What is methamphetamine?
Methamphetamine is a synthetic (man-made) stimulant that is highly addictive. The drug is abused because it produces euphoric effects--sometimes described as a sense of well-being--that can last up to 24 hours. Methamphetamine is inexpensive and relatively easy to produce--making it affordable and readily available to teenagers.

What does it look like?
Because methamphetamine can be produced using many different methods, its appearance can vary dramatically. The drug may be sold either as a powder--sometimes crystalline--or as rock-like chunks. The color of methamphetamine likewise varies: white, yellow, brown, gray, orange, and pink all have been observed.

How is methamphetamine abused?
Methamphetamine can be injected, smoked, snorted, or ingested orally. Injecting or smoking the drug produces an immediate and intense rush. The euphoric effect that results from snorting or ingesting the drug is not as intense and requires more time to take effect--3 to 5 minutes for snorting and 15 to 20 minutes for oral ingestion.

Who uses methamphetamine?
In the past, the typical methamphetamine user was an adult male with a lower than average income. However, now individuals of all ages and economic status use methamphetamine. Data reported in the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse indicate that an estimated 9.6 million U.S. residents aged 12 and older used methamphetamine at least once in their lifetime. The survey also revealed that many teenagers and young adults use methamphetamine--338,000 individuals aged 12 to 17 and 1.5 million individuals aged 18 to 25 used the drug at least once.

Methamphetamine use among high school students is a particular concern. Nearly 7 percent of high school seniors in the United States used the drug at least once in their lifetime, and nearly 2 percent used the drug in the past month, according to the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Survey.

What are the risks?
Methamphetamine use is associated with many serious physical problems. The drug can cause rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, and damage to the small blood vessels in the brain--which can lead to stroke. Chronic use of the drug can result in inflammation of the heart lining. Overdoses of methamphetamine can cause hyperthermia (elevated body temperature), convulsions, and death.

Individuals who abuse methamphetamine also may have episodes of violent behavior, paranoia, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia. Methamphetamine also can produce psychotic symptoms that persist for months or years after an individual has stopped using the drug.

Methamphetamine abusers who inject the drug expose themselves to additional risks, including contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and C, and other blood-borne viruses. Chronic users who inject methamphetamine also risk scarred or collapsed veins, infections of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and liver and kidney disease.

What is it called?
The most common names for methamphetamine are crank, meth, and speed. (Please see Slang Drug Terms for additional names.)

Is methamphetamine illegal?
Yes, methamphetamine is illegal. Methamphetamine is a Schedule II substance under the Controlled Substance Act. Schedule II drugs, which include cocaine and PCP, have a high potential for abuse. Abuse of these drugs may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.

METHAMPHETAMINE... What ~ Where ~ How
Methamphetamine: The Drug
Methamphetamine, or meth, is a central nervous system stimulant with a high potential for abuse and dependence. A synthetic drug, meth is closely related chemically to amphetamine, but produces greater effects on the central nervous system. Meth is illegally manufactured using ephedrine or pseudoephedrine in combination with other explosive and toxic chemicals. Meth usually takes the form of an off-white or yellowish colored, bitter tasting crystalline powder, that is readily soluble in water or alcohol.

Methamphetamine sends a message to the brain to fire more dopamine, a feel good chemical that is critical to normal brain functioning. Hours after ingestion, cell receptors begin to turn off the flow of dopamine, methamphetamine does not! Instead, the brain cells respond by releasing an enzyme that diminishes the dopamine cells. With repeated meth use, the dopamine cells are killed off leading to a chemical change in the brain that lasts a long time. This lack of dopamine creates a cranky, violent person incapable of feeling happiness or having fun, even months after stopping methamphetamine usage.

The Affects Of Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine can be smoked, injected intravenously, snorted, or ingested orally. The drug's euphoric effects are longer lasting than cocaine, from eight to 24 hours, a big part of the popularity. This high is followed by a severe crash causing the abuser to sleep for up to three days straight. Short term meth use causes increased alertness, paranoia, an intense high, hallucinations, aggressive behavior, violent behavior, loss of appetite, acne or sores, and convulsions. Long term effects of meth use include fatal kidney and lung disorders, brain damage, depression, hallucinations, violent and aggressive behavior, severe weight loss (meth literally eats away at body fat and muscle), tooth decay (gray or black teeth), paranoid-schizophrenia, deceased sociability, poor coping skills, putrid body order (similar to glue and mayonnaise), open sores and scarring on the skin (self-inflicted wounds from removing hallucinatory "crank bugs" from the skin), disturbed personality development, liver damage, heart attacks, stroke or death.

Clan Labs ~ "Betty Crankers"
Methamphetamine can be made from many toxic chemicals and over the counter ingredients. The toxic combination can explode and kill you. These "home-grown" labs can be anywhere; in a house, motel room, even in the trunk of a car!

Home "cookers" can follow several recipes in their quest for a cheap high and a quick buck. The chemical wastes are flammable and poisonous. They can cause burns, cancer, respiratory failure, and death. The chemical process for cooking meth is volatile and extremely dangerous. "Cooks" die in chemical explosions taking bystanders, and sometimes their own children with them.

The toxic chemical wastes are often dumped in sewers and in the ground. The clean-up costs are in the thousands of dollars due to disposal methods and the special suits required by law enforcement officers for protection.