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Methamphetamine, or Meth addiction and abuse has three patterns: low intensity, binge,
and high intensity. Low-intensity abuse describes a user who is not psychologically addicted
to the drug but uses methamphetamine on a casual basis by swallowing or snorting it.
Binge and high-intensity abusers are psychologically addicted and prefer to smoke or
inject methamphetamine to achieve a faster and stronger high. Binge abusers use
methamphetamine more than low-intensity abusers but less than high-intensity abusers.
Methamphetamine use is a serious statewide problem. According to the 2004 Texas School Survey of Substance Use:
2.5% of boys and 2.4 % of girls reported using uppers including methamphetamines.
8% of Texas high school students tried meth at least once in their lives.
Nationally, 2.5 percent of 8th-graders, 5.2 percent of 10th-graders, and 6.2 percent of 12th-graders reported using meth.
What is meth?
Methamphetamine, also known as “meth”, is a very addictive stimulant drug. The drug can be snorted, smoked, injected, or ingested orally. While the color can vary, it generally comes as a white or yellowish crystal-like powder. Street names for the drug include "speed," "meth," "chalk," "ice," "crystal," "glass," and "tina."
The chemicals used to make meth are extremely toxic. They include acetone, brake cleaner, ether, rubbing alcohol, drain cleaner (sulfuric acid), methanol, lithium from car batteries, farm fertilizer, lye, red phosphorus, muriatic acid and iodine.
Because methamphetamines are highly addictive, people can have great difficulty controlling their use of the drug. Over time, heavy use of methamphetamines can cause permanent damage to the brain. Use of the drug often results in feelings of anxiety and paranoia along with hallucinations, delusions, and violent behavior.
Low-intensity abusers swallow or snort methamphetamine, using it the same way many
people use caffeine or nicotine. Low-intensity abusers want the extra stimulation the
methamphetamine provides so that they can stay awake long enough to finish a task or a
job, or they want the appetite suppressant effect to lose weight. These people frequently
hold jobs, raise families and otherwise function normally.
Even though a law enforcement officer is not likely to encounter low-intensity abusers,
these individuals are one step away from becoming binge abusers. They already know the
stimulating effect that methamphetamine provides them by swallowing or snorting the drug,
but they have not experienced the euphoric rush associated with smoking or injecting it
and have not encountered clearly defined stages of abuse. However, simple switching to
smoking or injecting methamphetamine offers the abusers a quick transition to a binge
pattern of abuse.
Binge abusers smoke or inject methamphetamine and experience euphoric rushes that
are psychologically addictive.
The rush is the initial response the abuser feels when smoking or injecting
methamphetamine and is the aspect of the drug that low-intensity abusers do not experience
when snorting or swallowing the drug. During the rush, the abuser's heartbeat aces and metabolism,
blood pressure, and pulse soar. Meanwhile, the abuser can experience feelings equivalent to
ten orgasms. Unlike the rush associated with crack cocaine, which lasts for approximately
2 - 5 minutes, the methamphetamine rush can continue for 5-30 minutes.
The reason for the methamphetamine rush is that the drug, when smoked or injected,
triggers the adrenal gland to release a hormone called epinephrine (adrenaline), which puts
the body in a battle mode, fight or flight. In addition, the physical sensation that the
rush gives the abuser most likely results from the explosive release of dopamine in the
pleasure center of the brain.
Methamphetamine drug rehab programs are most successful with the treatment component that
detoxes the body thoroughly. This is only done in those methamphetamine drug rehabilitation
centers that employ the bio-physical component of treatment. Without this component the user
will feel depressed and lethargic for months upon months and his likelihood of using the drug
again, at higher does, which leads to continued addiction. If one chooses to attend a program
that does not have a bio-physical component, they are likely to be in a program that subscribes
to the disease model of addiction which promotes the idea that they have a chronic and
progressive disease that will be with them the rest of their lives and they will need to
attend support-group meetings (like the 12-steps of N/A) to help them from succumbing to
the urges of continued use.
In investigating the successful outcomes of drug rehab with programs that subscribe to
the disease model versus those that use the bio-physical approach, one finds that disease model
program are fortunate if they get 10% of their graduates living free of drug use for a
sustained period of months and years, compared to nearly 80% success rate for bio-physical
model programs. One should do whatever possible to seek out those programs with the highest
success rate since living under the idea that one has a disease is limiting in more ways
then just relapsing. This model of treatment does not enforce self-determinism and strength,
but fosters a weaker position that will lead one to being reasonable with their continued use.
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