Prevention

Effects of Meth

Methamphetamine mimics the action of Dopamine and Adrenaline (naturally produced by the body) which increases heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, constrict blood vessels, dilate pupils, release sugar and fat into the blood stream and energize the brain. Methamphetamine causes feelings of alertness, angers or fear, or agitation and feelings of well-being, euphoric feeling. When the body gives off too much dopamine and adrenaline, the stimulation goes too high producing feelings of panic, paranoia, hallucinations, rage, seizures, strokes and heart failure.

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Physical Effects Short-Term Physical Effects Death Stroke Hyperthermia Increased respiration Organ failure Brain hemorrhage Chest pain Dilated pupils Diarrhea/constipation Decreased appetite Excessive sweating Sleeplessness, sometimes for 4-5 days Biting of fingernails, down to the quick Inability to be still Long-Term Physical Effects Bone and tooth loss, Meth attacks calcium Irreversible liver damage Various cardiovascular problems Potential fatal kidney / lung disease Abnormal brain chemistry (never returns to normal), stroke, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Chronic Depression (untreatable) Addiction Psychosis Dependance Weight loss, inability to eat Scabs and sores on the face, arms, hands, anywhere they can reach

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Psychological Effects Aggressive or violent behavior Agitation, Irritability & Anxiety Extreme Mood Swings Excited Speech & Excessive Talking Increased Physical or Sexual Activity False sense of confidence & power Severe depression Purposeless, repetitious behavior Extreme tooth grinding >> Behavior Changes: Causes extreme paranoia the abuser constantly believes that someone (normally law enforcement) is watching them. This often leads to homicides, due to the fact that they are paranoid and they believe that person is out to harm them. Just as often leads to suicides because they believe so many people are out to get them that they have no other option.   >> Hallucinations: The abuser will see and hear people and things that are not real. They really do see people or creatures chasing them. They could pass a polygraph test about these things because it really happened in their mind.   >> Disinterest in activities: A person who has always loved a certain activity/sport such as hunting, fishing, baseball, football, soccer, etc… will suddenly completely lose interest and not care about it anymore. This is because they do not care about anything anymore, except Meth!   >> Obsessive Compulsive Disorders: Sorting Cleaning Grooming Compulsive cleaning, sorting and grooming are common at the beginning of methamphetamine use, but as it is used more these usually stop as they begin to care less. Disassembling Is very common among methamphetamine users. They get bored very easily and spend much of their time trying to find something to do and end up taking apart anything they can find, but don’t pay enough attention to know how to put it back together.

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Effects on the Brain It has been said by Meth users that Meth makes them more “creative”. That is hard to believe considering Meth damages the brain tremendously. You will see in the following brain scan, just how much Meth damages the brain. This damage will eventually reconstruct itself once a user quits and never uses again, but it takes years to reconstruct and it never reconstructs completely. In this brain scan of a Meth abuser, areas in red show the highest damage, with the blue shades showing the least. Source: Dr. Paul Thompson, UCLA Brain images of a person who has never used Meth (left) and of a Meth user after 1 month of abstinence (center). Lighter colors show distribution of dopamine transporters (DAT) in the striatum. DAT distribution is reduced in striatum of Meth user. Brain image of a Meth user after 14 months' abstinence (right) shows substantial recovery of DAT in striatum. Low levels of DAT in Meth users were associated with poorer performance on tests of memory and motor skills, which did not improve with DAT after lengthy abstinence. At left is a scan of a healthy brain. Note the smooth exterior. At right is a scan of a brain of someone who had used "ice" for 15 years. Where the holes are seen, the brain does not function.

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Meth "Bugs" Your body only uses 10% of the methamphetamine that is put into it. Only a small percentage of the Meth can be disposed of through the urine and blood, therefore the left-over Meth has to go somewhere. The body then begins getting rid of it anyway it can and the most noticeable way is pushing it out through the skin leaving red bumps on the skin. The user then begins to pick at these bumps, making them into ugly scabs and open sores. These sores are referred to as “Meth Bugs”

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