| The images in my last month local newspaper was | | | | Crystal meth (Crystal methamphetamine) can be |
| enough to make anyone stop for a moment and see | | | | either snorted, injected, or smoked in a pipe and is |
| the devastating effect of crystal meth (Crystal | | | | made of many toxic substances such as: |
| methamphetamine) now becoming more mainstream | | | | Lye |
| and reaching epidemic proportion. | | | | Ether |
| The newspaper featured stories about young men | | | | Iodine |
| and women who went from being excellent students, | | | | Draino |
| good mothers, good fathers, all in all good citizen to | | | | Ephedrine |
| becoming shameful addicts who won't stop at | | | | Brake Fluid |
| anything to get their next fix. | | | | Lighter Fluid |
| What really captured my attention was the | | | | Cold remedies |
| transformation of these beautiful men and women. | | | | Lithium Metals |
| How they went from being handsome to find | | | | Hydrachloride |
| themself looking old and sickly after they have | | | | Hydriotic Acid |
| started using crystal meth. Beside looking old and | | | | Red Phosphorus |
| sickly, they had all kinds of lesions on their bodies, | | | | Anyhdrous Ammonia |
| which I later found out is called crank bugs (feeling | | | | The side effects of crystal meth like any other |
| that bugs are crawling on your skin). The lesions are | | | | street corner drug, are insomnia, agitation, irritability, |
| caused by constantly scratching your body from the | | | | dry mouth, sweating, and palpitations. The body |
| itch. | | | | temperature also increases, as does breathing and |
| Interestingly enough, the one common denominator | | | | heart rate. The drug can also cause behavioral |
| was that all of the people interviewed for the article | | | | problems, paranoia and psychosis, especially after |
| said that they were hooked on crystal meth after | | | | frequent use and in individuals with a predisposition to |
| only their first try. One of the guys went from being | | | | mental illness. |
| a well respected attorney earning about a thousand | | | | The addiction can lead to mood swings, paranoia, |
| dollars a day to owing his credit card company | | | | anger and depression that have an impact on |
| $25,000 dollars six months later due to his addiction. | | | | relationships and general social interactions. Beside the |
| Another one of the subjects, a girl with the youthful | | | | permanent life-altering changes that the drug can |
| good looks of a model before she became addicted | | | | inflict on the user such as work, relationship and job |
| was nothing more than a skinny looking lady that | | | | prospect, there is the ever present risk of an |
| looked as though she aged 15 or 20 years once she | | | | overdose that leads to convulsions, respiratory |
| became hooked on crystal meth. | | | | collapse, coma and ultimately death. |
| The effect of the drug is a feeling of euphoria and a | | | | The tell-tale signs of crystal meth addiction are, lack |
| high that can last anywhere from 2 to 16 hours. The | | | | of concentration, depression, insomnia, worrying |
| user then have more confidence, more energy and | | | | about the next fix, etc. Crystal meth is so addictive |
| become very happy and uninhibited, which can lead | | | | that most users get addicted on the first try. The |
| to risky behaviors such as needle sharing that brings | | | | first thing is to acknowledge the problem and treat it |
| the risk of contracting hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV | | | | as serious then seek help, which is available in every |
| and possibly AIDS. | | | | cities and smaller communities. |