We live in a society where faster is better. From instant noodles to fast food, high-speed computers to rapid transit, speed has become an important part of our culture. Physically, many find it hard to keep up to our modern, frenetic pace. So they take over-the-counter pep pills, down loads of caffeinated colas or drink triple Mocha Lattés with giga-jolts of caffeine.
When these no longer work, some turn to more effective stimulant drugs. Why not, they're fast and they're potent, right? Yes, but they're also unsafe. They are a complex group of chemicals with one thing in common: the ability to wreck your life.
Ironically named speed, methamphetamine gives many the added energy they crave. Not only are more people using it, they're using the most potent and hyper-charged form: crystal meth. This drug, as cheap as it is toxic, has become the remedy of choice for a new generation of speed chasers.
A 2004 Canadian Addiction Survey measured the use of speed in Canadians aged 15 and older. Results show that 6.4% of respondents reported using methamphetamines at least once in their life.
Another survey involving four B.C. school districts showed that up to 8% of students in grades 6-12 report having tried crystal meth in the 2005 school year.
Combined, these might not be earth-shattering statistics, but experts state that 90 percent of users are addicted after the first hit. Even one use of crystal meth can cause immediate, lasting physical and mental damage.
Still, such advice deters few. They smoke it, snort it, pop it or shoot it. Yet many don't understand what's in it. The folks who cook their meth aren't exactly government approved pharmacists. They are more likely to be sleazy individuals huddled over a bathtub mixing their poisonous brew in filthy conditions.
Lethal ingredients
An August 2004 CBC News article stated that clandestine labs have been found in homes, garages, motel rooms and even vehicles in middle class neighbourhoods. Meth can be manufactured in a short period of time, with a modest amount of materials. Basic ingredients from chemicals, solvents and equipment can be purchased in many stores.
Unlike legal drugs, the illicit type has no quality control, so users can never be sure of strength or purity. Ingredients vary in combination and are never exactly the same, says the Canadian Aids Society. Ephedrine (from over-the counter cold medicine), Drano, battery acid, insecticides, solvents, anhydrous ammonia, paint thinner and muriatic acid are among the mix.
These toxic substances form what some have described as a volatile mix of laundry detergent and lighter fluid. All that matters little because both those who use it, and those who manufacture it have a relationship. One party gets high and the other gets rich. Police say an investment of about $150 can yield up to $10,000 worth of the drug.
The attraction
Imagine a euphoric flood coursing through your body; an intensely super focused outlook, and infinite enthusiasm; making everything a riveting experience. That's the appeal of this drug to many partiers, or those seeking long term energy for mundane tasks.
A 2005 New Yorker article stated that methamphetamine is a mood elevator, and is known to induce bursts of euphoria, increase alertness, and reduce fatigue. In slightly less concentrated forms, the drug has been used by truckers trying to drive through the night, by workers struggling to finish an extra shift, and by people seeking to lose weight.
It's not costly either. One can obtain amounts as small as one tenth of a gram, known as a point, for as little as five dollars. This is enough to give the user an intense high for up to 24 hours.
Considered trendy and popular as a club drug, meth has a strong presence in dance clubs, parties and raves. It provides enormous energy to keep gyrating all night to the pounding rhythms of the dance floor. It makes one feel full of life, powerful and sexual, shifting the libido into overdrive.
The risks
Crystal Meth is more toxic than crack and more addictive than heroin, and it literally fries your brain cells, say experts. If smoked or injected, the user experiences a powerful high called a flash. The first rush is always the most intense and chasing that initial feeling causes dependence quickly. More of the drug and higher doses are needed as the addiction progresses.
Such speed runs, over days and weeks, give little rest to body or mind. Typically, during this stage, the abuser has not slept from between three to fourteen days. At the end of the high, the user undergoes tweaking; feeling miserable, and uncomfortable, as well as possibly violent.
Chronic behavioural problems such as social isolation and withdrawal are compounded by extreme depression and suicidal ideation. According to the San Francisco Aids Foundation, the long term effects of methamphetamine use are horrendous.
The sores often seen on the bodies of users are from picking at the skin, due to the feeling of bugs crawling underneath. The obsession to dig or gouge them out is incessant. Some will use knives, glass, pins or needles to pick away for up to ten hours or more. Even when it becomes apparent that no bugs are there, the urge remains. The skin becomes infected and is extremely nasty looking.
Then there's the danger of meth teeth, the result of poor oral hygiene by users. Brittle and cracked teeth, gum infections, disease, and general decay are rampant among users. Unless seen, it is hard to comprehend the total dental destruction of long term abusers. Teeth are so brittle, that even eating ice cream may cause them to fall out.
A November 2005 Washington Post article states that the drug causes lasting changes in brain chemistry, particularly in the neurotransmitter systems. Notably, the churning out of massive amounts of dopamine seems to affect cognitive abilities such as memory, judgment, reasoning, and verbal skills.
Dr. Paul Thompson, an expert on brain mapping at the University of California, Los Angeles, proved massive brain damage using high-resolution M.R.I. studies on people addicted for up to ten years.
Quoted in a 2004 New York Times article, he said he expected some brain changes but didn't expect so much tissue to be destroyed.
The image, published in the June 30 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, shows the brain's surface and deeper limbic system, which is involved in drug cravings, mood and emotion, lost 11 percent of its tissue.
The hippocampus, the part of the brain that deals with memory also lost 8 percent of its tissue. The article states that this is comparable to brain deficits in early Alzheimer's cases. Heavy users can experience psychotic episodes, characterized by paranoia and auditory and visual hallucinations, according to Prevention Source BC.
The long-term physical toll may also include vitamin and mineral deficiencies, lowered resistance to disease, and organ damage, particularly to the lungs, liver, and kidneys. The vicious cycle also may damage blood vessels in the brain, which can cause strokes, or lead the heart to beat irregularly. Cardiovascular collapse and death have been known to happen.
Quitting is not easy
It's about as easy to quit crystal meth as trying to stop a runaway train. The San Francisco Aids Foundation states that after stopping the drug, the user experiences a profound numbness and depression, as the body no longer stimulates enough to experience pleasure. This can become so overpowering, suicidal thoughts may be considered to ease the pain.
Crashing often entails severe lack of energy, and a massive lack of motivation to perform normal tasks. The day after coming down, the user feels sick, depressed, guilty, ashamed and angry. He wants to quit, but the cravings are unnaturally strong. The only thing that takes them away is more crystal meth. But soon the high becomes disappointing; euphoria turns to numbness, focus is replaced by confusion, and productivity disappears.
According to a former addict, "It's more than something that you become addicted to. It becomes your whole reason for living. You just want it so much that you'd give anything for it. You can't describe it, unless you've seen it. You can't explain it, unless you've done it. You can't imagine it, unless you've been there. Then, it never goes away."
Recovery
If you're a junkie, you have to hit rock bottom before you can climb back up. Experts say that crystal meth is one of the most addictive street drugs and one of the hardest to treat. The relapse rate of 92 per cent is worse than cocaine. In Canada, provincial health insurance and government recovery programs provide help and assistance for the addict to recover.
But the withdrawal symptoms, especially depression and physical agony, cause many to drop out. The simplest and most effective strategy is not to get addicted. This is not an easy sell for young people, but can be effectively illustrated by those who have experienced an addiction. The struggles of peers are starkly more powerful than simple messages quoting the dangers.
The overall message to people is that crystal meth wrecks lives; abuses health, and destroys families. Ultimately, the need for speed kills. And what it doesn't kill, it burns out. Get the message?
