Meth (Methamphetamine) is a drug used as a stimulant for central nervous system. Its structure is similar to that of amphetamine. According to Meth statistics, this drug has a high level of abuse. It is classified in the category of Schedule II drugs and is only available via a prescription.
Meth has limited uses. In some cases, it can be prescribed by a doctor. The prescribed doses are usually lower than the ones that are abused. In most cases, the abused drug doses are imported illegally. It can also be manufactured in small and illegal laboratories. Nevertheless, people working in those laboratories endanger their lives.
Meth is usually and odorless, white crystalline powder that has a bitter taste. It dissolves in alcohol or even water easily. Many people take it orally. Others smoke or snort the powder. It can also be injected into the body using a needle. Meth statistics revels that the abuse of this drug has reduced among the teens in the recent years. Meth statistics released by monitoring the future in 2009 reveals that the number of high school students using this drug comprises of only 1.2 percent. This is the lowest percentage since this drug was included in the survey. In 1999 when Meth was added to this survey, its abuse among high school students was at 4.7 percent. Among the lifetime abusers, this drug abuse was reported to be at 1.6 percent among 8th graders in 2009. In 2008, there was a significant reduction of this to 2.3 percent. Among the 10th graders, many users reported that availability of this drug had reduced by 14 percent. This was a significant improvement from 19.5 that was reported five years ago.
How Meth affects human brain
Meth works by increasing the release and blocking re uptake of neurotransmitter (dopamine) which is a brain chemical. This leads to high amounts of this chemical in the brain. This chemical plays a great role in the reward, creation of a feeling of pleasure, motivation and even motor function. The ability of Meth to enhance rapid release of dopamine in the brain reward regions causes a feeling of rush or euphoria. This usually happens after smoking, injecting or snorting the drug. Chronic abuse of Meth changes different functions of the brain. Among the visible effects of the abuse of this drug include impairment of verbal learning and reduction of motor skills. Severe functional and structural changes are also observed in the some parts of the brain that are associated with memory and emotions. This is very common among many chronic abusers of this drug. Majority of them shows cognitive and emotional problems.
Meth Addiction
In some countries such as the United States, Meth is the drug that has the highest number of addicts. Meth statistics show that many people who have tried this drug at least one time in their life. Among these people, Meth statistics reports that 70 percent develops addiction.
Unfortunately, Meth addition takes a toll on the internal and even external health and overall well being of a person. Many abusers start experiencing negative effects of this drug once the addiction turn prominent. The effects alter their lives due to the changes the drug brings and at the end they may even commit suicide.
According to Meth statistics and surveys, this drug's addiction is not similar to that of other drugs. This is because the drug starts by giving the user a feeling of great empowerment. This feeling is unbelievable in the initial stages. It is this feeling that leaves the user wanting to try it regularly. Tolerance of the user builds up as the addiction increases and eventually, the user becomes unstable financially. They also become unhealthy physically. This is because the addiction makes them increase dosage of the drug each day. Eventually, the addict will want to use massive amounts of the drug every day.
Once the user become unstable, they turn to finances of their families passing on the effect of addiction to them. Sometimes if there are no more finances at home, the addict may turn to stealing or even prostitution to get money for buying the drug.
Meth addiction treatment
Regardless of how you look at it, Meth statistics reveals that addiction to this drug leads to death in most cases. This is because once an user has become an addict; they will do anything to feed their addiction. If they do not get money to buy the drug, they can even rob or kill in search of money for buying the drug. The drug takes away everything that the addicted person cared for before the addiction.
Nevertheless, there is hope if you or your loved one has turned to this drug and they are now addicted. Therapy and con selling plays a very important role in the treatment of Meth addiction. There are many facilities that the addict can be taken to for rehabilitation. However, when choosing the facility to visit for treatment and recovery, it is important that you ensure it has everything the addict need. This is very important as it ensure that the addict returns to a life free of addiction with a clean body. Support is also very important to people fighting the addiction.
A good treatment plan will have detoxification as the first step. This step or process should be monitored and even controlled closely. It should be designed in a way that will ensure that the individual level of addiction is first established. This calls for a close monitoring of the client. It is also important that the client gets a lot of support at this step since it is the most difficult to endure.
The major goal of this step is to eradicate all toxins, effects and chemical that may be in the addict as a result of continued use of the drug. According to Meth statistics, the duration of taken by this step varies from one individual to another depending on the severity of their addiction. After this step, patients now move to their individual tailored therapy aimed at getting rid of the addictive substance in the patient's body. These will also vary from one patient to another. Meth statistics reveals that the most commonly used treatments include massage therapies and acupuncture, fitness and nutritional treatments, among others.