Methamphetamine addiction

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Methamphetamine is a commonly abused drug in the United States. It goes by several street names such as crystal, speed, zoom, and crank. It is often combined with other drugs to increase the stimulant effect. The article talks about the history of the substance in America, the epidemiology of consumption, the effects of meth use, the manufacture of the drug, the short and long-term effects of meth addiction, withdrawal symptoms, and treatment. The author is very keen to highlight the issues with this substance of abuse in a straightforward approach. The site hopes to reach out to addicts by informing them of the risks associated with this substance use. It uses figures for etiology to illustrate how bad the situation is in the country.

The approach of this site is captivating to any audience that can read. It gives a brief history of the discovery of the drug. According to the site, both amphetamine and methamphetamine use can be traced to more than a century ago when the ephedrine was isolated from Ephedra spp. Unlike ephedrine, both of them were predominately stimulants and found less use in the medical field. Amphetamine is clinically used in narcolepsy and ADHD. Its counterpart, methamphetamine is less useful clinically due to its high stimulant effects. It is 2-3 times more stimulating than amphetamine. Its effects also lasting longer. It is also easier to make at home labs and industries. During world war 2, the soldiers utilized this substance to increase their morale and combat fatigue. Later, the US FDA restricted the prescription of the drugs and classified it under schedule 2 of controlled substances. In the US, methamphetamine is rarely prescribed.

Methamphetamine is a powerful, addicting substance prevalent among youths. It is a common drug in parties and clubs. In 2015, NIDA stated that approximately 6% of the American people aged 12 years and above had tried it at least once in their life. It is often available either in powder form or crystal meth. The author points out that the substance is frequently smoked, injected, swallowed, or snorted. Injecting the drug has the most rapid onset of action followed by smoking and snorting, and lastly swallowing, whose onset is 15-20 minutes. The users seek it for its fast CNS stimulant effects. The reward process stimulates high levels of dopamine in the brain that lead to addiction. The drug causes the user to feel energized, alert, and sleepless. However, once the effects wear off, the person crushes, which is characterized by anxiety, anger, hunger, and aggression. Hence, users often take the drug in a binge pattern, where the substance is taken in small amounts over a long period. Tolerance is an imminent effect of this frequency of dosing. Eventually, a person cannot do without the drug, which occurs along with withdrawal symptoms. Drug dependence ensues.

Addiction is characterized by a range of social, emotional, physical, and behavioral signs and symptoms. For example, the person is anorexic, psychotic, irritable, depressed, nervous, confused, paranoid, xerostomia, hyperthermia, and aggressive. The individual is also likely to be socially withdrawn. Also, the grades in school drop, become irresponsible, and performs poorly at the workplace. Long-term effects include damage to the nerve terminals, which predisposes them to Parkinson’s disease. Other long-term adverse effects include birth-defects, weight loss, and cardiovascular complications.

Withdrawal symptoms such as fatigue, depression, insomnia, and strong cravings are immensely intense. They are the chief cause of rebound consumption of the drug. Meth addiction is treated using both physical and psychological methods. Medical detoxification and cognitive therapies are essential to the management of addicts. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) emphasizes the impact of the substance on the addicts. CBT seeks to provide coping skills to these persons to avoid addiction relapse. Prognosis is better in those who seek medical intervention early. A 90-day treatment program gives the best prognosis.

References

https://americanaddictioncenters.org/meth-treatment/factshttps://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/methamphetamine