Crystal Meth Research Paper

Crystal Meth It is sometimes called speed, uppers, crank, chalk, ice, glass, copilots and Christmas tree, however it’s most commonly known name is crystal meth, scientifically known as methamphetamine or methyl amphetamine. One of the earliest uses of crystal meth was during World War II when the German military introduced it under the name Pervitin. It was given to elite forces, tank crews, and aircraft personnel in doses of chocolate, gaining the name copilots. In 1983, laws were passed prohibiting equipment used to produce methamphetamines. Despite the prohibition of the drug, the abuse of the drug grew across the United States. Since 1989, the states across the U.S. have been trying to stop the production of meth, which can be made in the home. They have also added restrictions on the amount one can have of the drug ephedrine and pseudoephedrine containing products – drugs used to make methamphetamines.
Methamphetamine is a drug that releases high levels of dopamine; which regulates movement, emotion, motivation and feelings of pleasure.
It stimulates the central nervous system, which in turn affects heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. Overtime, meth can deplete dopamine receptors, making it impossible to feel pleasure at all. It also affects mood, appetite, mood and alertness. Meth is known to decrease appetite, but increase wakefulness and physical appetite. Meth can be snorted, smoked, or injected. When injected or smoked, meth is known to give a very intense high. Dr. Richard Rawson f UCLA’s Integrated Substance Abuse Program says, “There are a whole variety of reasons someone would try methamphetamine, however, once they take the drug, their reasons are pretty much the same: they like how it affects their brain.
“ The physical effects of meth include irritability, increased blood pressure, aggression, nervousness, hypothermia, compulsive behavior, stroke, convulsions, loss of appetite, malnutrition, heart and blood level toxicity, arrhythmia, increased risk of contracting HIV, hepatitis, and other sexually transmitted diseases if injected. Psychological effects include addiction, anxiety, paranoia, psychosis, depression hallucinations, and formication, the feeling of bugs crawling under the skin. When it stimulates the brain, meth produces a positive feeling, however when the high is coming down, the feeling is the opposite – this happens because the adrenaline is suppressed. A chemical imbalance is created by use of the drug, causing irritability, which physically demands more of the drug to feel normal. Because of the pleasure/irritability cycle there is a loss of control creating an addiction. When a person does meth for the first time, they never get that high ever again. As a tolerance is developed to the euphoria, larger and larger doses of the dug are needed to gain pleasure. When meth is abused, people find pleasure and put their faith in meth to bring happiness, not the pure pleasures of life. People don’t find people, places, things and activities exciting anymore, because it has been replaced by methamphetamine. The pleasure gained by using the drug fades away, creating a need and dependency for the drug.