| |
Chronic Use
Long-term meth abuse results in many damaging effects, including addiction. Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease, characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and drug use which is accompanied by functional and molecular changes in the brain.
x
Chronic meth abusers experience side effects that can include extremely violent behavior, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia. They can also display a number of psychotic features, including intense paranoia, visual and  auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances, and delusions (for example, formication – the sensation of insects creeping on the skin). The paranoia can result in homicidal as well as suicidal thoughts.
x
Although there are no physical manifestations of withdrawal syndrome when meth use is stopped, there are several symptoms that occur when a chronic user stops taking the drug. These include depression, anxiety, fatigue, paranoia, aggression, and an intense craving for the drug.
Methods of Use
Meth can be swallowed, snorted, smoked, or injected. The potential for addiction is greater when it’s delivered by methods that cause the concentration in the blood to rise quickly, principally because the effects desired by the user are felt quicker and with a higher intensity than a moderated delivery mechanism. Generally, injecting is the “fastest” mechanism (i.e., it causes the blood concentration to rise the most quickly in the shortest period of time), followed by smoking, then snorting, then swallowing.
x
Even before blood levels of the drug reach their peak in the users body, tolerance begins to quickly develop. Ever increasing amounts of the drug must then be used to reach or maintain the same high.
x
Meth is most often used in a binge and crash pattern. In some cases, users binge on the drug, trying to maintain the drug’s high – foregoing food or sleep for days or sometimes even weeks (called a run). As much as a gram of the drug is used every 2 to 3 hours over several days until the user runs out of the drug or is too disorganized to continue.
x
What goes up, must come down – and the crash from meth can be particularly hard. After a run, the user will remain in an extended deep sleep – a recovery response by the body, trying to recover from the extended abuse it has undergone.
- • ORAL INGESTION
- Can be taken in pill form by putting drug into empty gelatin capsules. Other people mix it into water, juice, soda, or add it to coffee to make biker coffee.
- • INTRAVENOUS INJECTION (IV)
- Meth crystals, dissolved into water, are injected directly into a vein/blood stream with a needle and syringe (method known as slamming, injection apparatus known as a works). Similar methods involve injecting the drug directly into a muscle (muscling) or under the skin (skin popping).
x
Injecting directly into a vein is the most dangerous form of drug administration, as this bypasses all the defenses the body has to protect its blood supply. Any contaminants in the meth will be injected directly into the bloodstream. If there is a bubble of air in the mixture, it can travel through the veins to the heart and cause the heart to stop. Other risks include skin abscesses and transmission of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis B & C from dirty needles.
 • SMOKING- Using a butane torch, meth crystals are melted in a glass pipe (pictured right) or water pipe (bong). Once the drug becomes gaseous (smokes), it’s inhaled into the lungs, finally entering the blood stream via the lungs. The drug is quickly carried to the brain. This method is highly addictive.
x
Smoke irritates the linings of the lungs, which can lead to breathing difficulties and coughing. It’s also most likely carcinogenic. People with asthma, emphysema, and other lung problems are particularly at risk.
- • INTRANASAL ABSORPTION
- Using a short straw or rolled-up dollar bill, meth crystals, crushed into a fine powder, are inhaled directly through the nose (snorting).
x
In a similar method, called hot railing, the tip of a short glass stem, or the middle of longer stem, is heated until it’s red-hot. The end of the stem is placed over the crushed meth crystals. The heat vaporizes the drug and the vapor is inhaled, usually through the nose. This method is highly addictive. Burns to the finger tips (from holding the hot glass stem) are frequently seen.
x
These methods tend to destroy the tissue in the nose. The lining of the nasal passages is fairly delicate and can be injured leading to nose bleeds, sinus trouble, and in some cases permanent damage to the nasal structure. Sharing straws or bills can transmit all types of germs from the common cold and flu to possibly Hepatitis C (and theoretically HIV).
x
Eventually, intranasal absorption becomes an ineffective way of delivering the drug because the nasal passages can’t absorb any more of the drug due to congestion, over-use, or permanent damage.
- • RECTAL ABSORPTION
- Meth crystals, dissolved into water, are injected into the rectal cavity (booty bump) using a needle-free syringe. The drug is absorbed into the blood stream through the lining of the rectum. Use of this method presents a high risk of damage to the rectal membranes, increasing the risk of HIV transmission and other disease.
Related Stories- Oklahoma Meth-Lab Busts Drop
Methamphetamine lab busts in Oklahoma have dropped more than 70% since a new state law restricted access to a key ingredient, fueling fears that producers of the illicit drug could spill across the Red River into Texas.
 view as .pdf file (22 KB)
Don’t Meth With Texas
Texas Gov. Rick Perry recently signed two pieces of legislation aimed at reducing methamphetamine use and production in Texas. “These new laws will make it harder for drug dealers to poison our citizens, empower Texans to take a more active role in combating meth use, and protect innocent children exposed to this dangerous drug.”
view as .pdf file (20 KB)
Federal Classification
Schedule II
Return to Top
|
