Cigarettes
and Other Nicotine Products | Club
Drugs | Crack and Cocaine
| MDMA (Ecstasy) Heroin
| Inhalants | LSD
| Marijuana | Methamphetamine
| Pain Medications | PCP
Methamphetamine is an addictive stimulant drug that strongly activates certain systems in the brain. Methamphetamine is closely related chemically 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 methamphetamine is referred
to by many names, such as "speed," "meth," and "chalk."
Methamphetamine hydrochloride, clear chunky crystals resembling ice, which
can be inhaled by smoking, is referred to as "ice," "crystal,"
"glass," and "tina." Methamphetamine is taken orally or intranasally (snorting the powder), by intravenous injection, and by smoking. Immediately after smoking or intravenous injection, the methamphetamine user experiences an intense sensation, called a "rush" or "flash," that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Oral or intranasal use produces euphoria—a high, but not a rush. Users may become addicted quickly, and use it with increasing frequency and in increasing doses. Animal research going back more than 20 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 regrowth appears to be limited. The central nervous system (CNS) actions that result from taking even small amounts of methamphetamine include increased wakefulness, increased physical activity, decreased appetite, increased respiration, hyperthermia, and euphoria. Other CNS effects include irritability, insomnia, confusion, tremors, convulsions, anxiety, paranoia, and aggressiveness. Hyperthermia and convulsions can result in death. Methamphetamine causes increased heart rate and blood pressure and can cause irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain, producing strokes. Other effects of methamphetamine include respiratory problems, irregular heartbeat, and extreme anorexia. Its use can result in cardiovascular collapse and death. Extent of Use In 2003, 6.2 percent of high school seniors had reported lifetime** use of methamphetamine, statistically unchanged from 6.9 percent in 2001. Lifetime use was measured at 5.2 percent of 10th grade students and 3.9 percent of 8th-graders. Annual** use remained stable at 3.3 percent in 2003 among 10th-graders and at 3.2 percent among seniors.
The percentage of adult male arrestees testing methamphetamine-positive increased in 10 CEWG areas between 2001 and 2003. The percentages were highest in Honolulu (43.8 percent), San Diego (36.7), Phoenix (38.5), Los Angeles (14.8), and Seattle (10.9). More than 54 percent of adult female arrestees in Honolulu tested positive for methamphetamine in 2002, as did nearly 42 percent of those in Phoenix and more than 47 percent in San Diego. Several other items of significance were reported, as follows: In 2002, 46 percent of the 15,676 methamphetamine lab incidents were reported in 9 sites located in middle America: Missouri (2,788), Iowa (862), Kansas (763), Oklahoma (595), Tennessee (560), Illinois (551), Arkansas (398), Kentucky (372), and Nebraska (272). In the first 6 months of 2003, more than 56 percent of substance abuse treatment admissions in Hawaii were for primary methamphetamine abuse. San Diego followed, with nearly 51 percent. Some MDMA (ecstasy) and cocaine users are switching to methamphetamine, ignorant of its severe toxicity. In many gay clubs found throughout New York City and elsewhere, methamphetamine is often used in an injectable form, placing users and their partners at risk for transmission of HIV, hepatitis C, and other STDs.
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