The Partnership has launched a new addition to its award-winning community outreach program, Meth360®, to help curb use of the highly addictive illicit drug methamphetamine in the Hispanic community.

A través del Cristal Meth (Through Crystal Meth) brings together law enforcement officers, substance abuse prevention and treatment professionals to co-deliver meth awareness presentations to parents and concerned citizens. The presentation educates Spanish-speaking parents about the devastating effects of meth, emphasizing the need to communicate with teens about the dangers.

Methamphetamine abuse is a growing concern in the Hispanic community. Research shows that almost half of Hispanic teens don’t see great risk in trying methamphetamine once or twice, and 1 in 3 Hispanic teens report having friends who have used meth.

A través del Cristal Meth is designed to help the Hispanic community take action against this threat. The program has been specifically tailored to reflect the needs of the Spanish-speaking community in the U.S., providing tools and resources to help parents protect their children and loved ones from this dangerous drug.

The program also combines personal stories of Hispanic teens and adults in recovery from meth addiction with testimonials from their parents, highlighting the real-life, devastating impact of meth on families and lives.

For more information about A través del Cristal Meth or to download free presentation materials, visit www.drugfree.org/meth360, sign up and click on Resources and Downloads.

What are the street names/slang terms for Methamphetamine?
Chalk, Crank, Croak, Crypto, Crystal, Fire, Glass, Meth, Tweek , White Cross.

What is Methamphetamine?
Methamphetamine (Meth) is an addictive stimulant that strongly activates certain systems in the brain.

What does it look like?
Meth is 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. Meth is usually white or slightly yellow, depending on the purity.

How is it used?
Methamphetamine can be taken orally, injected, snorted, or smoked.

What are its short-term effects?
Immediately after smoking or injection, the user experiences an intense sensation, called a “rush” or “flash,” that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Snorting or swallowing meth produces euphoria - a high, but not a rush. After the initial “rush,” there is typically a state of high agitation that in some individuals can lead to violent behavior. Other possible immediate effects include increased wakefulness and insomnia, decreased appetite, irritability/aggression, anxiety, nervousness, convulsions and heart attack.

What are its long-term effects?
Meth is addictive, and users can develop a tolerance quickly, needing larger amounts to get high. In some cases, users forego food and sleep and take more meth every few hours for days, ‘binging’ until they run out of the drug or become too disorganized to continue. Chronic use can cause paranoia, hallucinations, repetitive behavior (such as compuslively cleaning, grooming or disasembling and assembling objects), and delusions of parasites or insects crawling under the skin. Users can 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. Meth can also cause strokes and death.

What is its federal classification?
Schedule II
Source
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

MethResources.gov
The federal government’s comprehensive directory of information and programs related to methamphetamine.

Just Think Twice
A youth oriented site created by the Drug Enforcement Agency’s Demand Reduction Program.

Office of National Drug Control Policy – Methamphetamine Fact Sheet
Detailed description of methamphetamine and other resources.

The Drug Enforcement Administration – Meth Information

The National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children
Comprised of individuals and organizations concerned about children endangered by caregivers who manufacture drugs, or deal drugs or use them and by doing so physically or psychologically endanger children.

National Association of Counties - Meth Action Clearinghouse
NACo is committed to raising public awareness about and helping counties respond to the nation’s methamphetamine drug problem.

KCI: The Anti-Meth Site
Extensive resources and links about meth.

Partnership Local Programs
Local information about methamphetamine is available from the Partnership’s local chapters, affiliates and alliances. They can provide you with information about methamphetamine in your state or community, and ways you can get involved in your community’s efforts against methamphetamine and other drugs. Visit the Partnership’s local office finder for the program in your state.

Methresources.gov
The federal government has established an online clearinghouse of methamphetamine information, which includes a directory of programs, fact sheets, and events, organized on a state-by-state basis. Visit Methresources.gov’s Meth in Your State page.

There’s been quite a lot of attention to methamphetamine in the news lately. Here’s a round-up of recent quotes commenting on the addictive nature of this drug as well as its effects on the body and the community.

ADDICTION

“The crystalline white drug quickly seduces those who snort, smoke or inject it with a euphoric rush of confidence, hyperalertness and sexiness that lasts for hours on end. And then it starts destroying lives.”
- David J. Jefferson, “America’s Most Dangerous Drug” Newsweek August 8, 2005

“Meth can quickly transform casual users into junkies…”
- Richard Jerome, People August 8, 2005

“This is a drug that has an insatiable pull even among people who’ve been off it for several years.”
- Dominic Ippolito “My Life as a Drug Dealer” Newsweek August 1, 2005

“‘With meth, there’s no such thing as a casual user,’ says Joseph Frascella, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in Bethesda, Maryland. ‘The younger someone starts using meth, the worse the outcome.’”
- David Weiss, “The Deadliest Drug You’ve Never Heard Of” Ladies Home Journal August 2005

“Things had descended in a way that I never could have imagined, and I shocked myself with my ability to rationalize and tolerate things that were once unthinkable. He’s just experimenting. Going through a stage. It’s only marijuana. He gets high only on weekends. At least he’s not using heroin. He would never resort to needles. At least he’s alive.”
- David Sheff, “My Addicted Son” The New York Times, February 6, 2005

EFFECTS

“The first thing people on methamphetamine lose is their common sense.”
- Michael Specter, “Higher Risk” The New Yorker May 23, 2005

“The physical effects of methamphetamine use are often jarring — from sunken eyes and bone-thin frames to teeth that turn gray and deteriorate.
- Martha Irvine, “States Grapple With Growing Teen Meth Use” The Associated Press April 10, 2005

“In short stretches of time, sometimes just months, a perfectly healthy set of teeth can turn a grayish-brown, twist and begin to fall out, and take on a peculiar texture less like that of hard enamel and more like that of a piece of fruit.”
- Monica Davey, “Grisly Effect of One Drug: ‘Meth Mouth’” The New York Times June 11, 2005

“Among some suburban teens, meth is known as ‘the Jenny Crank diet.’”
- David Weiss, “The Deadliest Drug You’ve Never Heard Of” Ladies Home Journal August 2005

COMMUNITY

“More than 12 million Americans have tried methamphetamine, and 1.5 million are regular users.”
- David J. Jefferson, “America’s Most Dangerous Drug” Newsweek August 8, 2005

“Meth addicts are pouring into prisons and recovery centers at an ever-increasing rate, and a new generation of ‘meth babies’ is choking the foster-care system in many states.”
- David J. Jefferson, “America’s Most Dangerous Drug” Newsweek August 8, 2005

“Since many meth ingredients are flammable, one false move by a cook can yield disaster.”
- Arian Campo-Flores, “The Fallout” Newsweek August 8, 2005

“Untold families who bought homes in recent years live in former meth labs. Some, upon discovering their homes were filled with residue from acetone, red phosphorus and other toxic agents, have fled, losing their investment and a life’s worth of treasured possessions.”
- Richard Jerome “Home Toxic Home?” People August 8, 2005