In America, methamphetamine is clinically recognized as the most destructive drug yet. The return to use rate for heroin and crack cocaine after twice using is 20%; the return to use rate for meth after twice using is as high as 95%.
The things that are horrifying about meth to the average person are alluring and compelling to an addict. That it is made from dangerous toxic substances makes it "risky". Staying up for three or four days makes you feel powerful until you crash.. And the compulsive behavior makes normal life seem extremely boring. Users see meth as a cool act of rebellion instead of the lethal dead end that it actually is.
Methamphetamine is an extremely potent form of speed. Just one hit adversely affects the brain's chemistry and, when used frequently, the cardiovascular and central nervous systems can become severely damaged, impairing the functioning of the heart, brain and spinal cord. Even leading to death.
The abuser's self-perception is distorted by meth. Being unaware of his physical deterioration the user will become so intoxicated that he often forgets to drink liquids, causing dehydration. Skin ulcers, dry skin,and other sores.
Vomiting, diarrhea, dangerous blood sugar levels, convulsions, sweating, dilated pupils, tooth grinding may occur while suppressed appetite and chronic lack of sleep results in severe wasting of muscle tissue on an emaciated frame, which the user may see as muscle definition. Just a few months of using meth can physically age someone by ten years or more as they deteriorate into a zombie-like caricature of their former self. They begin to age at a very accelerated rate.
Meth users develop receding gums and rotting teeth that turn grey-brown, dissolve, break and fall out due to calcium depletion, which can also cause intense pain from the brittle bone disease also known as osteoporosis, usually seen in some people well over 60. Meth will eventually cause abscesses to form because of a build up of toxins in the body. Lead poisoning is also a danger for heavy users.
Smoking meth alters the brain's molecular structure and is more addictive than snorting. The smoke is quickly absorbed through the lining of the lungs and into the bloodstream so delivery to the brain is almost instant, potentially causing fatal cardiac, lung, liver and kidney, disorders that can lead to strokes, heart failure and death. Just one inhalation is enough to permanently rewire the brain's chemistry, while the caustic, acrid vapor emitted by meth smoke gradually crystallizes the lungs of regular users. Needless to say I.V. Injection of meth is at least as addictive and harmful and danger of overdose is much greater. Snorting meth is just as bad. It takes 3 to 5 minutes for the user to experience a euphoric "high" although not as intense it is longer lasting .What ever the method of use, the damage is serious.
The New York Times reported on the first high-resolution MRI study of meth addicts in July 2004; "a forest fire of brain damage," according to Dr. Paul Thompson, an expert on brain mapping at the University of California. "We expected some brain changes, but didn't expect so much tissue to be destroyed."
Brain-imaging research of meth addicts using two to four grams of meth a day revealed serious brain damage consistent with Alzheimer's disease, strokes and low level Parkinson's disease syndrome,
Studies suggest that those who quit meth use continue to show a serious reduction in the brain's ability to produce dopamine for up to three years, and almost two-thirds remain depressed two to five years after they stop using.
"Meth really affects their ability to function," said Dr. Linda Chang, a university researcher and co-director of the Neuroscience and Imagine Research Program at Queen's Medical Center. "We see loss of nerve cells in the brain, inflammation and addictive elements. It takes a long time for the brain to heal, at least a year or two before we see improvement."
Domestic violence, identity theft and acts of calculated violence are often linked to meth,. Children and pets are often the silent victims of meth , either by neglect, sadistic urges or sexual abuse from adults using the drug.
Violent, chilling and really bizarre acts have been committed by people on meth: Kidnappings, brutal murders, and suicidal assaults on police are some of the more violent acts.
Meth is often involved in homicide cases. Fashion designer, Gianni Versace, was murdered in front of his Miami Beach home in August 1997 by a meth-addicted individual; the killers of Matthew Shepherd were high on meth when they tortured and murdered him; and Timothy McVeigh claimed to be under the drug's influence when involved in the 1995 Oklahoma bombing. Cameron Taylor was reportedly high on meth when he hijacked a San Diego bus at knifepoint in 1997, leading a police chase over 70 miles in 2 1/2 hours before he was captured.
Meth users have killed while in a state of confused delusions and have also plotted and committed murders and other violent crimes in cold blood.
One of the most disturbing murders occurred in Chula Vista California in 1995. Veronica Gonzales and her husband, Ivan, were caring for her niece, 3 1/2-year-old Genny Rojas, because Genny's father was in prison and her mother was in drug rehabilitation.
Veronica and her husband were on meth, and were unfit to care for a young child. They tortured the little girl for six months before eventually scalding her to death in a bathtub. They became the first married couple sent to California's death row.
A study in America's Midwest shows that 39% of all incoming male prisoners and 47% of female prisoners have methamphetamine in their system, while around 10% of the 3,400 Americans awaiting execution on Death Row have mental conditions consistent with meth abuse, including brain damage and schizophrenia.
"Meth hijacks your good intentions and obliterates wholly the function of any moral compass. People conduct heinous acts, utterly disgusting and inexcusable, while influenced by this poison." ~ Andrew Lay [Hornet Fullerton College]
The physical effects on our society are horrific, crime, illegal lab fires, hazardous waste, homicides and suicides, but the psychological toll on users, and their families and friends, is unmeasurable.
"The devastating consequences of methamphetamine are felt across the country by individuals, government agencies, businesses and communities of all sizes," said Joseph Rannazzisi, deputy chief of enforcement with the Drug Enforcement Administration, in his July 2005 address to the the House of Representatives sub-committee on criminal justice, drug policy and human resources. "Americans are waging a daily battle against this drug."
In this country more than 1.5 million people are currently in the process of destroying their lives, as well as the lives of their family and those around them with their Meth use, and thats just a guess. I'm afraid the actual numbers are a lot greater then we could fathom. In conclusion, the dangerous destruction caused by Methamphetamine use far out weighs any possible attraction.
www.associatedcontent.com/article/1582484/attractions_and_dangers_of_methamphetamine.html?cat=71