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Methamphetamine (Meth)

Sunday, May 4th, 2008

MethWhat 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)

Posted by Partnership Meth Team  /  Filed under Resources and Information  /  Comments: more



3 Comments on “Methamphetamine (Meth)

bill says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:46 am

your website is cool.. it gives me all the info i need!!!!



dominique latia harris says:
September 18th, 2008 at 12:34 pm

hey please dont do drugs



Kathy S says:
June 24th, 2009 at 7:40 pm

Not all is lost! There is hope! Tough love and education are good tools. We are fighting a very powerful illness in our nation. We have to be ready to fight the fight to saves the lives of the addicted. When their torn up from the floor up and mentally twisted into a blithering fool, or get a glimmer of hope in jail. Then when they are ready can we help them. If we are armored with the tools to educate them as well. Rebuild them mentally, phsycially and spiritualy. Listen and be ready when you hear them CRY!





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This project was supported by grant number 2006-CK-WX-0466 awarded by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. This opinions contained herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific companies, products, or services should no be considered an endorsement by the author(s) or the U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement discussion of the issues.