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Crystal Meth |  |
Gangs - The Truth | |
Scared Straight |
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Street Tour | |
The Path of Honour | |
Vandalism & Violence |
Many youth are experimenting with and becoming addicted to Crystal Meth. This workshop was put together to educate everyone in your community about the real facts surrounding Crystal Meth and how dangerous a drug it really is. Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant drug that strongly activates certain systems in the brain. One of the biggest concerns with Meth is the fact it is made almost exclusively from solvents and is in fact at the top of the list as one of the most dangerous drugs available today. The addiction level is actually quite alarming and needs to be addressed in all communities. It is an issue that cannot be ignored because we have witnessed how fast this drug can take a community down and how rapidly it destroys the bodies and minds of users. Crystal Meth is not a recreational drug. It was designed with one purpose in mind only and that purpose is to get its users severely addicted in an extremely short time span. It is quite possibly the most insidious and destructive drug ever made and it is a problem so huge it should be considered by leadership everywhere as the biggest crisis to ever hit their community in modern days. Methamphetamine is closely related chemically to amphetamine, but the central nervous system effects of methamphetamine are greater. Methamphetamine goes by many different street names, Jib, speed, whiz, uppers, go fast, pep pills, bennies, meth, crank, crystal, dexies, heart, white, black beauties, speed, and ice, to name a few.
Methamphetamine is made in illegal laboratories everywhere and some labs are actually being set up on Reserves through the gang networks, Meth has an extremely high potential for abuse and addiction. Methamphetamine releases high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which stimulates brain cells, enhancing mood and body movement. It also appears to have a neurotoxic effect, damaging brain cells that contain dopamine and serotonin, another neurotransmitter. Over a short period of time, methamphetamine appears to cause reduced levels of dopamine, which can result in symptoms like those of Parkinson's disease, a severe movement disorder. Methamphetamine is taken orally or intranasally (snorting the powder), by intravenous injection, and by smoking. Immediately after smoking or intravenous injection, the methamphetamine user experiences an intense sensation, called a "rush" or "flash," that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Oral or intranasal use produces euphoria—a high, but not a rush. Users may become addicted quickly, and use it with increasing frequency and in increasing doses in order to avoid the depressive crash once the drug has worn off.
Animal research going back more than 20 years shows that high doses of methamphetamine damage neuron cell endings. Dopamine- and serotonin-containing neurons do not die after methamphetamine use, but their nerve endings ("terminals") are cut back, and re-growth appears to be limited.
The central nervous system (CNS) actions that result from taking even small amounts of methamphetamine include increased wakefulness, increased physical activity, decreased appetite, increased respiration, hyperthermia, and euphoria. Other CNS effects include irritability, insomnia, confusion, tremors, convulsions, anxiety, paranoia, and aggressiveness. Hyperthermia and convulsions can result in death.
Methamphetamine causes increased heart rate and blood pressure and can cause irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain, producing strokes. Other effects of methamphetamine include respiratory problems, irregular heartbeat, and extreme anorexia. Its use can result in cardiovascular collapse and death.