When Jan Rosenquist, a St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center emergency room doctor, sees a patient who appears highly agitated with high blood pressure, who may not be responding to verbal stimuli, she consults medical information about the effects of methamphetamine on the body.
Taken orally, injected, inhaled or snorted, methamphetamine is a potent central nervous system stimulant, typically with more staying power than cocaine. And, it is cheaper.
Toxic household chemicals like battery acid and other compounds such as rat poison are used to reduce ephedrine, a common ingredient in cold medicine, to methamphetamine, but other acids, catalysts and ephedrine substitutes are also used.
Meth addicts are commonly called "tweakers" today. Addicts used to be called "speed freaks," who were often ostracized even by communities of drug users, said Eric Thomas with the Blaine County Probation Department.
Thomas tried to describe the euphoria that overcomes meth users. "You feel so damn good. It's everything you'd want to be as a human being."
Meth has the ability to keep people up for days. It has been used during wartime to stimulate soldiers since World War II and was commonly used during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Users have a reduced appetite and can experience extreme weight loss because the body is pushed to go for days without food, which probation officers, police and social workers have recognized as a popular attraction to the drug, particularly for young girls and women.
Methamphetamine and its derivatives go by various street names, such as "ice," "glass," "smack," "speed" or "crystal," depending on the composition of ingredients.
Some "chemists" have claimed that they can produce as much as 15 pounds of crystal methamphetamine a day in a bathtub, making it easy to give away in an effort to hook a potential addict who might return to a dealer willing to pay to fix a craving.
Prevention, intervention, treatment and rehabilitation are the terms that define the cycle of addiction and healing, a process that is capturing an ever-increasing number of people.
Smoking methamphetamine powder, crystals, or ice occurs first by placing the rock-like substance into a piece of aluminum foil that has been molded into the shape of a bowl, a glass pipe, or a modified light bulb and heating it over the flame of a cigarette lighter or torch. Then, the volatile methamphetamine fumes are inhaled through a straw or pipe.
The euphoria, increased energy and grandiosity often lead to impulsive behavior such as violence and sexual promiscuity. The effects of the drug can last 12 hours or more so insomnia is common. A consequence of regular meth use, not typically seen with other drugs, is the very long recovery period in which the former user experiences depression or little or no pleasure in life. Inability to get pleasure from life can last two to three years. Some people never recover and remain unsatisfied due to permanent brain damage.
Methamphetamine
Slang words for meth: Crank, chalk, ice, zip, glass, smack, speed, crystal, quartz, go-fast.
Short-term side effects:
Tremors
Scabbing
Dry mouth
Hyperactivity
Extreme nervousness
Excessive talk
Hypothermia
Irritability
Paranoia
Decreased appetite
Insomnia
Convulsions
Long-term effects
Formication, a sensation which makes users feel like bugs are crawling on their skin.
Rotten teeth
Brain damage
Lung disorders
Kidney disorders
Blood clots
Psychosis
Malnutrition
Deficient immune system
Severe weight loss
Acne and sores
Chronic depression
Death
