Differences in crystal meth vs meth include how people use the drugs. They can take pills orally or they dissolve the powder into an injectable liquid. Users can also snort or smoke meth. The effects that users feel using crystal meth vs meth are very much the same. Whatever form of meth a person uses, he has a high likelihood of quickly becoming dependent on it.
Weight loss and skin sores are other easily recognizable symptoms of meth addiction. Without crystal meth addiction treatment , users often continue in a downward spiral that leads to problems in their jobs, relationships, and health. In , Oregon became the first state in the nation to require a prescription for over-the-counter cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed and Claritin D, used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine.
Since then, the number of meth labs discovered in the state has dropped significantly. Over time, the brain develops tolerance to the drug and the user needs to take higher and higher doses to achieve the same pleasurable effects. Crystal meth may be particularly addictive. Some users report getting hooked after trying the drug just once. Meth addiction can cause serious changes in the brain including paranoia, hallucinations and delusions for instance, the feeling of insects creeping under the skin.
Many meth addicts have rotting teeth—a condition known as meth mouth—and experience severe weight loss. In the s, the United States began to tighten regulations around the sale and use of the ephedrine—a pharmaceutical precursor used to make crystal meth.
As a result, illegal meth labs turned to an easier to obtain precursor—pseudoephedrine—a chemical found in many cold medicines. Use of crystal meth in the United States exploded in the early s. Between and , methamphetamine use rose from just under two percent of the U. Meth use has declined over the past decade, possibly as a result of limits put on the sale of pseudoephedrine in many countries.
In the United States, in , roughly 1. While Adderall and Ritalin have some chemical properties in common with methamphetamine, they are generally considered safer when taken at prescribed doses and under the supervision of a medical practitioner. Misuse of the drugs, however, can lead to addiction. Use of prescription stimulants, notably Adderall, in the U. In , adults between the ages of 20 and 39 received roughly 16 million Adderall prescriptions.
But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. For thousands of years, indigenous people in the Amazon Rainforest and Andes Mountains have chewed coca leaves to get an energetic high. European scientists first isolated cocaine from coca Heroin, morphine, and other opiates trace their origins to a single plant—the opium poppy.
But mostly, people use amphetamine that is made illegally. Most of these drugs currently sold on the street in Australia are methamphetamine or variants of this molecule which are stronger than prescribed amphetamines.
What effect methamphetamine has on you depends on how much you take and how pure it is, your height and weight, your general health, your mood, your past experience with speed, and whether you use methamphetamine on its own or with other drugs.
The immediate and long-term effects of all types of methamphetamine are the same. Because ice is a more potent or purer form of methamphetamine all the effects and side-effects are more likely to occur and be more intense than speed and base.
To avoid problems associated with unsterile injecting equipment NEVER share fits needles and syringes , spoons, water, filters, alcohol swabs or tourniquets. Forms of methamphetamine Methamphetamine is available in three different forms commonly known as speed, base and ice but they differ in their purity. People have been known to have serious mental and physical difficulties after using a lot of ice. Speed Speed usually comes in the form of white or yellow powder, but can also be bought as pills.
People either sniff it through the nose snort it , inject it or swallow it in tablet or capsule form. Speed is also known as go-ee, whiz, rev and uppers. People who sell speed often mix or cut the powder with other things that look the same, to make the drug go further. Some mixed-in substances can have unpleasant or harmful effects.
It is difficult to tell what the drug actually contains. Base Base is a damp or oily substance with a white to yellow or brown colour which is more pure than powder.
It can vary a lot in its appearance and is also known as pure, paste and wax. Base is usually injected but sometimes swallowed. Ice Ice is the purest form of methamphetamine available in Australia. It usually looks like colourless to white crystals or a coarse crystal-like powder, but it can also appear in other colours.
Ice is also called crystal, crystal meth, meth or shabu. Ice is usually smoked or injected. Ice is also sniffed through the nose snorted , swallowed or inserted into the anus shafted. All forms of ingestion can have a physical and mental impact, including dependence. Because of its purity, ice is more powerful than speed and base and when used puts a greater strain on the body.
Its use can therefore be much more dangerous. It has stronger side effects and a worse comedown. Variations in the methamphetamine structure also produce other drugs such as MDMA methylene dioxy methamphetamine or ecstasy. Sometimes, but not often, doctors prescribe amphetamine drugs to treat some health problems. Most of these drugs currently sold on the street in Australia are methamphetamine or variants of this molecule which are stronger than amphetamines.
People who use methamphetamine sometimes take other drugs at the same time to cope with some of the things methamphetamine does to the body. Some people take drugs such as minor tranquillisers benzodiazapines , alcohol, marijuana or heroin to help them sleep.
This can make you dependent on several drugs at once. For example, some people need speed or ice each day to get them going and benzodiazepines each night to get to sleep. This type of dependence can lead to many serious physical and psychological problems.
Mixing different drugs can also make you more likely to overdose. Overdose of methamphetamine can happen to anyone who takes the drug.
Even small amounts may cause overdose with some people who have an especially strong reaction to it. You are at greater risk of overdose if you are alone. If the person has been mixing methamphetamines with other drugs, tell the NSW Ambulance paramedic exactly what they have taken. Paramedics are there to help. With regular use, anyone can develop a tolerance to speed, base or ice.
Tolerance means that you must take more of the drug to feel the same effects you used to have with lower amounts. Dependence on a drug such as methamphetamine means that it takes up a lot of your thoughts, emotions and activities. You also have trouble cutting back on your drug use even though it is causing you problems.
Dependence on speed, base or ice can lead to a variety of health, money, legal, work and relationship problems. Not all people who use methamphetamine are dependent. People who are dependent on speed, base or ice may find it very hard to stop using or cut down because of withdrawal symptoms.
0コメント