Meth Side Effects

Methamphetamine is an illegal narcotic that is used across the world, although it would seem that Pacific Asia, i.e. the Philippines, Taiwan and Hawaii along with America seem to be the countries where consumption of the drug is highest.

Extremely easy to produce with commonly available and accessible items that can be used for legitimate reasons, methamphetamine is a drug of choice for aspiring drug dealers looking for a quick fix in terms of both drugs as well as money.

Methamphetamine is extremely toxic to the drug user who ingests it, both in the short and long term. We will consider both of these two broad categories in more detail as follows:

Side effects for personal consumption of Methamphetamines in the short term

• Sudden and sharp increase in the energy and motivation levels of the user, enabling them to work for longer periods of time without a break or stopping at all. Concentration and endurance of the user is greatly enhanced in the interim period.
• Sharp increase in the temperature of the body which can potentially be fatal especially if it exceeds 108 degrees.
• Appetite and the desire for sleep are both suppressed to negligible levels.
• Methamphetamine users will become overly garrulous, chatting in a constant drone without pause, structure or coherence. Easily distracted, they will struggle to stay on topic and will often find their attention wanders.
• Reduction in inhibitions, often manifesting itself in more sexually aggressive and provocative conduct than is normal for the user.

Side effects for personal consumption of Methamphetamines in the long term

• Users of methamphetamine will eventually develop a “tolerance” to the drug which means that their body will require ever increasing amounts of the drug in order to achieve the same results.
• “Meth mouth”: both due to the abrasive nature of the methamphetamine crystals themselves, in addition to the corrosive and toxic nature of the chemical agents used to create the drug, a potential long term symptom and effect of abuse of the drug is severe gingivitis and tooth decay.
• Psychosis which may result long after usage of the drug has been terminated in full and under the supervision of a medical professional.
• Depression whenever the body lacks and therefore craves the drug.
• Excessive consumption of the drug will inevitably mean that the user then becomes physically dependent upon the drug as well as addicted, which in turn, places the user at the risk of overdosing on the item.

As can be plainly seen, both the short and long term effects of Methamphetamine is deeply alarming indeed and should hopefully be enough to deter anyone from using it. That said, in small, carefully controlled dosages, Methamphetamine is also used for medicinal purposes. The following is a list of conditions whereby a physician may prescribe the usage of the drug.

Medical usage of the drug

• For the treatment of children who suffer from ADHD (Attention Deficiency Hyperactivity Disorder)
• For those who suffer from obesity (the drug has weight loss and appetite suppressant properties)