Meth addiction is a growing concern in America. With more than 22 million people addicted to some sort of narcotic, meth has increasingly become the choice for more and more users. It is estimated that there are currently more than 700,000 individuals addicted to methamphetamine.
What is Meth?
Meth Addiction
Meth is a drug once legal and used to treat a number of conditions, first coming into the medical world in 1944. Even today it is found in some weight-loss medications and Attention Deficit Disorder, although it is banned for inhalation or injection.
Once the user injects or smokes meth they experience euphoria, power, and what seems like boundless energy. Ideas come in flashes, conversation speed up, and sexual arousal is greatly increased; lights and colors seem vivid and brighter, the heart rate speeds up and the person becomes restless with nervousness and anxiety.
The Meth high lasts only for a short period of time, causing the user to crash. Fatigue and depression are the common results. Once an addiction has occurred, users may stay awake for many days, even weeks at a time, with extended rest periods once the crash has settled. Upon awaking, however, the user will immediately crave more meth.
The Effects of Meth Addiction
Using meth only one time can cause a meth addiction and more and more of the drug will be needed to maintain the same high. Meth contains a variety of components that make that one and subsequent uses dangerous, even deadly. Some of the ingredients used to manufacture meth include battery lithium, rat poisoning, gas treatment, drain cleaner, Freon and other dangerous substances.
Side Effects of Using Meth
The Effects of Meth Addiction
Side effects of meth abuse include both physical and physiological occurring. One who uses Meth may experience irrational behavior, the inability to function in life, anorexia, violent behavior and episodes, convulsions, cardiac arrest, and even death.
Meth addiction can also result in the loss of job, home, and relationships. Violence in the family is common with meth users, just as sacrificing most anything to maintain a high.