Methamphetamine - Addiction - Encyclopedia II

Methamphetamine is an addictive drug. While withdrawal symptoms are less pronounced than those of alcohol or opiates (such as heroin), they are nonetheless physiological in nature and could include seizures, narcolepsy, and stroke. Furthermore, the mental and social consequences of quitting can be severe and extremely difficult for the addict. As with all addictions, relapse is common.

In an article about his son's addiction to methamphetamine, a California writer who has also experimented with the drug put it this way:

Former users have noted that they feel stupid or dull when they quit using methamphetamine. This is because the brain is adapting a need for methamphetamine to think faster, or at what seems to be a higher level. Individuals with ADHD are often at especially higher risk for addiction to methamphetamine, because the drug often increases the user's ability to focus and reduces impulsivity, creating a mechanism by which one is better able to cope. For this reason, drugs like this must be used only under the supervision of a physician. The individual with ADHD is susceptible to meth's adverse effects (see below), so prescription stimulants such as methylphenidate (Ritalin®), dextroamphetamine (Dexadrine®) and amphetamine salt (Adderall®) are overwhelmingly indicated.

With long-term methamphetamine use, enough dopamine will have flooded the brain to cause chemical cell damage. This often leads to slow thinking (which in turn requires that the addict use meth to 'fix' it), and depression. This is known colloquially as "The Vampire Life."

Very serious long-term meth abuse correlates highly with poor hygiene and general self-care, and many of the health risks inherent in administering the drug are often severely exacerbated by this. Poor hydration and infrequent dental hygiene strongly increase the risks of damage to teeth from smoking or snorting, while infrequent bathing increases the chance that minor skin rashes or irritations on the arm from needle use will progress to infection and complications. Generally poor maintenance of living conditions can increase the general risk of exposure to illness through a wide variety of malaise-causing agents, such as bacteria that may grow in poorly cleaned living spaces. Finally, if methamphetamine does in fact attack the immune system, it follows that the ability of the individual to resist any illness is compromised, and that heavy meth users, over time, become more susceptible to poor health and illness in general. Severe cases of addiction are often marked by many of these symptoms and hallmarks, which can work in combination to almost completely destroy the user's health.

Methamphetamine use can be appealing, at least initially, because it produces:

• Increased alertness, motivation, and brain activity (short-term)
• Euphoria in high doses
• Weight loss (may also be an adverse effect, depending upon circumstances)
• Heightened sexual stimulation

However, the undesirable effects overpower the initial benefits with chronic use of more than a few months.

The undesirable effects of Methamphetamine use are:

• Compulsive fascination with useless repetitive tasks (see Punding)
• Severe psychological addiction
• Acne
• Depression
• Formication (false sensation of flesh crawling with bugs, with possible associated compulsive picking and infected sores)
• Amphetamine psychosis
• Erectile dysfunction
• Long-term cognitive impairment due to neurotoxicity
• Tooth decay ("meth mouth")
• Damage to immune system
• Persistent anhedonia with chronic use
• Death

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Addiction", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page