Crystal Meth Addiction - How Serious Is It?
The images in my last month local newspaper was enough to make
anyone stop for a moment and see the devastating effect of
crystal meth (Crystal methamphetamine) now becoming more
mainstream and reaching epidemic proportion.
The newspaper featured stories about young men and women who
went from being excellent students, good mothers, good fathers,
all in all good citizen to becoming shameful addicts who won't
stop at anything to get their next fix.
What really captured my attention was the transformation of
these beautiful men and women. How they went from being handsome
to find themself looking old and sickly after they have started
using crystal meth. Beside looking old and sickly, they had all
kinds of lesions on their bodies, which I later found out is
called crank bugs (feeling that bugs are crawling on your skin).
The lesions are caused by constantly scratching your body from
the itch.
Interestingly enough, the one common denominator was that all of
the people interviewed for the article said that they were
hooked on crystal meth after only their first try. One of the
guys went from being a well respected attorney earning about a
thousand dollars a day to owing his credit card company $25,000
dollars six months later due to his addiction.
Another one of the subjects, a girl with the youthful good looks
of a model before she became addicted was nothing more than a
skinny looking lady that looked as though she aged 15 or 20
years once she became hooked on crystal meth.
The effect of the drug is a feeling of euphoria and a high that
can last anywhere from 2 to 16 hours. The user then have more
confidence, more energy and become very happy and uninhibited,
which can lead to risky behaviors such as needle sharing that
brings the risk of contracting hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV and
possibly AIDS.
Crystal meth (Crystal methamphetamine) can be either snorted,
injected, or smoked in a pipe and is made of many toxic
substances such as:
Lye Ether Iodine Draino Ephedrine Brake Fluid Lighter Fluid Cold
remedies Lithium Metals Hydrachloride Hydriotic Acid Red
Phosphorus Anyhdrous Ammonia
The side effects of crystal meth like any other street corner
drug, are insomnia, agitation, irritability, dry mouth,
sweating, and palpitations. The body temperature also increases,
as does breathing and heart rate. The drug can also cause
behavioral problems, paranoia and psychosis, especially after
frequent use and in individuals with a predisposition to mental
illness.
The addiction can lead to mood swings, paranoia, anger and
depression that have an impact on relationships and general
social interactions. Beside the permanent life-altering changes
that the drug can inflict on the user such as work, relationship
and job prospect, there is the ever present risk of an overdose
that leads to convulsions, respiratory collapse, coma and
ultimately death.
The tell-tale signs of crystal meth addiction are, lack of
concentration, depression, insomnia, worrying about the next
fix, etc. Crystal meth is so addictive that most users get
addicted on the first try. The first thing is to acknowledge the
problem and treat it as serious then seek help, which is
available in every cities and smaller communities.