In this Article:
Meth Addiction
Meth Symptoms
Meth Withdrawal
Meth Treatment
Meth Addiction Forum
Meth addiction or sometimes known by it's full name, methamphetamine addiction or street name crystal meth refers to an addiction to a synthetic form of amphetamine. Meth is a powerful substance that is either swallowed, snorted, injected, or smoked.
Meth is an acute central nervous system stimulant, in the brain it provokes the artificial release of norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. The meth user, even one who is occasionally uses the drug feels a sense of alertness and lack of hunger. One who has fallen into a meth addiction tends to push their body past it's normal limits. With frequent time periods of no sleep, the meth addict's periods of sleeplessness, intense cravings for past euphoric highs, and irritability are called by the name "tweaking." A meth addict who is tweaking, often times hasn't slept for upwards of two weeks. Often times the "tweaker" is violent and exceedingly dangerous.
Meth and it's crystallized form was derived in Japan in 1893 and 1919 respectively. During World War 2 meth was widely distributed to the German Military. By 1951 the Japanese had banned it and although meth received a short period of popularity in the medical community, it was clear by the 1960's when secret meth producing factories began to pop up that the burgeoning meth addiction phenomenon was more than just a minor trade off for the drug's "positive effects," and that official action to fight the spread of meth needed to eventually be taken.
Although initial meth usage tapered off after its peak in the 1980's, today it is back bigger than before. Crystal meth is one of the more popular party drugs giving the user a feeling of profound social confidence. Due to it's popularity amongst party goers meth addiction cases have grown in recent years. What confounds addiction specialists is that with it's usage at clubs and raves meth is seen as glamorous, making it harder to convince those meth users and addicts that meth is dangerous and addictive.
Since 1989 Five national laws and many state laws have been enacted in a try to slow the production of meth. Methamphetamine can be made in home laboratories using pseudoephedrine or ephedrine, the active ingredients in drugs like Sudafed and Contac. Despite restrictions on meth production, meth addiction has continued unabated and in 2005 the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act was passed curbing the amount of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine on can buy.
Street methamphetamine is the illegally manufactured, crystalline form of the drug. Colloquially termed 'crystal meth' or simply 'meth', it is both highly toxic and phenomenally addictive. Users can snort, smoke, swallow, or inject it, with varying degrees of potency. According to the US Drug Enforcement Agency and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, crystal meth causes more damage to the brain than cocaine, alcohol or heroin and the damage resembles strokes, Alzheimer's disease, and epilepsy (See Statistics).
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