Methamphetamine – Going Nowhere Fast

Meth users photos.
This series of photos graphically illustrates the deterioration of a methamphetamine user over the course of 10 years.

Many Americans are getting fed up with the abuse of legal or illegal stimulants such as amphetamines or methamphetamines as the effects of such abuse can be disastrous.

For a while, it seemed that methamphetamine abuse was on the decline and stimulants, in general, had taken a back seat to other drugs.

Unfortunately, recent reports indicate that methamphetamine abuse is again a concern and amphetamine abuse continues to be a problem—especially for our children.

The Meth Task Force has done an excellent job of shining a light on the horrors of methamphetamine abuse. On their website, you can view images such as the series above of people who destroyed themselves physically with heavy use of methamphetamine. The rapid deterioration documented in these images is enough to scare some people away from using this drug.

This illegal drug must be gotten out of the hands of those who would use it to destroy themselves or others. The violence inherent in the methamphetamine trade would be reason enough, let alone the physical deterioration and dead expression of some of the people who have lost everything to their meth abuse. After watching the public service announcements offered by The Meth Task Force, one wonders why anyone would risk breaking the law to use such a terrible drug.

Some people ask what the difference is between methamphetamines and amphetamines. The difference is that meth is an illegal drug and amphetamine is prescribed legally under such brand names as Ritalin, Adderall, and Vyvanse. Some people feel it appropriate to prescribe these legal drugs for children.

Another difference is a chemical one. Methamphetamine has an added chemical called ”methyl” and the addition of this chemical enables the drug to penetrate more quickly into the brain.

Methamphetamine effects are reported to be: elevation of blood pressure, tachycardia (fast heartbeat) and palpitations. Effects can also include psychotic episodes, dizziness, overstimulation, insomnia, paranoia, tremors, restlessness, headache and loss of appetite, to name a few. There is also damage to the brain and teeth.

Some of the side effects of amphetamine prescription drugs are high blood pressure, tachycardia, paranoia, headache, nervousness, anxiety, loss of appetite, feelings of suspicion, paranoia, and hallucinations. Some more serious effects include aggression, personality changes and psychosis indistinguishable from schizophrenia.

The effects of the illegal methamphetamine and the legal amphetamine are essentially identical. Both of them are central nervous system stimulants and can cause serious side effects affecting mental and physical health and well-being.

Whether a person is abusing a legal form of the drug or an illegal one, he (or she) will not be concerned with controlling his dosage. He’ll be concerned with preventing withdrawal sickness. Therefore, an addicted person may suffer the full range of these disastrous effects because of the continuous high doses he uses.

AUTHOR

Aaron

Aaron has been writing drug education articles and documenting the success of the Narconon program for over two years.

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DRUG EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION