Methamphetamine, also known as meth, crystal meth, crystal, Crissy, Tina, crank, speed, shards, glass, and ice is a highly addictive stimulant drug that comes in the form of a powder and can be made into a pill or a shiny rock. The powder can be eaten or snorted and can also be mixed with liquid and injected. Crystal meth can be smoked in a small glass pipe.
Meth causes a rush of euphoria, but then the person who used it feels edgy, hyper, angry, or afraid. Meth use quickly leads to addiction and causes a host of medical problems. Christian Nordqvist wrote in an article about Meth use for Medical News Today and said, “Using the drug can lead to lowered inhibitions and behavior that puts the user in danger. Chronic use or overdose can lead to convulsions, stroke, heart attack, and death.”
Some problems include:
- High temperature. Sometimes meth can cause your body to overheat and reach a temperature so high that you can pass out. The high body temperature can also kill you.
- Severe itching. Meth makes you feel like there are bugs crawling on or underneath your skin. This causes severe itching and leads to sores on your face and arms.
- Emotional problems. Meth use leads to addiction and damages different parts of your brain. It causes emotional problems that do not go away, even after you quit using. Meth can make you paranoid and you could feel, hear, or see things that are not there.
- Broken or rotting teeth. People who use meth often drink a large amount of sweet things, grind their teeth, and have dry mouth. Their teeth break, stain, and rot. This is what is known as meth mouth.
- HIV/AIDS or hepatitis. When you inject or shoot up, you increase your risk of contracting HIV/AIDS or hepatitis, which is a liver disease.
- Aged Appearance. When you use meth, you will start to look old. It causes you to burn a lot of energy while not eating well. This leads to weight loss and a sickly appearance. The skin has sores that do not heal and you develop the “shakes” in your hands or body. A mouth looks sunken as your teeth go bad.
Meth use leads to severe physical and mental health complications. The large amount of dopamine that is produced by meth triggers psychosis that can persist after the drug use stops.
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