Meth Q & A

What is meth?
Methamphetamine is a stimulant drug. It causes a euphoria. People [on meth] don’t feel like they need to eat. People seek out pleasurable situations. A lot of times people are more sexually active or they engage in risky behaviors. When you use a lot of methamphetamine, what ends up happening over a long period of time is you can start to have paranoid thoughts, you can start to have hallucinations, hearing voices. It can cause people to become psychotic.

Why is meth dangerous?
It’s very, very highly addictive because it hits all the centers of the brain that cause pleasure and addiction. When people are using a lot of methamphetamines, they’re often not thinking rationally. They’re often only caring about using more drugs, having more fun, having more sex. They’re oftentimes not sleeping. They’re not drinking enough water. They’re not eating. They’re engaging in risky sexual behaviors. That combination can often lead to a very deadly circumstance because people put themselves into situations that result in them not making good decisions and also put a tremendous strain on the body.

How long does it take to get addicted to meth?
If there’s a family history of substance abuse, oftentimes other people in the family will get hooked on drugs quicker. When you start getting into using it on a weekly basis, then it can quickly become something that becomes a lot more frequent. Then people are finding they’re using it on a daily basis and you know, they’re completely dependent on it.

How common is meth use among teens?
[At] the facility where I work, the Phoenix House, it’s one of the more common drugs that I see being abused. Marijuana is number one, but meth is a very high number two.

How can you tell if your friend is using meth?
If you notice any personality changes. They might be more irritable. Their speech may be rapid. They [may] start hanging out with a different crowd of people or start changing their behavior in terms of not going to school or they start having a lot of sexual relationships … not doing their work, staying out all night partying.
    Some teens will lose weight, maybe see bags under their eyes if they’re not sleeping. Oftentimes when the drug is really becoming a problem, they’ll develop a lot of skin problems—rashes on the skin, rashes around the mouth, bleeding gums. If they’re snorting it, they might have problems with their sinuses.

How can I talk to someone I know and help them?
The best way to help somebody who you know is abusing drugs is to express your concern about the changes you see in them and to tell them what you know about drugs and how harmful they can really be. Oftentimes coming from a friend, it’s going to mean a lot more than coming from the school or the parent or even law enforcement. There are teen hotlines about drug use and getting help.