Meth Quick Facts
• Methamphetamine is a powerful stimulant drug that affects the central nervous system.
• Methamphetamine increases energy, suppresses appetite and elevates mood; effects can last from six to 12 hours, and in some cases, even longer.
• Methamphetamine usually looks like a crystalline powder form that is off-white, odorless, bitter-tasting, and dissolvable in water but can range in color from white, yellow, orange, pink, or brown.
• Ingredients used in methamphetamine production are highly toxic, potentially explosive, and/or flammable. The main ingredient is ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient found in over the counter cold medicines, such as Sudafed.
• Treatment is possible for methamphetamine dependence through a variety of services, including residential treatment. Methamphetamine causes specific problems for the user that must be addressed in a treatment program that is customized for the user.
• Use of methamphetamine can result in sleep deprivation, dehydration, hallucinations, paranoia and affect many organ systems by producing a severe strain on the cardiovascular and nervous system. Prolonged use can result in multiple organ failure, including heart problems, stroke, and kidney failure.(1)
• Studies report that high-risk sexual behaviors are prevalent among methamphetamine-using gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM), and there is a strong association between methamphetamine use and HIV infection.(2)
(1)B.B. Hoffman and R.J. Lefkowitz, “Catecholamines and sympathomimetic drugs,” A.G. Gilman T.W. Rall, A.S. Nies, R. Taylor, eds., Goodman and Gilman’s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 8th ed., New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1993, pp. 187-220; K.C. Lan, Y.F. Lin, F.C. Yu, C.S. Lin, and P. Chu, “Clinical manifestations and prognostic features of acute methamphetamine intoxication,” Journal of Formosan Medical Association, 97, 1998 528- 533; J.A. Perez, E.I. Arsura and S. Strategos, “Methamphetamine-related stroke: four cases,” Journal of Emergency Medicine, 17, 1999, 469-471; R. Hong, E. Matsuyama and K. Nur, “Cardiomyopathy associated with the smoking of crystal methamphetamine.”
(2) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Methamphetamine use and HIV risk behaviors among heterosexual men – preliminary results from five Northern California counties, December 2001-November 2003,” Morbidity Mortality Weekly Report, 55, No. 10, 2006, 273-277; F. Molitor, S.R. Truax, J.D. Ruiz, and R.K. Sun, “Association of methamphetamine use during sex with risky sexual behaviors and HIV infection among non-injection drug users,” Western Journal of Medicines, 168, 1998, 93-97. submitted for publication, 2006.
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