Meth: "Ripped From The Headlines"

Recent stories in the Valley News indicate we need to be aware of another drug making its way into the UpperValley.

—1/13/06 …Grafton, N.H. -- Police announced yesterday they arrested four men on charges of conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine.

—2/11/06 … North Haverhill -- Federal authorities made 18 meth busts in New England last year, and 12 were in New Hampshire, U.S. Attorney Tom Colantuono said at a press conference at Grafton County Superior Court. "New Hampshire is unfortunately becoming the leader in the area of meth labs in New England," he said. "GraftonCounty has been somewhat of a hub of this activity. We are basically the last region in the country to see the spread of meth." The attorneys said yesterday that meth manufacture and addiction has tended to follow the I-93 corridor, and has not yet gained a foothold in Lebanon. But across the Connecticut River, Hartford Police found two meth labs in the woods in recent months.

—3/17/06 … Concord -- Gov. John Lynch and other top officials yesterday announced a "statewide strategy" to stop the spread of methamphetamine laboratories and addiction in New Hampshire. "Left unchecked, the growth in methamphetamine production and use presents a serious threat to the health and safety of our citizens," Lynch said at a Concord news conference. "We must act now to prevent crystal meth from gaining an even greater foothold in New Hampshire."

So it seems we need to know more about meth and be prepared to recognize and treat addition that may follow its use.

Below is information from National Institute on Drug Abuse and SchickShadelHospital:

Methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that dramatically affects the central nervous system. The drug is made easily in clandestine laboratories with relatively inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients. These factors combine to make methamphetamine a drug with high potential for widespread abuse.

Methamphetamine is commonly known as "speed," "meth," and "chalk." In its smoked form, it is often referred to as "ice," "crystal," "crank," and "glass." It is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol. The drug was developed early in this century from its parent drug, amphetamine, and was used originally in nasal decongestants and bronchial inhalers. Methamphetamine's chemical structure is similar to that of amphetamine, but it has more pronounced effects on the central nervous system. Like amphetamine, it causes increased activity, decreased appetite, and a general sense of well-being. The effects of methamphetamine can last 6 to 8 hours. After the initial "rush," there is typically a state of high agitation that in some individuals can lead to violent behavior.

It may be used through snorting, smoking or injection.

Usually a person using methamphetamine does not get as big a "high" as s/he did with the FIRST use. The brain adapts to the presence of meth and the user begins to use more - s/he has to work harder to get less and less pleasurable effect. Ultimately, s/he crashes. As tolerance develops to the euphoric effects, higher and higher doses of meth are needed to get pleasurable effects. The more used, the greater risk from toxic effects of methamphetamine.

All addictive drugs have two things in common. They produce an initial pleasurable effect, followed by a rebound unpleasant effect. This pleasure/tension cycle leads to loss of control over use of the drug--and addiction, a dependence on the immediate, fast, predictable drug which, at the same time, short circuits interests in and the motivation to make life's normal rewards work.

In certain studies, animals pressed levers to release methamphetamine into their blood stream, no longer concerned about eating, mating or other natural drives. They, in fact, died of starvation in the process of giving themselves methamphetamine even though food was available.

The most common symptoms of withdrawal from use of meth are: drug craving, irritability, loss of energy, depression, fearfulness, wanting to sleep a lot, or, difficulty in sleeping, shaking, nausea and palpitations, sweating, hyperventilation, and increased appetite. These symptoms can commonly last several weeks after stopping use of methamphetamine. With medical treatment, the symptoms can be handled more easily and eliminated more quickly.

Questions? Concerns? Need help? Call 650-5819, or email: DHMC Employee Assistance Program.

SOURCES:

~ Valley News

~ Reprinted from the SchickShadelHospital

~ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Institute on Drug Abuse . (2002, February 18). NIDA Research Report: Methamphetamine Abuse and Addiction, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved October 03, 2002 from the World Wide

(May, 2006)