Methamphetamine & Methamphetamine Addiction Information
Methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that dramatically
affects the central nervous system. The drug is made easily in
clandestine laboratories with relatively inexpensive over-the-counter
ingredients.
These factors combine to make methamphetamine a drug with high
potential for widespread abuse.
Methamphetamine is commonly known as "speed," "meth,"
and "chalk." In its smoked form it is often referred to as
"ice," "crystal," "crank," and
"glass." It is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline
powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol.
The drug was developed early in this century from its parent drug,
amphetamine, and was used originally in nasal decongestants and
bronchial inhalers. Methamphetamine's chemical structure is similar to
that of amphetamine, but it has more pronounced effects on the central
nervous system.
Like amphetamine, it causes increased activity, decreased appetite,
and a general sense of well-being. The effects of methamphetamine can
last 6 to 8 hours. After the initial "rush," there is
typically a state of high agitation that in some individuals can lead to
violent behavior.
Methamphetamine is a Schedule II stimulant, which means it has a high
potential for abuse and is available only through a prescription that
cannot be refilled. There are a few accepted medical reasons for its
use, such as the treatment of narcolepsy, attention deficit disorder,
and -- for short-term use -- obesity; but these medical uses are
limited.
What is the scope of methamphetamine use in the United States?
Methamphetamine abuse, long reported as the dominant drug problem in
the San Diego, CA, area, has become a substantial drug problem in other
sections of the West and Southwest, as well. There are indications that
it is spreading to other areas of the country, including both rural and
urban sections of the South and Midwest. Methamphetamine, traditionally
associated with white, male, blue-collar workers, is being used by more
diverse population groups that change over time and differ by geographic
area.
According to the 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, an
estimated 4.9 million people (2.3 percent of the population) have tried
methamphetamine at some time in their lives. In 1994, the estimate was
3.8 million (1.8 percent), and in 1995 it was 4.7 million (2.2 percent).
Data from the 1996 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), which collects
information on drug-related episodes from hospital emergency departments
in 21 metropolitan areas, reported that methamphetamine-related episodes
decreased by 39 percent between 1994 and 1996, after a 237 percent
increase between 1990 and 1994. There was a statistically significant
decrease in methamphetamine-related episodes between 1995 (16,200) and
1996 (10,800). However, there was a significant increase of 71 percent
between the first half of 1996 and the second half of 1996 (from 4,000
to 6,800).
NIDA's Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG), an early warning
network of researchers that provides information about the nature and
patterns of drug use in major cities, reported in its June 1997
publication that methamphetamine continues to be a problem in Hawaii and
in major Western cities, such as San Francisco, Denver, and Los Angeles.
Increased methamphetamine availability and production are being reported
in diverse areas of the country, particularly rural areas, prompting
concern about more widespread use.
Methamphetamine and Amphetamine Use is on the Rise
 |
| Source: Drug
Abuse Warning Network, SAMHSA, 1997 |
Quarterly emergency room episodes due to stimulant use were tracked
from 1994 to 1996. A shortage of methamphetamine was reported by
epidemiologists during the last half of 1995 accounting for the
significant decrease in ER episodes.
Drug abuse treatment admissions reported by the CEWG in December 1996
showed that methamphetamine remained the leading drug of abuse among
treatment clients in the San Diego area and was second only to marijuana
in Hawaii. Stimulants, including methamphetamine, accounted for smaller
percentages of treatment admissions in other states and metropolitan
areas of the West (e.g., 5 percent in Los Angeles and Seattle and 4
percent in Texas and San Francisco). By comparison, stimulants were the
primary drugs of abuse in less than 1 percent of treatment admissions in
most Eastern and Midwestern metropolitan areas, except in
Minneapolis-St. Paul and St. Louis, where they accounted for
approximately 2 percent of total admissions.
The preferred method of taking methamphetamine varies among
geographical regions
 |
Note: Calendar
year in Hawaii and San Diego;
State fiscal year in San Francisco. Source:
Community Epidemiology Work Group, NIDA 1997 |
How is methamphetamine used?
Methamphetamine comes in many forms and can be smoked, snorted,
orally ingested, or injected. The drug alters moods in different ways,
depending on how it is taken.
Immediately after smoking the drug or injecting it intravenously, the
user experiences an intense rush or "flash" that lasts only a
few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Snorting or oral
ingestion produces euphoria -- a high but not an intense rush. Snorting
produces effects within 3 to 5 minutes, and oral ingestion produces
effects within 15 to 20 minutes.
As with similar stimulants, methamphetamine most often is used in a
"binge and crash" pattern. Because tolerance for
methamphetamine occurs within minutes -- meaning that the pleasurable
effects disappear even before the drug concentration in the blood falls
significantly -- users try to maintain the high by binging on the drug.
In the 1980's, a smokable form of methamphetamine nicknamed
"ice" came into use. Ice is a large, usually clear crystal of
high purity that is smoked in a glass pipe like crack cocaine. The smoke
is odorless, leaves a residue that can be resmoked, and produces effects
that may continue for 12 hours or more.
Effect of Methamphetamine on the Brain
Dopamine plays an important role in the regulation of pleasure. In
addition to other regions, dopamine is manufactured in nerve cells
within the ventral tegmental area and is released in the nucleus
accumbens and the frontal cortex. It appears that the drug stimulates
excess release of dopamine, contributing to the effects on the user.
What are the immediate (short-term) effects of methamphetamine use?
As a powerful stimulant, methamphetamine, even in small doses, can
increase wakefulness and physical activity and decrease appetite. A
brief, intense sensation, or rush, is reported by those who smoke or
inject methamphetamine. Oral ingestion or snorting produces a
long-lasting high instead of a rush, which reportedly can continue for
as long as half a day. Both the rush and the high are believed to result
from the release of very high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine
into areas of the brain that regulate feelings of pleasure.
Short-term effects of methamphetamine
- increased attention
- decreased fatigue
- increased activity
- decreased appetite
- euphoria and rush
- increased respiration
- hyperthermia
Methamphetamine has toxic effects. In animals, a single high dose of
the drug has been shown to damage nerve terminals in the
dopamine-containing regions of the brain. The large release of dopamine
produced by methamphetamine is thought to contribute to the drug's toxic
effects on nerve terminals in the brain. High doses can elevate body
temperature to dangerous, sometimes lethal, levels, as well as cause
convulsions.
What are the long-term effects of methamphetamine use?
Long-term methamphetamine abuse results in many damaging effects,
including addiction. Addiction is a chronic, relapsing condition,
characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and drug use which is
accompanied by functional and molecular changes in the brain. In
addition to being addicted to methamphetamine, chronic methamphetamine
abusers exhibit symptoms that can include violent behavior, anxiety,
confusion, and insomnia. They also can display a number of psychotic
features, including paranoia, auditory hallucinations, mood
disturbances, and delusions (for example, the sensation of insects
creeping on the skin, called "formication"). The paranoia can
result in homicidal as well as suicidal thoughts.
Long-term effects of methamphetamine
- dependence
- addiction psychosis
- paranoia
- hallucinations
- mood disturbances
- repetitive motor activity
- stroke
- weight loss
With chronic use, tolerance for methamphetamine can develop. In an
effort to intensify the desired effects, users may take higher doses of
the drug, take it more frequently, or change their method of drug
intake. In some cases, abusers forego food and sleep while indulging in
a form of binging known as a "run," injecting as much as a
gram of the drug every 2 to 3 hours over several days until the user
runs out of the drug or is too disorganized to continue. Chronic abuse
can lead to psychotic behavior, characterized by intense paranoia,
visual and auditory hallucinations, and out-of-control rages that can be
coupled with extremely violent behavior.
Although there are no physical manifestations of a withdrawal
syndrome when methamphetamine 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.
In scientific studies examining the consequences of long-term
methamphetamine exposure in animals, concern has arisen over its toxic
effects on the brain. Researchers have reported that as much as 50
percent of the dopamine-producing cells in the brain can be damaged
after prolonged exposure to relatively low levels of methamphetamine.
Researchers also have found that serotonin-containing nerve cells may be
damaged even more extensively. Whether this toxicity is related to the
psychosis seen in some long-term methamphetamine abusers is still an
open question.
What are the medical complications of methamphetamine use?
Methamphetamine can cause a variety of cardiovascular problems. These
include rapid heart rate, irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure,
and irreversible, stroke-producing damage to small blood vessels in the
brain. Hyperthermia (elevated body temperature) and convulsions occur
with methamphetamine overdoses, and if not treated immediately, can
result in death.
Chronic methamphetamine abuse can result in inflammation of the heart
lining, and among users who inject the drug, damaged blood vessels and
skin abscesses. Methamphetamine abusers also can have episodes of
violent behavior, paranoia, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia. Heavy
users also show progressive social and occupational deterioration.
Psychotic symptoms can sometimes persist for months or years after use
has ceased.
Acute lead poisoning is another potential risk for methamphetamine
abusers. A common method of illegal methamphetamine production uses lead
acetate as a reagent. Production errors may therefore result in
methamphetamine contaminated with lead. There have been documented cases
of acute lead poisoning in intravenous methamphetamine abusers.
Fetal exposure to methamphetamine also is a significant problem in
the United States. At present, research indicates that methamphetamine
abuse during pregnancy may result in prenatal complications, increased
rates of premature delivery, and altered neonatal behavioral patterns,
such as abnormal reflexes and extreme irritability. Methamphetamine
abuse during pregnancy may be linked also to congenital deformities.
How is methamphetamine different from other stimulants, like
cocaine?
Methamphetamine is classified as a psychostimulant as are such other
drugs of abuse as amphetamine and cocaine. We know that methamphetamine
is structurally similar to amphetamine and the neurotransmitter
dopamine, but it is quite different from cocaine. Although these
stimulants have similar behavioral and physiological effects, there are
some major differences in the basic mechanisms of how they work at the
level of the nerve cell. However, the bottom line is that
methamphetamine, like cocaine, results in an accumulation of the
neurotransmitter dopamine, and this excessive dopamine concentration
appears to produce the stimulation and feelings of euphoria experienced
by the user.
In contrast to cocaine, which is quickly removed and almost
completely metabolized in the body, methamphetamine has a much longer
duration of action and a larger percentage of the drug remains unchanged
in the body. This results in methamphetamine being present in the brain
longer, which ultimately leads to prolonged stimulant effects.
Methamphetamine vs. Cocaine
| Methamphetamine |
Cocaine |
Man-made
Smoking produces a high that lasts 8-24 hours
50% of the drug is removed from the body in 12 hours
Limited medical use
|
Plant-derived
Smoking produces a high that lasts 20-30 minutes
50% of the drug is removed from the body in 1 hour
Used as a local anesthetic in some surgical procedures
|
NOTE: See additional Methamphetamine information page links in the Related
Links column at the right.
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