Methamphetamine use in America. Why is it so popular?
In America, methamphetamine is clinically recognized as the most destructive drug yet. The return to use rate for heroin and crack cocaine after twice using is 20%; the return to use rate for meth after twice using is as high as 95%
What is so attractive about Meth and why is it considered so dangerous? Lets start with some information about meth.Meth addiction is a recognized disease by the US medical profession, marked by mental obsession and compulsion of the body.
Who are meth addicts?
The rich the poor and everyone in between can be a victim of methamphetamine.
Young people who want to "party like a rock star."
School and college age students use meth to boost performance while studying for exams;
Type A personalities in fast-paced jobs use meth because they believe it gives them an edge by boosting their mental energy.
Young women and teenage girls use it for weight loss
Long haul truckers use meth to keep them awake while driving. (meth dealers regularly set up shop at truck stops);
So called "supermoms "trying to be the perfect wife, mother and career woman, end up with abused and neglected children do to the meth abuse.
People from all walks of life and economical status have succumbed to the allure of methamphetamine.
An entire town in Iowa, as filmed in a 2003 documentary by HBO, where every inhabitant - including the Mayor - is addicted to meth.
A tough-on-drugs prosecutor in Denton, Texas, who showed no mercy for people caught in possession of meth and was himself busted for possession; His career and family were the casualties of his meth use.
What is the attraction to this deadly drug?
Think of this, all your senses seem heightened. You have an extreme amount of energy and maintaining a slender figure is no problem. Top that off with hyper sexuality and you have the attraction of methamphetamine. But at what cost?
The things that are horrifying about meth to the the non drug users,are alluring and compelling to an addict. That it is made from dangerous toxic substances makes it "risky". Staying up for three or four days makes you feel powerful until you crash.. And the compulsive behavior makes normal life seem extremely boring. Users see meth as a cool act of rebellion instead of the lethal dead end addiction that it actually is.
Methamphetamine is an extremely potent form of speed. Just one hit adversely affects the brain’s chemistry and, when used frequently, the cardiovascular and central nervous systems can become severely damaged, impairing the functioning of the heart, brain and spinal cord. Even leading to death for the user.
Brain-imaging research of meth addicts using two to four grams of meth a day revealed serious brain damage consistent with Alzheimer’s disease, strokes and low level Parkinson’s disease syndrome,
Studies suggest that those who quit meth use continue to show a serious reduction in the brain’s ability to produce dopamine for up to three years, and almost two-thirds remain depressed two to five years after they stop using.
"Meth really affects their ability to function," said Dr. Linda Chang, a university researcher and co-director of the Neuroscience and Imagine Research Program at Queen’s Medical Center When asked about some of the dangers of meth use. "We see loss of nerve cells in the brain, inflammation and addictive elements. It takes a long time for the brain to heal, at least a year or two before we see improvement.
Domestic violence, identity theft and acts of calculated violence are often linked to meth,. Children and pets are often the silent victims of meth , either by neglect, sadistic urges or sexual abuse from adults using the drug.
Violent, chilling and really bizarre acts have been committed by people on meth: Kidnappings, brutal murders, and suicidal assaults on police are some of the more violent acts.
Meth is often involved in homicide cases. Fashion designer, Gianni Versace, was murdered in front of his Miami Beach home in August 1997 by a meth-addicted individual; the killers of Matthew Shepherd were high on meth when they tortured and murdered him; and Timothy McVeigh claimed to be under the drug’s influence when involved in the 1995 Oklahoma bombing. Cameron Taylor was reportedly high on meth when he hijacked a San Diego bus at knifepoint in 1997, leading a police chase over 70 miles in 2 1/2 hours before he was captured.
Meth users have killed while in a state of confused delusions and have also plotted and committed murders and other violent crimes in cold blood.
One of the most disturbing murders occurred in Chula Vista California in 1995. Veronica Gonzales and her husband, Ivan, were caring for her niece, 3 1/2-year-old Genny Rojas, because Genny’s father was in prison and her mother was in drug rehabilitation.
Veronica and her husband were on meth, and were unfit to care for a young child. They tortured the little girl for six months before eventually scalding her to death in a bathtub. They became the first married couple sent to California’s death row.
A study in America’s Midwest shows that 39% of all incoming male prisoners and 47% of female prisoners have methamphetamine in their system, while around 10% of the 3,400 Americans awaiting execution on Death Row have mental conditions consistent with meth abuse, including brain damage and schizophrenia.
"Meth hijacks your good intentions and obliterates wholly the function of any moral compass. People conduct heinous acts, utterly disgusting and inexcusable, while influenced by this poison." ~ Andrew Lay [Hornet Fullerton College.
The physical effects on our society are horrific, crime, illegal lab fires, hazardous waste, homicides and suicides, but the psychological toll on users, and their families and friends, is unmeasurable.
In this country more than 1.5 million people are currently in the process of destroying their lives, as well as the lives of their family and those around them with their Meth use, and that's just a guess. I’m afraid the actual numbers are a lot greater then we could fathom. In conclusion, the dangerous destruction caused by Methamphetamine use far out weighs any possible attraction to this deadly drug.
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