Meth devastates, it kills, and it ruins otherwise promising young lives. Almost half of all American parents never speak with their kids about the dangers of meth, and reflecting this, an astonishing percentage of high school kids either see little harm with trying the drug, or even worse, see some benefit.

Crystal meth is scary. Incredibly addictive recreational use can so easily progress to addiction, and the physical, mental spiritual harm done by an addiction to meth is beyond compare.

The health risks of meth

Meth addicts can expect greatly accelerated physical aging, cognitive declines, early dementia, and a fantastically increased risk for a host of diseases and cancers. Characteristic meth mouth is but one of the obvious and external signs of the damage of the drug, and a few years of meth use visibly ages the body by decades. (more…)

Crystal meth is the most destructive drug in America today. Teens can get it, they love to experiment with available drugs, and they are not well aware of the real risks of meth use and abuse.

There are few drugs more addictive than crystal meth, and the intense and pleasurable high so easily seduces recreational users into abuse and addiction; and with addiction, the physical, mental and spiritual devastation is tragic.

Meth addicts age by literally decades in a few short years of abuse. Meth mouth (meth destroys the teeth) is but one of the obvious and external faces of the damage of meth, and the internal damage is just if not more severe. Meth use increases the risks for a host of cancers, for fatal heart disease, for Parkinson’s and even for very early dementia. (more…)

Beyond Crystal, Free Yourself From Crystal Forever

DL Scott CtHA / AASD / CDC

Nine years ago I was approached by a woman, Susan Kingston, to become the Methamphetamine Specialist for a King County Funded Project called Project NEON. Project NEON is a harm reduction program that initially addressed safer use among Gay and Bi-sexual men who inject Crystal Methamphetamine.

Susan was looking for a way to blend more traditional chemical dependency skills and tools with more alternative and newer methods of harm reduction and prevention philosophies. Since many Certified Chemical Dependency Counselors were not, at theat time, trained in both traditional and harm reduction philosophies, she felt that my unique blend of these two philosophies would be perfect for the needs of the program.

After a couple of months of deliberation, I accepted the job offer and was literally thrown into the deep end of the pool with out a life jacket.

What I discovered over the next 9 years is a way of looking at the relationship between, not only Crystal Meth, and Crystal Meth users, but specifically the Gay Community and Crystal Methamphetamine.

The first thing I learned was that this program was originally designed as a harm reduction program to address the fact 51% of all Gay and Bi-sexual men who injected Meth were also HIV+.

The initial belief was that this high infection rate was due to unclean injection practices. As more data was gathered, the new theory is that the high infection rate is more likely due to unsafe sex practices while on Meth. What I learned from my clients was that Meth = Sex, and Sex while on Meth was usually practiced in a very unsafe manner.

On any given day, clients would come into my office with the report that they had either been continuing to use Meth, or they had experienced a relapse of use on Meth. “So what did you do while you were high?” I would ask. (more…)

Meth is the abbreviation of methamphetamine or methylamphetamine. It is also known as crystal meth. Its street names are ice and cristy. Meth is a sympathomimetic and a psychostimulant substance. Some of its isomers, such as unmethylated amphetamine, are prescribed as medications for hyperactivity disorder. Crystal meth, which is an illegal and an addictive substance, directly affects the central nervous system. When administered, crystal meth brings toxins to the human body. According to statistical studies, crystal meth is very addictive that about 42% of first timers feel the need to try it again while approximately 84% of second time users feel the need to take it over and over again that it turns into an addiction. Most of the first time crystal meth users are unaware of the harmful effects it may cause to the human body. They simply like using meth because it causes them to “feel wonderful.”

Crystal meth is classified under the D-type methamphetamine class accompanied by GIB, JIB, sister, and ice. The following are a few facts regarding D-type methamphetamine:

(1) This type of meths is generally crystalline in structure and is mostly transparent and sparkly in appearance. They look like sugar cubes.

(2) D-methamphetamine is smoked using single-chambered glass pipes or cracked light bulbs.

(3) When D-methamphetamine is warmed up by using small fires or common lighters, it is likely to become vapor soon after forming a liquid puddle. (more…)