Meth Epidemic Summary

The Meth Epidemic was a time where an abundance of individuals across the United States was exposed to meth. It became an addiction that could not be stopped. Higher officials done everything they could to stop it but meth always found its way to others. Unfortunately, this has affected society because of the high crime rate it has caused. Hence, their addiction has caused them to make decisions that has affected society and causing others to make serious decisions.

Meth is not only highly addictive it is easily "cooked" in homes across the country. Unlike some drugs, which are derived from natural sources, meth includes an array of dangerous chemicals. These chemicals can include battery acid, rat poison and motor oil.

The addiction of methamphetamine amongst juvenile’s and adults has reached epidemic proportions that affect the individual, families and communities. Methamphetamine abuse has crossed all social economic boundaries that have negatively impacted law enforcement, social and clinical services. According to Anglin, Burke, Perrochet, Stamper and Dawud-Noursi (2000), methamphetamine, also known as meth, crystal, or speed, is a substance that affects the central nervous system creating a stimulant effect that can be injected, smoked, snorted, or ingested orally. Individuals who use meth for an extensive period of time tend to become addicted and will likely need to continue to use meth at high levels for its effects to continue to provide the euphoric symptoms and sensations. Anglin, et al, also describe methamphetamine as a derivative of amphetamine, this form of amphetamine was often used for medication purposes in the 1950’s and 1960’s to treat symptoms of depression and obesity. Durell, Kroutil, Crits-Christoph, Barchha, and Van Brunt (2008), also stated that illicit methamphetamine use is a public health concern in the United States with an increase use among teens and young adults in the 1990s. The Mental Health Services Administration conducted a national survey on meth use in the United States and found that currently as least a half a million of Americans used or have used methamphetamine. Meth use is an epidemic that is slowly becoming a destructive

The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids’ campaign for The Meth Project- Meth: Not Even Once “was founded in 2005 by the Thomas and Stacey Siebel Foundation, in response to the growing Meth epidemic in the U.S. Today, the Meth Project is a program of the national nonprofit organization The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. The Meth Project is a large-scale prevention program aimed at reducing Meth use through public service messaging, public policy, and community outreach. Central to the program is a research-based marketing campaign, community action programs, and an in-school lesson all designed to communicate the risks of Meth use” (http://www.methproject.org/about).

23. The illicit manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine in the United States today is due to the involvement of…

Due to the impaired state while using meth, when a user is irritable they start to lose patience for others. This is dangerous because users don’t understand the amount of force they use if they were to hit someone, or worse, what the consequence would be if they were to have a deadly weapon. Anxiety is also a big issue with users; they feel that they are invincible and they want something to do. Some users have gone as far as believing they can fly; so they jump off a building or out a window. The irregular heart rate can be deadly if you have any type of minor heart disease. Finally, the increase in physical activity puts others in

Methadone is a high risk for abuse. It work in the brain to change how your body feels and how it responds to pain. If one take Methadone, they will start to vomit, shaking, diarrhea, and failure to gain any weight. If someone is not using this drug correctly they will have crucial consequences. It is advised that, methadone should only be use the correct way. If you brain gets addicted to methadone and one decides to stop taking it for awhile. One may suffer from mood swings, particularly because the supply of the drug gets

Methamphetamine also affects the user’s mouth. This is often referred to as “meth mouth.” There are several factors which, when combined, create an environments that destroys the teeth, the blood supply and supporting tissues. Methamphetamine users are unable to take care of daily tasks, such as brushing and flossing, due to the crash affect of this drug which can last many days. When they are awake for long periods of time the energy bursts they experience do not allow them to concentrate

Methamphetamine is the most addictive drug used today. It appeals to people of all ages, and is not a respecter of person. It is creating a society with no future. Unless we as a society can contain and stop this issue, there will be no hope. What is the federal government doing to stop this problem? How are Pharmaceutical companies reacting to this issue? What are the effects on the general public? This is just some of the issues that were discussed in Frontline’s ‘The Meth Epidemic’ video. We will attempt to answer these questions throughout this paper.

Generally, a person will go through a cycle of predictable behavior after starting meth. Immediately after taking it the user will feel a rush which involves the most exhilarating feelings. Next, they experience the high which can last for several hours. The actual rush and high is what everyone is trying to achieve. In order to keep this high the user will often binge, meaning they will continue to take meth for hours. This binge can last for days. Eventually the user will experience “tweaking” which may cause the user to become violent or delusional. Finally the user will experience the crash. Since the addict has been using meth for several days they may have had little or no sleep and their bodies have become

Meth users that take meth daily tend to insert meth into their daily activities hopefully, with some true data regarding meth, you can better spot some signs of meth use and addiction. (www.methhamphetamine)

This nation is facing a problem with a powerful stimulant, known as Meth. Meth is a highly addictive drug that is, and a hard to kick. Meth is a huge money making business so the marketing of the drug is not only targeted to adults, but the younger generation as well. Despite the effort with the war on drugs, Law Enforcement is facing a tough battle of controlling the clandestine meth labs, and meth brought to the United States from Mexico. Meth not only hurts the user, but families, and communities as well. Education and awareness to the public can help with the battle on Meth. Although through education, intervention, and rehabilitation there is help to combat meth abuse, meth is a potent dangerous drug that destroys lives,

Methamphetamine abusers are teens reported from age 12 to adults; when teens start abusing drugs, they do it out of peer-pressure, trying to “fit in” in high school; they don’t want to be consider the outcast or the loner. I did research a story of a young lady who did struggle with addiction, who had overcome her addiction and bettered her life from the mistake of letting meth control part of her youth. In result of trying to fit in, they follow the path of drugs, partying, misbehaving rather than creating their own path. Carren Clem, a young woman who grew up in rural Montana, never believed she would become a drug addict. In sixth grade, she started having social problems; she was teased and excluded by the other kids, especially girls. Determined to make friends, she jumped at the opportunity to skip school with an older girl and go to a party at her friend’s house. Unfortunately, the friend was an older boy who gave them beer and ended up raping Carren. To deal with the shame and report the crime, she started drinking, skipping school and hanging out with “bad” kids. The next year she took a job, she partied with her coworkers. One day one of them offered her a “pick-me-up” because she was tired. As a result the “pick-me-up” was methamphetamine. She smoked all weekend long; the high was so intense it was unbelievable; she was hooked right away. With the addicting effect of meth, she was constantly trying to get more and more that it resulted with her arguing with her parents and moving out of their home. She was doing anything to get meth, stealing car stereos, having sex, whatever to get the drug. When she final hit rock bottom, she wanted to commit suicide. Her “friends” tried to help her by giving her high doses of drugs and alcohol, but she didn’t die. She knew in that moment that she needed help; so she called her youth pastor who then called her

While driving down a road in Montana, exploring, someone would notice the paintings and sculptures that read “Meth, not even once” or something as simple as “Montana Meth Project.” The Montana Meth Project has become Montana’s way to stomp out Montana’s meth problem. Some history on methamphetamine include “Amphetamine was first made in 1887 in Germany and methamphetamine, more potent and easy to make, was developed in Japan in 1919”(Drug-Free).There has been a decrease in meth users in the past years, “The United States government reported in 2008 that approximately 13 million people over the age of 12 have used methamphetamine—and 529,000 of

Methamphetamine was used originally in nasal decongestants and bronchial inhalers. There are a few accepted medical reasons for its use, such as the treatment of narcolepsy and ADD, but these uses are limited. In its regular form, methamphetamines are also known as speed, meth, and chalk. In its smoked form, it is known as ice, crystal, crank, and glass. Methamphetamine comes in many forms and can be smoked, snorted, orally ingested or injected. The smokeable form of methamphetamine, knows as "ice," came into use in the 1980's. Ice is a large, usually clear crystal of high purity that is smoked in a glass pipe like crack/cocaine. The smoke is odorless, leaves a residue that can be re-smoked, and produces effects that my continue for 12 hours or more. Since there are a few accepted medical reasons for its use, methamphetamine is a controlled substance in the United States, and cannot be used legally without a doctor's approval. Methamphetamine abuse can also lead to legal, financial, and social problems. If methamphetamines are used during pregnancy, babies tend to be asocial, incapable of bonding, have tremors, have birth defects, and cry for 24 hours without stopping. There is also an increased risk of child abuse and neglect of children born to parents who use methamphetamines. WISC-TV reports, "There's a new drug moving into your neighborhood, reports WISC-TV. It's methamphetamine and it's one of the