Short Term Effects Of Methamphetamine Abuse

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Drugs: Methamphetamine COM/172 6/9/2014 Dr. Nancy Reynolds Drugs: Methamphetamine What comes to mind when you think of a Meth user? Many do not know that each drug is different. The war on drugs, globally and nationally, has set its sights on Methamphetamine. Meth is a highly addictive and debilitating substance. Many families have been affected by this drug, but are probably not familiar with just how and why this drug has taken over the world, turning its prey into zombies. Although rehabilitation is possible, having the knowledge about this horrific drug is most important to society. Meth has been around since the late 1800s and since its creation it has grown to be more popular and the methods of producing this drug has evolved.…show more content…
These effects are not only mental but physical. It starts by releasing large amounts of dopamine into the section of the brain that controls the feeling of pleasure. Methamphetamine “produces the equivalent of 600 times the normal amount of dopamine normally released by the brain during pleasurable events.” (Kelley, 2005, Methamphetamine Abuse.) The effects of meth can last up to 12 hours and the addiction starts and continues because of this high and charged feeling users receive from Meth. Short-term effects can lead to dehydration, irritability, confusion, nervousness, nonstop talking, tremors, convulsions, anxiety, paranoia, and aggressiveness. The long term effects are a long list of psychotic symptoms such as paranoia, delusions and hallucinations. Physically, Meth users experience cardiovascular issues such as heightened blood pressure, blood vessel damage and even strokes. Long term users develop a delusion that they have insects crawling in their skin and will pick at the skin to get rid of these “crank bugs”. What is most alarming are the before and after photos of chronic meth users. In the matter of just a few years, a user can go from looking like a normal, healthy being into a total transformation. A period of a few years can age a person 10 to 20 years. This includes hollow cheeks, sores on their face, malnourished and also deteriorates their gums and teeth leaving them with what…show more content…
According to many studies, “Addiction is due 50 percent to genetic predisposition and 50 percent to poor coping skills.” (Addictions and Recovery, 2014, para. 1). Children born to addicts are 8 times more likely to be addicts themselves. The other 50 percent is caused by poor coping skills, the need to escape or even the desire to fit in. There are 7 major stages of the meth experience: The rush, the high, the binge, tweaking, the crash, meth hangover and withdrawal. The rush is the euphoria or pleasure the user feels. This is due to the over production of dopamine in the brain that meth induces. During the high, the user feels strong and antagonistically smarter. Binging is the user trying to make the high last. This can be 3 to 5 days of rushes until they no longer can experience the rush. Then begins a dangerous spiral of tweaking, of sleep deprivation and itching due to “crank bugs”. The user is often in a completely psychotic state, completely disconnected from reality. This is the state in which they can be a threat to themselves or others. The next stage is the crash in which the user’s body cannot handle the drug anymore and will shut down into a sleep for 3 to 5 days. After the crash, a hangover of hydration and exhaustion starts, lasting for weeks. The user will feel weak, falsely leading the user to turn back

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