Methamphetamine

1. Methamphetamine Information and Issues

2. Meth: facts and fiction • Myth • Meth use is no different than other legal stimulants like caffeine and nicotine. • Fact • Chronic methamphetamine abusers can display a number of psychotic features, including paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and delusions • Myth • Methamphetamine is difficult to make and requires chemistry expertise. • Fact • Most of the necessary chemicals are readily available in household products or over-the-counter cold or allergy medicines.

3. Meth: facts and fiction • Myth • Meth has always been used as an elicit street drug. • Fact • One of the earliest uses of methamphetamine was during World War II, when it was used by Axis and Allied forces. • Myth • Addiction to meth is rare and often mild. • Fact • Methamphetamine addiction is one of the most difficult forms of addictions to treat.

4. History of Methamphetamine use • Methamphetamine was first synthesized from ephedrine in Japan in _______by chemist Nagai Nagayoshi • In 1944 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved meth for the treatment of narcolepsy, mild depression, parkinson’s, chronic alcoholism, cerebral arteriosclerosis, and hay fever. •  The German military dispensed it under the trademark name Pervitin. It was widely distributed across rank and division, from elite forces to tank crews and aircraft personnel. • It was used by both allied and axis forces throughout World War II

5. History of Meth use • Its use became common in the United States around the 1950’s as both treatment for various ailments and recreational usage. • It was also used in some sport circles to enhance performance and reduce the effects of fatigue • In 1983, laws were passed in the United States prohibiting possession of precursors and equipment for methamphetamine production • As a result of the _______________________________________________, a subsection of the USA PATRIOT Act, there are restrictions on the amount of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine one may purchase in a specified time period and further requirements that these products must be stored in order to prevent theft. • The popularity of meth has grown over the last decade due to the relatively inexpensive cost and prevalent availability.

6. What is Methamphetamine? • Methamphetamine • is a ___________of thephenethylamine and amphetamine class of drugs. It increases alertness, concentration, energy, and in high doses, can induce euphoria, enhance self-esteem, and increase libido.

7. Meth Production • Meth is made from a very easy recipe and can be cooked and ready in 6 to 8 hours in a mobile meth lab where the cookware can be relocated to avoid detection of any fumes or vapors that are associated with the making of meth. The main ingredients used in making meth is _________________________, which are chemicals found in common cold and allergy medicines. • Meth is manufactured using toxic chemicals such as lithium from batteries, bleach and drain cleaner, paint thinner, lye, red phosphorous and iodine crystals. It costs about $140 to make one ounce of meth and can be sold for as much as $1200.

8. Meth Production • Meth PSA Video • Meth a Vicious Cycle: Documentary • Part 2 • Part 3 • World’s Most Dangerous Drug • Part 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

9. Administration of Meth • Studies have shown that the subjective pleasure of drug use (the reinforcing component of addiction) is proportional to the rate at which the blood level of the drug increases. • These findings suggest the route of administration affects the potential risk for psychological addiction independently of other risk factors, such as dosage and frequency of use. • Intravenous injection is the fastest route of drug administration, causing blood concentrations to rise the most quickly, followed by • smoking • suppository (anal or vaginal insertion) • insufflation (snorting) • ingestion (swallowing)

10. Administration of Meth • ____________ (snorting), where a user crushes the methamphetamine into a fine powder and then sharply inhales it (sometimes with a straw or a rolled up banknote, as with cocaine) into the nose where methamphetamine is absorbed through the soft tissue in the mucous membrane of the sinus cavity and straight into the bloodstream. • Insufflation of methamphetamine can cause chemical damage to teeth, as it draws methamphetamine down the nasal passage, draining in the back of the throat and saturating the teeth with the caustic substances used in its illicit production.

11. Administration of Meth • Injection-also known as "slamming", "banging", "shooting up" or "mainlining", is a popular method used by addicts which carries relatively greater risks than other methods of administration. • The hydrochloride salt of methamphetamine is soluble in water. Intravenous users may use any dose range, from less than 100 milligrams to over one gram, using a hypodermic needle. • Intravenous users risk developing pulmonary embolism, a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches, and commonly develop skin rashes (also known as "speed bumps") or infections at the site of injection. • As with the injection of any drug, if a group of users share a common needle without sterilization procedures, blood-borne diseases, such as HIV or hepatitis, can be transmitted.

12. Administration of Meth • ____________ Smoking amphetamines refers to vaporizing it to inhale the resulting fumes, not burning it to inhale the resulting smoke. • It is commonly smoked in glass pipes made from glassblown Pyrex tubes and light bulbs. It can also be smoked off aluminum foil, which is heated underneath by a flame. • There is little evidence that methamphetamine inhalation results in greater toxicity than any other route of administration. • Lung damage has been reported with long-term use.

13. Administration of Meth • _________________ -(anal or vaginal insertion) is a less popular method of administration used in the community with comparatively little research into its effects. • Information on its use is largely anecdotal with reports of increased sexual pleasure and the effects of the drug lasting longer. • Nicknames for this method of use within methamphetamine communities include a "butt rocket", a "booty bump", "potato thumping", "turkey basting", "plugging", "boofing", "suitcasing", "keistering", "shafting", "bumming", and "shelving" (vaginal)

14. Faces of Meth

16. Effects of Meth • Although methamphetamine causes behavioral and psychological effects similar to those seen with cocaine use, it is quite different in many ways including structurally. • Methamphetamine is man-made unlike cocaine, which is plant-derived. Methamphetamine is typically used on a daily basis, while cocaine is more frequently used recreationally. • Finally, the high from methamphetamine lasts ______________, unlike the high from cocaine, which lasts only 20 - 30 minutes.

17. Effects of Meth • Meth use results in an accumulation of dopamine (and serotonin) in the pleasure areas of the brain - excessive dopamine produces the euphoria and stimulation that the user is trying to achieve. • Methamphetamine, however, not only blocks the feedback mechanism of the nerve cells (the transporter - which normally takes the chemical back up and saves it), but also reverses that transporter ________________________________ • The dopamine stores eventually become depleted, as the nerve cells cannot keep up with the amount of dopamine released and not returned to the cells. Damage to the nerve cells themselves has also been documented.

18. Short-Term Effects • Euphoria (feeling of well-being) • Excitation • Intensification of emotions • ________________________ • Elevation of self-esteem • Increased alertness • Aggression • ________________________ • Elevation of libido (sexual appetite).

19. Long Term Effects • Depression • suicide as well as serious • heart disease, • ___________________________ • anxiety and • Violence • addiction risk • increased risk of ____________________ • persisting cognitive deficits, • such as memory, • impaired attention • Impaired executive function. • Over 20 percent of people addicted to methamphetamine develop a long-lasting psychosis resembling schizophrenia after stopping methamphetamine which persists for longer than 6 months and is often treatment resistant.

20. Other Adverse Effects of Meth • Weight loss • ______________________ • Dilated pupils • Flushing • Restlessness • Dry mouth • Headache • Hear issues • Hypertension, hypotension • ________________________ • Blurred vision • Dizziness,  • Twitching, tremors • Insomnia • Numbness • Dry and/or itchy skin • Acne • heart attack • Stroke • Death

21. Meth Mouth • Video

22. Meth Withdrawal • Withdrawal symptoms of methamphetamine primarily consist of  • Fatigue • Depression • Increasedappetite • ______________________ • Anxiety • Agitation • Excessivesleeping • ________________________ • Deep REM sleep  • Suicidal ideation • Symptoms may last for days with occasional use and weeks or months with chronic use, with severity dependent on the length of time and the amount of methamphetamine used. Withdrawal symptoms may also include 

23. Meth and the brain • Methamphetamine increases the release and blocks the reuptake of the brain chemical (or neurotransmitter) ______________,leading to high levels of the chemical in the brain—a common mechanism of action for most drugs of abuse. • Dopamine is involved in reward, motivation, the experience of pleasure, and motor function. Methamphetamine’s ability to release dopamine rapidly in reward regions of the brain produces the intense euphoria, or “rush,” that many users feel after snorting, smoking, or injecting the drug. • Chronic methamphetamine abuse significantly changes how the brain functions. Noninvasive human brain imaging studies have shown alterations in the activity of the dopamine system that are associated with ____________________________________. • Recent studies in chronic methamphetamine abusers have also revealed severe structural and functional changes in areas of the brain associated with emotion and memory, which may account for many of the emotional and cognitive problems observed in chronic methamphetamine abusers.