Methamphetamine
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What are the street names/slang terms for it?
Chalk, Crank, Croak, Crypto, Crystal, Fire, Glass, Ice, Meth, Speed, White cross
What is it?
Methamphetamine is an addictive stimulant drug. made in clandestine laboratories from chemicals such as battery acid, gasoline and drain cleaner. Crystal meth is a more concentrated form of meth that is smokeable.
What does it look like?
Meth is usually a white or slightly yellow powder, depending on the purity. It is odorless and easily dissolves in water.
Crystal meth: A crystal-like powdered substance that sometimes comes in large rock-like chunks. When the powder flakes off the rock, the shards look like glass, which is another nickname for meth.
How is it used?
Methamphetamine can be taken orally, injected, or snorted. Crystal meth can be smoked.
The hype:
"You'll be able to stay up forever" and "It works for when you need extreme focus, like studying for a final."
The reality:
"I was convinced I had bugs crawling just under my skin - I kept scratching and scratching," "I couldn't come down. I couldn't stop my thoughts from racing. I had no sleep for two days." and "Once I came down I was depressed, anxious, and paranoid - and I had really intense cravings for more meth."
What can happen while you're high?
A powerful stimulant, meth, 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 meth. 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. Meth has toxic effects. The large release of dopamine produced by meth 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 can happen long term?
Meth is addictive, and users can develop a tolerance quickly, needing higher amount to get high, and going on longer binges. Some users avoid sleep for 3 to 15 days while binging. Psychological symptoms of prolonged meth use are characterized by paranoia, hallucinations, repetitive behavior patterns, and delusions of parasites or insects under the skin. Users often obsessively scratch their skin to get rid of these imagined insects. Long-term use, high dosages, or both can bring on full-blown toxic psychosis (often exhibited as violent, aggressive behavior). This violent, aggressive behavior is usually coupled with extreme paranoia. New research shows that those who use methamphetamine risk long-term damage to their brain cells similar to that caused by strokes or Alzheimer's disease.
Source:
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
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