Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug. It is a schedule II drug, which means is has a high potential for abuse, it does have an accepted medical use but might have severe restrictions on that.
It has but a few medical uses narcolepsy, attention deficit disorder and short-term use for weight loss.
Meth is also known as speed; in it’s smoked form it is crystal meth, crank, glass and more. Abuse can result in severe psychological and physical dependence.
It is often manufactured by amateur chemists in residential areas with batteries, lye, and stuff from under the kitchen sink.
When the police find and shut one down the neighbors are evacuated and the HAZMAT team arrives due to danger of explosion, fire and environmental poisonings.

How it is Used
Methamphetamine comes in pills to ingest, powder to snort or inject and crystals to smoke.
Smoking and injecting meth results in an intense “flash” that lasts only a few minutes and is described as intensely pleasurable. Snorting and ingesting results in a euphoric high, not an intense rush.
In the 1980’s was when the smokable form of meth came into use. It is smoked in a glass pipe like crack cocaine. The smoke is odorless and leaves a residue that can be resmoked.

Effects of Methamphetamine
Short-term effects of methamphetamine abuse:
Increased attention, decreased fatigue, increased activity, decreased appetite, euphoria and rush, Increased respiration, hyperthermia
Long-term effects of methamphetamine use.
Dependence, addiction psychosis, paranoia, hallucinations, mood disturbances, repetitive motions, stroke, weight loss
Chronic abusers can be violent, have anxiety, confusion and insomnia. They can also be paranoid, have audio hallucinations, mood disturbances and delusions. The paranoia can result in homicidal as well as suicidal thoughts.
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.
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.

Low Intensity Use
Low-intensity abusers swallow or snort methamphetamine, using it the same way many people use caffeine or nicotine. Low-intensity abusers want the extra stimulation the methamphetamine provides so that they can stay awake long enough to finish a task or a job, or they want the appetite suppressant effect to lose weight. These people frequently hold jobs, raise families, and otherwise function normally. They may include people such as truck drivers , workers trying to stay awake until the end of their normal shift or an overtime shift, and women trying to keep a career, home, husband and family.
Binge Methamphetamine Use
Binge abusers smoke or inject methamphetamine it is a drug that can be binged on. They experience euphoric rushes that are psychologically addictive.
Rush - The rush is the initial response the abuser feels when smoking or injecting methamphetamine. During the rush, the heartbeat races and metabolism, blood pressure, and pulse soar. Unlike the rush associated with crack cocaine, which lasts for approximately 2 - 5 minutes, the methamphetamine rush can continue for 5-30 minutes.
High - The rush is followed by the high, sometimes called the shoulder. During the high, the abuser often feels aggressively smarter and becomes argumentative. The high can last 4 to 6 hours.

Binge - The binge is the continuation of the high. The abuser maintains the high by smoking or injecting more methamphetamine. Each time the abuser smokes or injects more of the drug, a smaller euphoric rush than the initial rush is experienced until, finally, there is no rush and no high. During the binge, the abuser becomes hyperactive both mentally and physically. The binge can last 3-15 days.

Tweaking - Tweaking occurs at the end of the binge when nothing the abuser does will take away the feeling of emptiness and depression, including taking more methamphetamine. Tweaking is very uncomfortable, and the abuser often takes a depressant to ease the bad feelings. The most popular depressant is alcohol, with heroin a close second.