Highs and Health Hazards for the User
January 21, 2009
Meth is a powerfully intense stimulant that creates a euphoric and energetic feeling. It releases high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which stimulates brain cells, enhancing mood and body movement. A cocaine high lasts about 15-20 minutes, while a meth high lasts 2-14 hours. On the street it is known as crank, speed, crystal or ice. It can be a whitish or pale yellow crystal-like powder that can be chewed, ingested, injected, snorted or smoked.Meth is highly addictive, personality altering and can cause violent, bizarre behavior. Other effects on the central nervous system include irritability, insomnia, confusion and paranoia. Meth robs the body of calcium and appears to have a neurotoxic effect, damaging brain cells that contain dopamine and serotonin, another neurotransmitter. Over time meth appears to cause reduced levels of dopamine, which can result in symptoms like those of Parkinson’s disease and type-two schizophrenia. Meth causes increased heart rate and blood pressure and can cause irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain, producing strokes. Other effects of meth include respiratory problems, irregular heartbeat and extreme anorexia. Its use can result in cardiovascular collapse and death. Exerpt from NMTF
It was not until 1988 that ice became widespread in Hawaii. By 1990, ice spread to the U.S. mainland, although distribution remained limited to retail amounts in just a few regions of the country. In the early 1990s, Koreans served as the principal supply source for ice that was smuggled from Asia directly to Hawaii and the U.S. mainland. Intelligence data indicates that traffickers from Mexico are supplying Asian organizations/gangs on the West Coast and in Hawaii with methamphetamine for conversion to ice.
Analysis of all samples of ice seized to date in the United States have shown purity levels of 90 to almost 100 percent. In 1996, ice sold for $200 to $450 per gram, from $5,000 to $8,500 per ounce and $35,000 to $50,000 per kilogram. Abusers in the United States ingested ice almost exclusively by smoking the drug in glass pipes
Methamphetamine is a Schedule II stimulant, which means it has a high potential for abuse and is available only through a prescription that cannot be refilled. There are a few accepted medical reasons for its use, such as the treatment of narcolepsy, attention deficit disorder, and for short-term use obesity; but these medical uses are limited.
Crank refers to any form of methamphetamine. Ice is a crystallized smokeable chunk form of methamphetamine that produces a more intense reaction than cocaine or speed. Ice has an appearance that is clear and crystal-like, and resembles frozen ice water. Crank and ice are extremely addictive and produce a severe craving for the drug.