Methamphetamine is a powerful central nervous system stimulant. The drug is made easily in clandestine laboratories with relatively inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients. These factors combine to make methamphetamine a drug with high potential for widespread abuse. It is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol.

Methamphetamine is derived from amphetamine, which was used originally in nasal decongestants and bronchial inhalers.  It causes increased activity, decreased appetite, and a general sense of false well-being. The effects of methamphetamine can last six to eight hours, which includes the initial "rush," and afterwards, a state of high agitation that in some individuals can lead to violent behavior.

Methamphetamine can cause sleeplessness; increase wakefulness and physical activity; and decrease appetite.  Immediately after smoking or injecting methamphetamine intravenously, an intense rush that lasts only a few minutes is experienced and is described as extremely pleasurable. Snorting produces a high within 3 to 5 minutes, while oral ingestion produces a high within 15 to 20 minutes.

Oral ingestion or snorting produces a long-lasting high instead of a rush, that can continue for as long as half a day. The rush and high are caused by the release of very high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine into areas of the brain that regulate feelings of pleasure.

Long-term methamphetamine abuse has many damaging effects, including addiction. Addiction is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and drug use that is accompanied by functional and molecular changes in the brain. In addition to being addicted to methamphetamine, chronic abusers exhibit symptoms that include violent behavior, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia. They also display a number of psychotic features, including paranoia, auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances, and delusions (for example, the sensation of insects creeping on the skin, called "formication"). The paranoia can result in homicidal as well as suicidal thoughts.

If used excessively, tolerance for methamphetamine can develop. In an effort to intensify the desired effects, users may take higher doses of the drug, take it more frequently, or change their method of drug intake. In some cases, abusers forego food and sleep while indulging in a form of binging known as a "run," injecting as much as a gram of the drug every 2 to 3 hours over several days.  Chronic abuse can lead to psychotic behavior, characterized by intense paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and extremely violent behavior.

There are several symptoms that occur when a chronic user stops taking the drug. They include depression, anxiety, fatigue, paranoia, aggression, and an intense craving for the drug.

Scientific studies raise concern over its toxic effects on the brain. Researchers have reported that as much as 50 percent of the dopamine-producing cells in the brain can be damaged after prolonged use.  They also have found that serotonin-containing nerve cells may be damaged even more extensively. Whether this toxicity is related to the psychosis seen in some long-term methamphetamine abusers is still an open question.

A user may exhibit anxiousness; nervousness; incessant talking; extreme moodiness and irritability; purposeless, repetitious behavior, such as picking at skin or pulling out hair; dilated pupils with redness on the iris; sleep disturbances; false sense of confidence and power; aggressive or violent behavior; disinterest in previously enjoyed activities; and severe depression.

Methamphetamine is classified as a psycho stimulant as are amphetamine and cocaine.  Methamphetamine, like cocaine, results in an accumulation of the neurotransmitter dopamine.  This excessive dopamine concentration produces the stimulation and feelings of euphoria experienced by the user. Methamphetamine has a much longer duration of action and a larger percentage of the drug remains unchanged in the body than does cocaine. This results in methamphetamine being present in the brain longer, which ultimately leads to prolonged stimulant effects.

Athletes and students begin using methamphetamine because of the initial heightened physical and mental performance the drug produces. Blue collar and service workers may use the drug to work extra shifts, while young women often begin using methamphetamine to lose weight. Others use methamphetamine recreationally to stay energized at "rave" parties or other social activities.

The most effective treatments for methamphetamine addiction are cognitive behavioral interventions. These approaches are designed to help modify the patient's thinking, expectancies, and behaviors and to increase skills in coping with various life stressors. Methamphetamine recovery support groups also appear to be effective adjuncts to behavioral interventions that can lead to long-term drug-free recovery.  There are currently no particular pharmacological treatments for methamphetamine.  Antidepressant medications are helpful in combating the depressive symptoms frequently seen in methamphetamine users who recently have become abstinent.

Emergency room treatment focuses on overdoses by treating immediate symptoms of hyperthermia (elevated body temperature) and convulsions.

Acute methamphetamine intoxication can often be handled by observation in a safe, quiet environment. In cases of extreme excitement or panic, treatment with anti-anxiety agents such as benzodiazepines has been helpful, and in cases of methamphetamine-induced psychoses, short-term use of neuroleptics has proven successful.

All addictive drugs have two things in common:  they produce an initial pleasurable effect, followed by a rebound unpleasant effect. Methamphetamine, through its stimulant effects, produces a positive feeling, but later leaves a person feeling depressed. This is because it suppresses the normal production of dopamine, creating a chemical imbalance. The user physically demands more of the drug to return to normal.   This pleasure/tension cycle leads to loss of control over the drug and addiction.

Yes. The severity and length of symptoms vary with the amount of damage done to the body's system through methamphetamine use. The most common symptoms are:  drug craving, extreme irritability, loss of energy, depression, fearfulness, excessive drowsiness or difficulty in sleeping, shaking, nausea, palpitations, sweating, hyperventilation, and increased appetite.

Yes. Because of the psychiatric, social, and biological components to methamphetamine dependence, there is a high likelihood of relapse. Key relapse issues are similar to that of cocaine use.

Many users report feeling bleak and dirty when coming off of a binge. They cannot stand their bodies or the way they feel. As a result, the risk of suicide by persons using methamphetamine is higher than those using heroine or cocaine.

Methamphetamine can cause a variety of cardiovascular problems. These include rapid heart rate, irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure, and irreversible, stroke-producing damage to small blood vessels in the brain. Hyperthermia and convulsions occur with methamphetamine overdoses, and if not treated immediately, can result in death.

Chronic methamphetamine abuse can result in inflammation of the heart lining, and among users who inject the drug, damaged blood vessels and skin abscesses. Methamphetamine abusers also can have episodes of violent behavior, paranoia, anxiety, confusion, and insomnia. Heavy users also show progressive social and occupational deterioration. Psychotic symptoms can sometimes persist for months or years after use has ceased.

Acute lead poisoning is another potential risk for methamphetamine abusers because a common method of illegal methamphetamine production uses lead acetate as a reagent. There is a danger that production errors may, therefore, result in methamphetamine contaminated with lead.

Fetal exposure to methamphetamine also is a significant problem in the United States. At present, research indicates that methamphetamine abuse during pregnancy may result in prenatal complications, increased rates of premature delivery, and altered neonatal behavioral patterns, such as abnormal reflexes and extreme irritability. Methamphetamine abuse during pregnancy may be linked also to congenital deformities.

Methamphetamine is a Schedule II stimulant, which means it has a high potential for abuse and is available only through a prescription that cannot be refilled. There are a few accepted medical reasons for its use, such as the treatment of narcolepsy, attention deficit disorder, and -- for short-term use -- obesity; but these medical uses are limited. The key is the dosage. Methamphetamine abusers use much higher dosages of the drug than a physician would routinely prescribe when treating a patient.

Methamphetamine has been primarily located in small towns, but it is on its way to big cities.  Couple the social problems that already exist in large cities with the production and use of methamphetamine, and the big cities are in for a rough time.

Production of methamphetamine usually can result in strong odors that can smell similar to cat urine or fingernail polish.  Large amounts of precursor chemicals such as antifreeze, lantern fuel, denatured alcohol, drain cleaner, and cold medicine containing pseudo ephedrine, along with glassware and coffee filters being purchased or stolen are another sign that there may be methamphetamine labs in the area.

No. Suspected methamphetamine labs should not be ventilated unless it is done by certified lab personnel.

Children found in these conditions are commonly malnourished, improperly clothed, and neglected.  Children often test positive for having methamphetamine in their bodies.  This is due to the access they have to the drug, or exposure to second-hand smoke and the result of a cook or a user smoking in close proximity to a child.