamine Crisis

Summary

In a crisis:

  • Act fast.
  • Be honest about your condition.
  • Follow a crisis plan.

 

If you use crystal methamphetamine, you can expect to develop some serious health problems at some point. It does not matter if you use only meth, use it with other drugs or alcohol, or use it every day or once a week. Over time, the drug will change the way your brain works and have an impact on your body.

 Meth:

  • Raises blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature
  • Raises blood sugar, which can lead to diabetes or diabetic coma
  • Causes damage to lungs and kidneys
  • Can cause uterine bleeding and urinary tract infections
  • Causes constipation and diarrhea
  • Causes hallucinations and/or complete psychotic breakdowns
  • Erodes tooth enamel, weakens gums, and causes tooth loss
  • Sears lungs, if smoked
  • Dries out nasal passages, if snorted
  • Weakens the heart, kidneys, and immune system
  • Can cause violent rages, aggression, or thoughts of super-human ability
  • Can set off thoughts of suicide
  • Can cause death from overdose

If you are involved in the manufacture of meth, you are at high risk of burns from touching toxic chemicals, of damage to your lungs from breathing fumes, of nerve damage from anything you touch in the lab, or of death from fire or explosion.

What can happen?

If you use meth for a long time, you may get one or more of these very serious health problems. If so, you need to act quickly and responsibly. Your life or the life of others may be at stake.

Since you use meth and you may be with other people who use drugs at the time of the crisis, you might worry that you could be arrested if you seek medical care for yourself or someone else. That is possible. At least eight states—New York, Rhode Island, Colorado, Illinois, Florida, Connecticut, Washington, and New Mexico—have shield laws that would protect you from arrest. Washington, D.C., hospitals follow rules that allow people to get medical help for drug crises without fear of arrest, and so do hospitals in some other states without shield laws. New Jersey is considering a shield law, but until it has one, some hospitals follow the practice anyway.

An overdose can kill. So can a heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure. If you are using meth, you take a chance for a medical crisis, overdose, or arrest every time you use it.

Prepare for a crisis

You need to decide in advance how you will handle a crisis. You also need to ask someone to be your point person, if you need one. Ask a good friend or family member to be your advocate in case of an emergency. This is something everyone should do.

In a crisis:

  1. Go to an emergency room if you are able to walk by yourself.
  2. If you cannot walk, call 911 and wait for an ambulance.
  3. If you are with someone experiencing a crisis, do not try to revive that person yourself unless you are certified in CPR. Wait for medical help.
  4. Carry your own crisis contact information on you. Include phone numbers of whom to contact, as well as your medical history information, medications, the name of your doctor, insurance provider, and anything else that might be important. Put it on a card and keep it in a place you or someone else can get to, quickly.
  5. If a doctor asks you if you use drugs, be honest about what you use. Without all information, the doctor cannot make a good assessment of your situation or needs.
  6. Follow the medical advice you are given.

Get care quickly

Author David Sheff wrote about his son Nic’s methamphetamine use in Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey through His Son’s Addiction. Nic had crisis after crisis, and Sheff wrote about one event in particular, in a newspaper article:

“Nic was rushed to the emergency room, where he was resuscitated. When I spoke to a doctor there, I was told that if another 15 minutes had passed before Nic got to the ER, he wouldn’t have survived. My son has now been sober for five years. I don’t know who called the paramedics, but not a day goes by when I don’t thank him.

Other parents haven’t been so lucky.”

Maybe you feel you are not ready to commit to substance use disorder treatment. Don’t let that get in the way of quick medical treatment for overdose, stroke, heart failure, or breathing problems. You can’t even start to think about drug treatment until you have taken care of other serious health issues.

Doctors recognize drug addiction as a disease, requiring medical treatment. Their job is to help you get well. When you need their help, do not wait to ask for and get it.

Resources

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
www.samhsa.gov/atod/stimulants
(800) 662-4357

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
www.niaaa.nih.gov
(301) 443–3860

National Institute on Drug Abuse
www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/methamphetamine/letter-director
(301) 443–1124

National Institute of Mental Health
www.nimh.nih.gov
(866) 615–6464

Award-winning HBO series, “Addiction.’ www.hbo.com/addiction/thefilm/

Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2009.

Drug Facts: Methamphetamine, National Institute on Drug Abuse
www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/methamphetamine

The Meth Epidemic, “Frontline,” produced by WGBH-Boston for PBS. 2011. www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth

World Drug Report 2012, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/WDR2012/WDR_2012_web_small.pdf

World Drug Report 2017, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
www.unodc.org/wdr2017/field/Booklet_1_EXSUM.pdf