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Meth Awareness day
Never tried it, never will. Information is the best anti-drug.
National Methamphetamine Awareness Day, 2006 - A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America
Methamphetamine abuse has become a tremendous challenge for the entire Nation. Education, prevention, and community involvement are key parts of our National Strategy to reduce the demand for meth. People who know about the destructive effects of meth on the user and the community, are far less likely to use meth.
Please share what you learn about meth with everyone you know and together we will end the scourge of methamphetamine.
What is methamphetamine?
How is meth made?
How does meth affect a user?
How does meth affect everyone else?
WHAT IS METHAMPHETAMINE?
Methamphetamine is a powerful, highly addictive stimulant drug that dramatically affects the central nervous system. It is usually illegally produced and distributed.
Meth comes in several forms, including powder, crystal, rocks, and tablets. When it comes in the crystal form it is called “crystal meth.”
HOW IS METH MADE?
Unlike drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin, which are derived from plants, meth can be manufactured using a variety of store bought chemicals.
The most common ingredient in meth is pseudoephedrine or ephedrine, commonly found in cold medicine. Through a cooking process the pseudoephedrine or ephedrine is chemically changed into meth. The ingredients that are used in the process of making meth can include: ether, paint thinner, Freon®, acetone, anhydrous ammonia, iodine crystals, red phosphorus, drain cleaner, battery acid, and lithium (taken from inside batteries).
There are two basic categories of meth labs:
Superlabs produce large quantities of meth and supply organized drug trafficking groups that sell the drug in communities across the U.S. Most of the larger labs are controlled by Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations operating in the U.S. and Mexico.
Small Toxic Labs produce smaller quantities of meth. These labs can be set up in homes, motel rooms, inside automobiles, and in parks or rural areas -- really almost anywhere.
HOW DOES METH AFFECT A USER?
Using meth causes an increase in energy and alertness, a decrease in appetite, and an intense euphoric “rush.” That’s in the short term.
With sustained use, a meth user can develop a tolerance to it. The user may take increasingly higher doses of meth trying to catch that high she first experienced. She may take it more frequently or may go on binges. She may change the way she takes meth. For example a user may have started by taking a pill, but as she develops a tolerance she may begin injecting it. Addiction is likely.
In the long term, a person using meth may experience irritability, fatigue, headaches, anxiety, sleeplessness, confusion, aggressive feelings, violent rages, cravings for more meth, and depression. They may become psychotic and experience paranoia, auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances, and delusions. The paranoia may lead to homicidal or suicidal thoughts.
A fairly common hallucination experienced by meth users is the so-called crank bug. The user gets the sensation that there are insects creeping on top of, or underneath, her skin. The user will pick at or scratch her skin trying to get rid of the imaginary bugs. This scratching can create open sores that may become infected.
I do not think it's worth it...
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