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The Skinny on Meth
If you’ve heard that using methamphetamine, commonly called meth, will help you lose weight, you’re right. But the price to pay is a big one: days without sleep, loose teeth that might fall out, in-
fected skin eruptions, vomiting, dizziness, anxiety, depression, and even brain damage. And, in the worst case, you can lose your life.
Teens will see a dramatic loss in weight when using meth for any substantial period of time. In fact, it seems so easy to lose weight. But once someone stops using, the weight comes back quickly. Because of this, they’ll use more meth, making it much harder to ever stop using, as the addiction takes hold.
Also called speed, glass, ice, or crank, meth is a powerful stimulant. The first few times someone uses meth, he or she might feel as if they can do anything. They’re filled with energy and a speedy rush. They feel euphoric in an intense high. When first using the drug, people have feelings of increased mental and physical awareness. With increased use of meth the user often experiences irritation and has outbursts of anger. Some have paranoia or hallucinations (seeing things that aren’t there).
Users will take higher doses more frequently. They can go for days without food or sleep. But the initial feelings of well-being are not repeated. Eventually the user feels the need for the drug in order to even survive.
Rachel was 16 when she arrived in the emergency room for the third time in a month. Pregnant and scared, she wanted to stop using, but the symptoms of withdrawal were too much. She’d been introduced to meth by her brother and his friend, before she was pregnant. They said it would help her lose weight, something Rachel wanted to do. It was the friend who had taken advantage of Rachel one night when she’d been using meth, and it was his baby she was carrying.
Rachel had never known her real dad, and the series of “fathers” who’d lived with her mother were too many for her to remember. For years Rachel watched her mother using drugs, and vowed she wouldn’t do the same. But when her brother told her how fast she’d lose weight, Rachel decided to try it once.
Once is difficult, because meth is so addicting. Rachel was hooked on it from that first try. Now she cried as she lay on a hard bed in the ER cubicle. With no one to turn to, she felt alone and afraid.
Even if you come from a home in which no illegal drugs are used, you might be introduced to it at a club or at an all-night dance party. Meth is gaining in popularity as a “club drug” or “party drug.” Because it can be smoked, snorted, or in-
jected, meth is often seen as a drug of choice.
It’s also readily available, since many meth labs are set up in private homes, using materials and ingredients easily purchased in drugstores. Because it’s made in the home, it often takes hold of entire families.
Ben was only 12 when his father cooked methamphetamine in their home. Ben’s mother was a steady user, chronically sick, several of her front teeth missing from longtime drug use, and she looked more like Ben’s grandmother than his mother. It was the only life Ben had ever known. When the police took his father away in handcuffs, Ben cried for his dad. He was angry at the police, not his father.
Taken by Child Protective Services to a foster home, Ben was separated from the only family he’d ever known. It wasn’t the best family, but it was Ben’s family.
Once a person is addicted, meth becomes that individual’s life. Everything revolves around more of the drug. And it takes more and more all the time just to survive. Nothing is more important than the drug. Using meth becomes all that matters in life.
If you haven’t used, it might seem like fun to try it that first time. Friends pressure you and say it won’t hurt you. But because it’s so addicting, tolerance develops quickly. By then the user needs more and more meth. Unlike other drugs, meth rewires the brain. It can take years to undo the damage. In fact, some damage may be permanent.
The way to avoid addiction to meth is to never try it. If you’ve already used meth, ask a trusted adult for help, or a teacher you trust. There is help available, and it’s im-portant to get it as soon as possible.
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