ALL COUNTIES: If it's so harmful, why do people do it? Experts estimate that as many as 70-80% of people who use meth may become addicted after their first or second use. The addiction rate typically increases exponentially with additional use.
Since addiction to meth is extremely powerful, addicted users can exhibit psychotic, paranoid, and even epileptic behavior, causing them to “tweak” or twitch uncontrollably when they are coming down from a high.
Since the feeling of coming down is so terrible (the body’s ability to produce dopamine, serotonin, and other naturally produced pleasure chemicals is impaired), some users will do anything to get high again, causing them to neglect their work, family, studies, even their children.
What is Methamphetamine? Methamphetamine (Meth) is an addictive stimulant that strongly activates certain systems in the brain.
What does it look like? Meth is a crystal-like powdered substance that sometimes comes in large rock-like chunks. When the powder flakes off the rock, the shards look like glass, which is another nickname for meth. Meth is usually white or slightly yellow, depending on the purity.
What is it made of? Meth is made of poisons... literally. Meth is made from antifreeze, fertilizer, drain cleaner, batteries, starter fluid, formaldehyde and other serious toxins.
How is it used? Methamphetamine can be taken orally, injected, snorted, or smoked.
What are the street names/slang terms for Methamphetamine? Chalk, Crank, Croak, Crypto, Crystal, Fire, Glass, Meth, Tweek , White Cross.
What are its short-term effects? Immediately after smoking or injection, the user experiences an intense sensation, called a "rush" or "flash," that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Snorting or swallowing meth produces euphoria - a high, but not a rush. After the initial "rush," there is typically a state of high agitation that in some individuals can lead to violent behavior. Other possible immediate effects include increased wakefulness and insomnia, decreased appetite, irritability/aggression, anxiety, nervousness, convulsions and heart attack.
What are its long-term effects? Meth is addictive, and users can develop a tolerance quickly, needing larger amounts to get high. In some cases, users forego food and sleep and take more meth every few hours for days, 'binging' until they run out of the drug or become too disorganized to continue. Chronic use can cause paranoia, hallucinations, repetitive behavior (such as compuslively cleaning, grooming or disasembling and assembling objects), and delusions of parasites or insects crawling under the skin. Users can obsessively scratch their skin to get rid of these imagined insects. Long-term use, high dosages, or both can bring on full-blown toxic psychosis (often exhibited as violent, aggressive behavior). This violent, aggressive behavior is usually coupled with extreme paranoia. Meth can also cause strokes and death.
What is its federal classification? Schedule II, due to high rate of abuse and addiction.
Source
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
Note: Most methamphetamine in North Carolina is imported in multi-pound quantities from Mexico through the Southwest Border states, but a significant amount also comes from Mexican sources of supply based in Northern Georgia, e.g., Gainesville and Dalton. Mexican traffickers rely on private and commercial vehicles and express parcel services. Mexican-manufactured methamphetamine and Ice concealment often mimics those methods used for cocaine.
